Gentlemen, if you're the type to make New Year's resolutions, make 2013 the year you take five simple steps to improve your image and make a better impression in the world.
1. Keep your shoes and boots clean and polished. 
It's a cliche by now, but I say the same still rings true -- in the old days, a man's character was associated with how well he kept his shoes, and there is no reason to think differently now. Freshly-polished footwear is the sign of a man who takes pride in himself, and people notice.
Shoes are the base of our daily wardrobe, and if they're dirty, scuffed, and/or in need of repair, your footwear will negate any effort you've taken to dress well. On the other hand, wearing magnificently cared-for footwear can actually excuse an otherwise sloppy wardrobe -- shoes are powerful!
2. Keep your hands clean.
We meet a lot of people and we shake a lot of hands, and keeping yours clean, like wearing well-kept shoes, sends a positive message about your self esteem and your respect for other people. Clean hands also reduce the spread of germs, important especially in winter -- so respect your health and the health of others and wash often!
Unfortunately, washing germs away will dry out your hands, making skin tight and uncomfortable (to the point of cracking, for some of you). The way around this is to apply moisturizer. Now fellas, I hear your complaints already, but moisturizing your skin is no different than using oil to keep your baseball glove supple. To avoid the discomfort of dry hands, gents, try to apply at least once a day, preferably after your morning shower.
3. Keep scent to a minimum. Remember that most, if not all of your grooming products, from shampoo to shaving cream, are scented. If you wear aftershave or cologne, this is another fragrance on top of these scents, which gets to be overpowering quickly.
Keep the smell volume down low, because you may be the only one enjoying the fragrant symphony hanging around you.
4. Wear well-fitting clothing. 
When dressing for business or casual, if you're not paying attention to the fit of your clothes, you're doing yourself a disservice. It doesn't matter how big or small a man is, ill-fitting clothes visually change your body shape.
Wearing too-small clothing makes bodies bulge and pushes us out of proportion. Too-big clothing gives visual obesity while making us look insignificant as we swim in excess fabric. A correct fit accentuates the positive and makes us more confident -- makes a better impression too.
5. Stand straighter. Want to lose a visual five pounds and feel more confident? Inhale, straighten your spine, lift your eyes, and square your shoulders.
People don't often pay attention to the way they stand, but posture speaks loudly; it can diminish us in the eyes of others or boost our presence and mood. People notice confident people, and confident people stand straight.
I encourage you to watch this 20-minute TED talk with social psychologist, Amy Cuddy, who explains body language and how to turn up your testosterone and your confidence by assuming two-minute "power positions":
Without spending extra money, you can sharpen your image by following these simple steps, making for a more confident and memorable 2013. Happy New Year!
Follow Leah Morrigan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/leahmorrigan
Wash your hair. Putting it up in a wild bun does not tell me you look after yourself.
Remember Coco Channels wise words, "A perfume should wait to be discovered, not announce it's presence when you walk into a room"
Get properly fitted for your bra. Stuffing 38DD's into a 36C does not make your breasts more attractive, just look cramped.
Watch the swearing. Nothing that is a quicker turn off then an attractive, well dressed woman who's every sentence contains the F word.
1. Acquire skills/knowledge
2. Get in shape.
3. Be polite, be a gentleman
4. Forgo status symbols, be your own person.
Suspect things like "confidence" will come in due course.
Got it men? You should spend every waking moment worrying about your appearance, because style and image is everything in life. And wear tight clothes even if you're fat...yes, it will look ridiculous, but it will also teach you that you shouldn't be fat. Fat people don't deserve to exist, remember? So stop being fat and start wearing tight, expensive clothes at all times. Also, stop being sad, and be awesome instead.
Remember men, a good appearance will not help you get women you don't "deserve", but it will give you the right to exist as a person, and it will stop hurting the sensitive retinas and aesthetic senses of all those ladies that are better than you.
And remember: if you're rich, they're single.
If you look like a model, they're single.
If your genitals are (proven to be) above average, they're single.
Otherwise...well...just don't irritate them by not having style, and you'll get to exist as a person.
Did I miss anything?
Maybe you can recommend some performance enhancing supplements and visualizing exercises so that I can squeeze out a bit more productivity for my boss too? Maybe you can also prescribe some stimulants that will allow me to get that "Winner's edge" too?
But most of all, great example of the type of "winner" attitude that has allowed the corporate world to bond ordinary citizens into happy wage slavery. Performance inflation, which includes pursuing a "winning" appearance the price of which, for some unknown, mysterious reason, keeps going up, will lead this world to catastrophe.
People are not machines, workers, cannon fodder, products, brood mares or sex objects. They are human beings.
And to ask that human beings conform to some arbitrary rules of style as a condition to maintain status as a "not loser" is not only collective insanity and an attack against individuality, it should be qualified as a crime against humanity.
So keep defending the status quo and style inflation, the smart and courageous people will continue to laugh as they watch you struggle in your rigged rat race.
Lemmings.
Most men will take women as they are if they love them, and that's the truth.