Have you ever woken up some days feeling a little low, not really knowing why? Then as you get dressed for work or whatever that needs your attention, you have consciously picked up something striking in your closet? As soon you saw yourself in the mirror, dressed and all set to go out, you probably felt a little better than you were when you woke up.
Now, this could/would have also gone the other way. You would have just thrown on something that you could lay your hands on in the closet, barely noticing if the entire outfit all goes together and rush out the door.
This entire flow of cause and effect is a result of a deep-seated psyche.
There is a psychological theory that says –
“How we present ourselves through our clothes and social appearances impacts our mental state and emotions, and the other way round”.
Come to think of it, this theory stands very true. Our mind is our most powerful organ – it drives our decisions, actions, and how we perceive ourselves and others. But we do all this under some influence or the other; like, our food habits, lifestyle, profession, daily activities, etc. Clothes are an integral part of that.
Anything that goes in or on our body has a direct connection to our psyche.
Studies go way back in analyzing the meaning and impact of clothing on ourselves.
How clothes influence us
Psychologist William James placed clothing second to our physical body when he described “the components of our material self” and how clothes influence impressions of others on us.
If that was not the case, we wouldn’t try to look our best when we go on a date, or a meeting, or a social event. Not that we always do this consciously. But understanding this helps us know our choices better so we can look beyond just the material aspect of clothes and understand their real significance in our lives.
Further studies also say that our clothes influence our cognitive abilities, technically defined as “enclothed cognition” – whether concrete or abstract.
It’s concrete when the impact is tangible; like dressing to make an impression and to feel good about ourselves. Power dressing or party dressing is a classic example of that. Similarly, when the impact is intangible, the cognition is abstract.
For instance, when we wear something that means something to us, it has measurable effects on our minds and has the power to influence our mental state. It could be a t-shirt with a message or a motif that resonates with us, or a gifted dress that has emotional value, or even an old piece of clothing with a personal story attached to it.
How many times have you looked at your high school sweatshirt, and all the memories came flooding back, making you feel like 18 all over again!
We feel what we wear, and we wear what we feel
Clothes have symbolic meanings in our lives, not often visibly, and sometimes it’s also not in our awareness.
We are what we eat and how we live. With that rationale, we also are what we wear. Why do we want to put on that little black dress at a formal event? Because we want to feel stately. Why do we want to slip into sweat pants after coming home from a long workday? Because we want to feel at ease.
Thus, knowingly or unknowingly, our clothing drives our state of mind, just like our mental state drives the choice of clothes on a particular day or occasion.
Whether it is a specific mood or how we generally want to feel about ourselves, our clothes are a representation of who we are and how we feel.
