Sometimes getting inspiration is hard. But when you have to write about the things you are really passionate about, you can only open your wardrobe and there it is! A question came into my mind when I was about to choose what to wear today:
Why am I choosing this outfit if I am just going to stay on a bench in the park near my dorm?
Maybe it’s my mood, maybe it’s the sunny day, or maybe just the love for clothes. I started to do a little research on this subject. It seems others are wondering this too. The way in which we choose our outfits has a great influence upon our life, mostly on the impressions of others.
Psychology today underlines the importance of our clothes in making a first good impression. Labels like extrovert/introvert, friendly/unfriendly are very easy to appoint when seeing a person for the first time. You can assume the social status of a person by his/her watch or shoe brand, a very common practice these days.
A study made by the aforementioned researchers shows that people tend to characterize others through the quality of their clothes and attention for details. This is normal since we allocate part of our time in choosing our outfit that should be in line with our personality, our job and social ambitions.
Another study made on female’s way of dressing shows that a conservative approach toward clothing gives the impression of high-status job, while a more provocative one of a low-status one.
Now comes another question:
How many of us really think about the impression we leave upon others, dressing the way we do? To our possible employer? To our possible future husband?
Forbes magazine emphasizes that the way we dress demonstrates to many others our social ambitions and emotions. Think a little bit of your past experiences. How many times when you felt blue you wore colorful t-shirts or pink shoes? Yes, I think you have the answer. Moreover, the way we run on our clothes, doesn’t only influence the others’ opinion, but also has a direct impact on our mood. Maybe a more “You should dress, not the way you feel, but the way you want to feel” attitude would be a pro-active and healthy guidance for our lifestyle.
The thing is that there aren’t right or wrong ways of dressing. From my point of view, if we know ourselves well enough, we won’t fail in choosing the right outfit. It all starts with confidence– and we cannot wear something we are not comfortable with. The attitude is next- how you are as a person when wearing something. I found myself in the situation in which I liked a garment, but it just wasn’t for me. Being stubborn enough, of course I wore it. And it was bad enough because I was feeling insecure, ugly and really moody. I bet you all experienced that. Please throw away, as much as you can, everything that made you feel that way!
One middle way would be adopting a classic style, like the little black dress, the medium length skirt, white shirts well accessorized and so on. If the quote “You are what you eat” serves so well our society, why shouldn’t “You are what you wear” do the same?
Feature image: pixabay
