The clothes we put on every day tell a story about who we are and how we are feeling. Our fashion choices are essentially a form of communication, allowing us to assert our confidence and express ourselves in a unique way. Whether or not we realize it, our style influences the way we perceive ourselves or even judge others. A recent study found that doctors who wore white coats performed better on a test than those who wore street clothes. This implies that the clothing we put on enables us to feel some sense of power and confidence, which ultimately suggests that a strong cultural association with a garment can actually influence your cognitive processes. This is called enclothed cognition. It asserts that clothing can change how you think, feel, perceive, and understand yourself during situations and experiences.
“The Journal of Experimental Psychology says that the color, comfort, fit and style of our clothes can directly affect our confidence levels. More than 96 per cent of people report a change in their emotional state with a change in their style of dressing.”
The colors we wear can even impact our mood. For example, white implies a clean emotional state, yellow indicates happiness, orange screams energy and enthusiasm, black asserts dominance, and dark blue suggests consistency. I think it’s amazing to see how a person’s mood and personality reflect through the items they wear on a daily basis. While the clothing we wear don’t necessarily define us, they definitely intensify our emotional energy.
Clothing is a great way of self-expression, it’s a form of art. Our style is constantly evolving which reflects our continuous growth as we move through life. I think societal expectations and even our family members sometimes make it difficult to express ourselves through fashion. However, there is something really beautiful about the freedom that comes with self-expression and one’s style. It’s important to state the difference between fashion and style. Fashion is clothing items. Style is the individual. Style is priceless and is an expression of one’s character and spirit. The power of style is that it allows you to feel comfortable in your own skin.
However, the popularity of fast fashion and the spread of fashion trends online sometimes hinder individuals from truly expressing themselves or asserting their own unique style. I am sometimes guilty of this, as it is really easy to succumb to the trends we see on our “for you” pages. A pair of pants will go viral and suddenly every girl will want them. This is the downfall of social media and its effect on influencing users to buy a certain item or feel like they need to hop on the trend in order to feel some sense of belonging. Therefore, I think it's important to remind ourselves of the beauty of originality. Like mentioned before, style is personal, unique, and priceless.
Comments