Clothes affect your mood, attitude, and confidence: I love the phrase “You are what you eat,” as the composition of our bodies reflects the nutrients we put into them.

What are you wearing?
Clothing directly affects our
mood, attitude, and confidence.

So what about our attitude? Is it affected by what we wear?

There’s nothing new about the widely held notion that our “look” influences the way others perceive and respond to us. How we dress can sometimes be the only reason people approve or reject us. But new studies affirm that what we wear not only has an effect on the outside but also on the inside. Clothing directly affects our mood, attitude, and confidence. It can enhance our psychological state and improve our performance of tasks. We can achieve more when we feel we are dressed for the occasion.

The style, material, color, and shape of our clothing choices can express different emotions. Baggy clothes and big sweatshirts are related to depression, while dresses and jewelry are associated more with a happy or positive state of mind. Colors also influence the way we behave. For example, sports teams wearing all black are deemed to be more aggressive. The idea that mood-lifting clothes could reduce the need for antidepressant medications may not be far-fetched.

This subject is especially interesting and relevant to me as a mother, in addition to the fact that I’m in the fashion business. I began checking my daughter’s moods in relation to how she is dressed. A teen girl’s self-esteem can be affected not only by the way she looks but also by how she feels about her appearance. It’s a difficult time of life when there’s a need to belong but at the same time a need to stand out. Let’s try to teach our kids how to improve their moods and sense of well-being through wardrobe choices.

Caroline Adams Miller, a University of Pennsylvania master’s graduate in applied positive psychology, cites “the science of happiness” in her analogy of fashion as a deliberate self-intervention for changing our mood. The professional coach and author of “Creating Your Best Life” say we can be happier “by wearing things that evoke positive feelings, positive reactions from others or that remind you of positive experiences.”

See this article in the digital magazine (open in full screen):