As Bill Cunninghan would say “Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life”. From the moment the sun rises, people are motivated to be fashionable by psychological factors. Did you ever wonder about the effects the clothes you’re wearing have upon your mood, your performance throughout the day, or the way you are perceived by others?
The psychology behind it is complex and is tightly connected with culture, sexuality, neuroscience, and many more aspects of human life. It touches upon subjects of self-identity that can shape our personality. Conformity: “Do we dress to conform to social conventions or to challenge and reject the current quo?”. Self-expression: “Are your clothes a reflection of your ideals and ideas to the world?”. Cultural identity: “Could what you wear be viewed as an expression of your cultural identity?”. Gender roles: “Do your clothes uphold gender stereotypes or do they question and challenge them?”. All of these topics and questions contribute to how they influence the perception we have of ourselves and how others perceive us. Having a deep cultural association with a piece of clothing and wearing it, can affect your cognitive processes. That is called enclothed cognition.
All of this information may come as complicated and too scientific, but it’s so easy if you pay attention closely. Enclothed cognition impacts human cognition based on the co-occurrence of its symbolic meaning and the physical appearance of the attire. To put it in more simple terms, if you find Miu Miu’s recent collections powerful and intelligent, wearing them will make you feel like that. All of this started in 2012 when Hojo Adam and Adam D Galinsky demonstrated the occurrence with a test involving white lab coats. It proved that the people who wore the white lab coats had a better performance, higher selective attention, and determination, rather the ones who didn’t. Your opinion on different clothes when wearing them can influence your emotions and your outfit may alter how you approach and interact with the world. Proving that the clothes we wear affect our behavior, attitudes, personality, mood, confidence, and even the way we interact with others.
The most fascinating fact is how different attires are perceived by others and how it can influence your confidence. You may have heard of the saying “dressed for success”, well it is true, wearing a suit can increase hormones of displaying dominance, and your job performance and confidence are at their highest levels. When it comes to socializing, a casual outfit is much more helpful than a suit, as it gives a comforting feeling and makes you more approachable. Also making you more creative and friendly. If you want to be stimulated to become active and start making healthy choices, wear some gym clothes.
Have you ever wondered why when you were younger you had to wear a uniform, and as an adult as well? Well, uniform thinking is based on how it can make people more cautious of their duties and encourage them to pay more attention to their jobs. Now, clothes can affect our perceived social status and can change political views and attitudes, through luxury goods and politics. A social experiment that proved this point is that some women were given Prada bags, therefore being viewed as conservative, capitalist values than the ones who didn’t. So, if you dress for the role, you start to live it.
Every day is a new day to experiment with new clothes, new emotions, and new intentions. Make sure you are heard, seen, and admired. So, take to the heart what Oscar de la Renta said. “Fashion is about dressing according to what's fashionable. Style is more about being yourself.”
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