The Weekend Read * New Year Doesn’t Have to Mean A New You

Judi Prue | Read in 5 minutes

Hello!

There’s something just a little bit rude about the 1st of January. We wake up slightly blurry-headed, with half a box of chocolates still on the coffee table, pine needles mysteriously everywhere and the world immediately announces you need fixing. Be slimmer! Be healthier! Be more productive! Be more organised! Be more stylish! Be more disciplined! Be new!

All this, at the exact moment when it is cold, dark, grey and frankly quite hard work just to get out of bed. It’s no wonder January can feel less like a fresh start and more like being handed a very long to-do list, when you’re still wearing your pyjamas. Every year the same thing happens. We start off full of good intentions, decide this is the year we’ll overhaul our wardrobe, our diet, our skincare, our productivity and our entire personality, and by mid-January most of us feel like we’ve somehow already fallen behind. We quietly slip back into our old routines, only now with a side order of guilt and a vague sense that we’ve failed.

At House of Colour, we’d like to suggest something far kinder. You don’t need a new you. You need a rhythm that actually suits the season you’re in. Winter isn’t for reinvention, it’s for restoration. Spring is where the fresh energy lives. And that goes for your style, your colour, your make-up and your wardrobe, just as much as it does for the garden.

So this is your official permission slip to opt out of January pressure, make another cup of tea, pull on something cosy and think about colour and style in a way that feels supportive, not demanding.

Why January Feels So Hard

If we look at what winter actually is, the problem becomes obvious. Nothing in nature is trying to improve itself right now. The trees are bare, the fields are resting, the animals are asleep and even the daffodils are sensibly waiting their turn. Everything has slowed down, storing it's energy, having a little lie-in. And then along we come and decide this is the perfect time for self-transformation.

Psychologically, January is low light, low energy and low motivation. Biologically, we’re wired to move more slowly in winter. Culturally, however, we’re told to speed up, do more and become better versions of ourselves immediately. This mismatch is what makes January feel so heavy and long.

So instead of asking how we can fix ourselves, a gentler question we should ask is, how can we support ourselves through this season? That small shift makes all the difference

The Weekend Read * New Year Doesn’t Have to Mean A New You

Winter Style Is About Comfort, Familiarity and Feeling Like Yourself

Rather than seeing winter as the moment to clear everything out and start again, what if we treated it as a season for settling in? It’s the perfect time to wear what already works, repeat the outfits you love and let your style feel like a warm hug rather than a personal development project.

This is where colour becomes especially helpful. Your seasonal colours don’t just make you look good, they make life easier. They help you look brighter when the weather isn’t, more rested when you’re not, and more pulled-together with much less effort. In winter, that kind of visual calm is surprisingly powerful. So instead of chasing newness, winter invites us to lean into our best colours, our most flattering neutrals, our favourite jumpers and our most reliable combinations. It’s about comfort with confidence, not boredom.

The same goes for make-up. Winter skin often needs a bit more kindness; more hydration, softer textures and gentler definition. It’s the season of cream blush, nourishing lip colour and letting your natural features do the talking. This is not the time for an extreme makeover, it’s the time for a little glow and a lot of care.

A Little Winter Style Reflection

Style follows this rhythm too. Winter dressing is less about asking yourself what you should change, but more about noticing what you reach for when you want to feel like yourself. These are the pieces telling you who you are stylistically, far more than any trend ever could. Winter is for re-wearing favourites, noticing what sits unworn without judgement and quietly gathering information rather than making big decisions. You’re not building a new wardrobe right now, you’re reminding yourself of the one you already have.

You might enjoy asking yourself this, when it’s cold and grey outside do you crave comfort or drama? Does your wardrobe feel cosy, dull, practical or quietly expressive? Does getting dressed feel like a ritual, a chore, a necessity or a little moment of self-care?

There are no right answers, only useful ones.

Final Thoughts: Our New Year Message

You don’t need fixing, you don’t need reinventing and you don’t need to be new. You just need to be warm, supported, gently inspired and allowed to be exactly where you are.

Winter is not a failure, it’s a pause. So wrap up, repeat your favourite outfits, wear your best colours, use make-up to help hydrate your skin and let your style be a companion rather than a task.

Spring will come, growth will happen and then change will feel easier. For now, you’re allowed to simply be, and that is more than enough.

Next week in The Weekend Read we are talking about Colour Analysis, how to stay on track and wear your palette for life (not just for Christmas)!

Best wishes,

Judi & Jenny xx

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