Style Check: the day the world turned on DayGlo

Although we're still in the midst of winter, the many parties and events of the past three months have thrown up a barrage of trends and looks to try out. Now there are sales, sales and more sales, and a heap of festive sparkly outfits no one knows quite what to do with. Got a style hangover? Don't worry, we have it bad, too.

The good news about the new year is that style, and fashion in general, has become more about options. It's no longer about one particular trend taking hold in all the magazines, retailers and high streets. Gone are the days when you'd have to go minimalist one season and then 1970s boho the next. I remember seeing people change entire looks and styles within a three-month period. These days, thankfully, the fashion industry is offering more choices.

Blindly following one style muse is now rather passé. Individuality has become increasingly important, perhaps because it has become so easy to appear stylish these days. Copycat styles, a fast-track industry, more street fashion bloggers than I'd like to see and hipsters breeding like there's no tomorrow means that getting the current "in" look right doesn't seem special any more.

Staid old matchy-matchy rules, and the almost religious compulsion to follow the designated "it" bag of the times are so last season. So the beginning of 2013 will be a celebration of choice.

When you shop this year, start thinking about longevity. Curate your own wardrobe as a long-term project, rather than a six-month affair. And breathe a sigh of relief that we're no longer obligated to buy DayGlo bomber jackets just because designers have conspired together to bring back the 1980s New Wave.