Looking good
How we look is important. We might not always agree that this is right, but it is true.
How we look is important to us, it often reflects how we feel about ourselves. It can also effect how people think about us.
Appearance is especially important when it comes to our working life and also to our romantic life.
This page doesn't look at the absolute basics of washing, brushing teeth and wearing clean clothes - see the Personal hygiene page for that.
You may not want to fit in with what your peers are wearing, and that's fine if that's your choice.
But if you would welcome some advice on looking good and how to dress for different situations, have a look at some of our suggestions below.
Tips for knowing what to wear
- Shop with a friend or relative, rather than depending on your parents for fashion advice!
- Check out fashion magazines, websites and blogs. You might not want to wear what's in fashion but at least you'll know what is
- Look at what your classmates or colleagues at school, TAFE or work are wearing
- Check out what people are wearing when you're out shopping, or even when watching TV.
Tips for make up
This is similar to clothes, if you can find a friend or a relative your own age, they can help you experiment with your hair and make up to see what suits you.
A tip... with make up, start with less rather than more!
Howcast
The video modelling website Howcast has a wealth of information on looking good.
For example, there are 32 videos on how to shave well!
The Makeup Chair
The Makeup Chair blog is here.
Hair Romance
Hair Romance is a popular Australian blog and Youtube channel. Here's one of Christina's videos.
Looking good
Some of us will always have to help our sons and daughters to choose what clothes they wear and what sort of hair styles they have.
For others, there will be a long period of encouraging independence in deciding how our children look and what they wear.
On our Looking good – Young people page you’ll find some ideas and various sites with tips on looking good and dressing well.
Growing Up On The Spectrum
This book by Lynn Kern Koegel and Claire LaZebnik has a chapter called ‘Walking out of the door looking good’ which has lots of tips for parents on how to help their children make the most of how they look, and how to encourage independence.
Look at what the other kids are wearing. It may be wildly different from what we’d like them to wear, but your kid needs to fit in… You can recruit a stylish peer, sibling, cousin or babysitter to help shop.
Growing Up On The Spectrum
Click on Our Stories on the right hand side of the page or click here to read personal stories about looking good.