I don't know what it is about the new year, but it does spark you off in new directions.

Partly it was getting to know a new friend, H, who has a passion for vintage clothing, which has reignited my passion for my lovely vintage clothes. 

But in keeping with a new urge to buy more vintage and create some wearable art myself, I also find myself wanting to change my hair. 

I was planning to get new streaks just before Christmas, but what with the weather and all, it just wasn't possible. But I feel also that it's just getting too long now, and long, straight hair on an ageing face is no joke. 

Every woman should consider a restyle once a year or so, but it becomes even more important once you hit 40. When fashion and beauty become more of a trial than a delight (trying to find an attractive dress with sleeves, wondering if this is mutton dressed as lamb, trying to find makeup that doesn't just disappear into your pores), it's all too easy to fall back on the same-old same-old, in clothes, beauty and hair. 

But getting the right haircut can take literally years off a woman. In any makeover, hair and teeth are the biggest transformations, to the extent that when women see their new image in the mirror, they are often moved to tears. 

Whether you favour short hairstyles, medium-length or long (hopefully not too long...), you need to look at it anew every year because your hair, skin and face are all changing. Especially as hair becomes greyer or thinner, it can be more difficult to style, and if you're developing jowls, nothing works better than a short, angled cut that brings the eye back up the body again. Actresses such as Melanie Griffiths and Sharon Stone look far better with short hair than with long, so I am seriously considering going shorter now.  

Having had a look round the web for various hairstyles, the look I'm thinking of going for this spring is the angled bob (you can see more details on it Hairstylescut.com, where there are also make-up tips). I've worn bobs most of my life, often with a fringe, but an angled bob is that little bit sharper - an asymmetric cut longer one side than the other.

I think this will express my personality quite well because it is that combination of classic with a twist. I wear mainly very classic clothes, but when I make jewellery, I make it asymmetrical. I do ikebana flower arranging, which is not symmetrical. I like asymmetrical clothing such as that by Issey Miyake.

Keeping my signature bob but this time making it angled should hopefully make my look a bit snappier, and that's something I feel in need of, at the start of 2010.