NEW YEAR, NEW YOU? WE THINK THE OLD ONE IS JUST FINE
WELCOME TO 2019. YOU MADE IT.
The new year is gleaming in front of you like a shiny new pair of boots, just waiting to be tried on for size. Oh, the places you’ll go. The new heights you’ll reach. Those shoes are so box-fresh it’s tempting to want to throw everything else out and start again. But while we love a wardrobe cleansing metaphor as much as the next fashion obsessive, the trouble with starting over is that you lose all the good bits as well as the bits you’d like to let go. The same goes for sweeping New Year’s resolutions that vow to overhaul your life, your look, your livelihood. Chances are, you’re already pretty damn amazing. (In fact, if you’re reading ELLE, we can guarantee you are!) And we’re guessing it’s the small tweaks that are going to make all the difference to the year ahead. After reading our beauty and wellness director Janna Johnson O’toole’s guide on new ways to be well, I’ve decided those tweaks, for me, are going to be getting serious about sleep, switching my phone to “do not disturb” mode more often and uncrossing my legs (who knew?). For Lara Worthington, who radiates confidence on this month’s cover, it’s about looking ahead, embracing change and living life on her own terms. With two beautiful boys and a home base in LA, the Australian model mogul is redefining what is important by evolving her beauty brand The Base in order to shine a light on the causes closest to her heart. At 31, she is finally feeling as though she’s exactly where she needs to be: incredibly content and comfortable in her own skin. And it shows.
If there’s one message that jumps out from every page this month, it’s optimism. From the most inspiring women in music — Cher, who’s finding ever greater success in her seventies (p54), Lily Allen, who’s revelling in her return to the spotlight (p36), and Beth Ditto, who details her positive relationship with the gym (p130) — to the uplifting summer fashion and beauty buys that will inject freshness and fun into the coming weeks, which will hopefully be filled with swimming, snoozing and sipping lambrusco (culture director Elle Mcclure calls it as the new prosecco in the ELLE Hot List on p46). And at a time when finding hope and meaning is more important than ever, Lauren Sams asks, “Who’s Your Guru?” (p52). Right now, I’m looking to astrologer Susan Miller, who returns with her horoscope guide to the year ahead (p155) and says I have every reason to feel optimistic about my financials. So that shiny new pair of boots isn’t completely out of the question, then. Lucky, because I already have an Isabel Marant pair earmarked (p78). Enjoy.