Skip to content
Do you believe it’s possible that the clothes you wear have an effect on the way you feel and the experiences you have during the day? In recent years, there has been a rise in interest in the psychology that underpins what we wear and how clothing may impact our emotions. One area of particular focus is body language. And because of it, I became curious about this dopamine dressing trend.
What is Dopamine Dressing?
Dopamine dressing, to put it succinctly, is the practice of putting on clothes with the intention of boosting one’s own mood in order to feel better about themselves. If the color combinations we choose to wear each day have the potential to alter not just our own emotions but also the moods of others around us, then perhaps we ought to pay more consideration to the choices we make. Several studies have shown that color, fashion, and texture all have psychological meanings and are commonly related to certain memories. It’s possible that colors might have the same impact that music does, in that they can take us back in time and transport us to different places. Dopamine Dressing is a trend that has picked up during 2022 and is starting to show real staying power in the fashion community.
Dopamine is known as the “feel-good” hormone, and it may be stimulated by activities such as wearing a new color or an unusual outfit that gives the impression that you are growing. Recently, I’ve realized that wearing my bright shirts and colorful tops makes me feel significantly more positive and optimistic than when I’m not wearing them. At the end of the day, all of this just results in a virtuous cycle of delight. And when people have a positive reaction to me or to whatever it is that I am wearing, I get an incredible high from it.
Enclothed Cognition: Your Clothes Impact Your Mood
A big question is whether or not the clothes you wear may genuinely improve your mood. Researchers from Northwestern University investigated a concept referred to as enclothed cognition. This is a reference to the systematic influence that clothing has on the psychological processes of the wearer as stated by the authors of the research. To put it another way, it is not about you or how you feel; rather, it is about the message that your clothing is sending. Changing how you look on the outside may sometimes make you feel differently on the inside. All it takes is new clothing. The theory of enclothed cognition lends factual validity to the piece of advice that advises individuals not to dress in accordance with how they feel but rather how they aspire to feel. Even if you wake up feeling flat and uninterested, it is possible, in theory, to dress oneself in a happy manner.
There is no question that color therapy was an essential component of the conventional medical practices of ancient Egypt, Greece, and China. It turns out that they utilized something called “color halls” for therapeutic reasons. The primary component of the treatment for your condition would include you being isolated in a space filled with vivid hues. As a result, color therapy is really just the beginning of the process of recognizing the effect that color has on each of our individual health conditions. And considering the recent state of the world, this has really gotten me excited because it makes me feel like color has the potential to offer us a little bit more of a sense of control over our overall wellness and our mental wellbeing, both of which have taken quite a beating in the last couple of years. I say this because it makes me feel like color has the capacity to offer us a little bit more of a sense of control over our overall wellness and our mental wellbeing.
Dress Out of Your Comfort Zone to Release Dopamine
I came across another idea that suggested that breaking out of a person’s normal pattern of clothing might produce a release of dopamine. One example of dressing outside of your comfort zone is the vacation dadcore aesthetic, which combines laid-back, comfortable clothing with bright, bold patterns and colors.
A simple way to venture outside of your fashion comfort zone is to inject some lively new colors in your palette. The release of dopamine, also known as the “feel good hormone,” can be stimulated by something as simple as choosing to dress in a way that you have always maybe wanted to wear but have been a little too terrified try.
How Different Colors Can Make Us Feel
Red = Strength
Red has come to signify a variety of positive attributes, including self-assurance, strength, and appeal. It is general knowledge that the color red is appealing to the eye, which is perhaps why it is frequently connected to feelings of ardor and fervor. And it does it with a great deal of energy according to the norms of color theory. When you wear this shade, people will assume that you are very energetic while also providing the sense that you are a dependable anchor.
Pink = Openness
Pink, while being an internationally known sign of femininity and romance, also transmits a powerful message of compassion, giving, and openness.IIt has a joyful, carefree appearance and is said to make the person who wears it feel more at ease.
Blue = Isolation
Although blue is a calming color, being surrounded by an excessive amount of it can cause feelings of depression and isolation, so it’s better to use it sparingly. While blue is often used in other fashion trends such as technical clothing, it is not recommended to be a focus in mood-elevating fashion.
Orange = Inviting
Regarding the hue orange, it is one that is cheerful, distinctive, and inviting. In its whole, it exudes warmth, friendliness, sociability, relevance, and optimism. It has been demonstrated that exposure to this hue may improve one’s mood as well as stimulate discourse.
Green = Good Fortune
Green is another color that complements what I’ve put together for today’s look. At the moment, I’m very into my Kelly Green items, and it’s a color that makes me feel calm and healthy. It is a color that evokes calm and goodwill, and it is a color that represents wealth and safety.
The color green is associated with positive emotions such as optimism, affluence, generosity, and good fortune. In addition to that, it has a calming but energizing quality that assists in maintaining order. The second key theme of this year is called future, and it emphasizes self-reliance and assurance. It is an upbeat color that conveys dependability, solidity, and a cheerful frame of mind. The perfect tint to wear on days when you feel like you might benefit from a little bit more self-assurance.
Dopamine Dressing is a Powerful Force
Even if colorful clothes aren’t the silver bullet for all of our mental health problems, I still believe that they have an effect on how we feel about ourselves and may really help influence our mood and the type of day that we are going to have. This is something that makes sense to me and seems to be supported by research. In this regard, I think it’s quite important to pay attention to color therapy as well as the kinds of garments we choose to wear on a daily basis.
As is the case with the vast majority of things in life, it is ultimately up to each of us to determine whether or not the world of fashion has the power to make us feel cheerful. But if paying a little more attention to the clothes we wear and the colors they come in means that a stranger smiles at us or that we have somewhat more positive encounters with persons that we see in our everyday lives, then I believe that it is worth it.
