Celebrating Change
A New You, From the Inside Out

Singer/songwriter Erika Luckett had been playing with a large Latin jazz band since graduating from college. Now in her mid-thirties, she decided to go solo. "To feel seen in the ranks of the ensemble," she says, "I wore bright colors and daring makeup. Now, as a solo performer, I have toned down my look. I'm more willing to reveal who I am."

Luckett's moves in her makeup and fashion regimes are common to many women making life changes. Dr. Marion Rothman, a psychologist whose specialty is women in transition, says internal life changes often bring women to make external changes. "Women want their important life shifts to be visible," she says. "Often the old image just doesn't feel right anymore." Rothman says these shifts can range from going back to school, to graduating from college, to landing a new job, to having a baby. "Sometimes," she says, "the shock of the new brings out a whole new side to someone's personality, a side even the woman herself might not expect." Weddings are a time, traditionally, she says, when women make fresh choices with cosmetics.

Fashion designer Mary DeAngelis went through her own metamorphosis ten years ago when she decided to start her clothing company. "I used to wear long skirts and no makeup," she says, "but now I'm always dressed and absolutely never, really never, go without lipstick. I think my style change helped me to make the leap into feeling part of the fashion world."

"If we weren't changing," says Rothman, "we wouldn't be growing. And growth brings us the potential to reach our goals and dreams."

Our lives are constantly evolving. As we move through life's changes, opening some doors and closing others, navigating both bumpy and smooth transitions, we can view these changes as opportunities—times to re-style our look, or simply make single changes that update our images. As Rothman says, "Change—though often difficult—is usually, in the long run, positive. Trusting—and loving—ourselves through the process is the real challenge."

To see clothing designer Mary DeAngelis' fall line, visit www.marydeangelis.com. To hear cuts from singer/songwriter Erika Luckett's first solo CD, Tinted Glass, visit erikaluckett.com.