Sienna Tohar - week 14 - Does How We Dress Affect How We Think?

To get straight to the point (in my opinion), yes, but the long answer for me is “it depends.” I honestly feel like clothing means something different for everyone. For some, it’s self expression, or a chance to catch up with trends and see what’s in vogue, for others, it’s nothing special at all. 

Growing up, I had phases of going in and out of caring for the way I dressed. I simply saw clothes as fabric to wear every day, but not anything to really get excited about. However, some years ago, that drastically changed. I find myself putting so much care into the way I dress and present myself these days (but in a healthy way). Not only do I feel the way I dress reflects parts of who I am, but it affects my mood (especially the colors I wear!!!). If I’m uncomfortable with the way I’m dressed (this includes small things like hair, makeup, and accessories, too), my day just feels a bit more down (not to be dramatic, but I mean it when I say it affects how I feel haha)!

I’ll admit, because of dress code, I find it more difficult to express myself through my appearance, which is why I find getting ready on the weekends so fun! Although, waking up cold and tired every morning does make it tempting to just put on a comfy hoodie, I always feel better knowing that I put some effort into how I dress, it gives me a better sense of being ready to take on the day (especially while spending everyday at home during the pandemic). 

For a lot of people, I know that dressing up has nothing to do with their mood or thought process. For them, clothes are simply only clothes and that’s that. Not everyone is that sensitive to how they dress (or they just don’t care as much, which I understand). I think a big part of dressing up doesn’t only have to do with being passionate about it, but also being in the right headspace to have enough motivation for it. When nothing seems worth doing, then dressing in all dark colors might reflect a darker state of mind (or it could just mean that someone really loves and feels comfortable with dark colors! It truly could go either way). 

Also, I feel like when dressed in the right attire, certain outfits can have an effect on how one behaves in an environment. Just think about how one might feel dressed up in formal work wear versus nice evening dinner wear versus night time pajamas. Certain clothes remind you of specific places and situations, you just associate them in your mind, allowing you to place yourself in situations where you’d wear them. It’s not like my personality changes or anything, but the mindset alters a bit. Kind of like how when wearing dance/workout clothes, I get into “active” mode and how that would differ to wearing leisure clothes at home.

     Not only do I think my own clothes affect the way I think, but at times, others’ clothes do, too. For instance, think about how you’d feel at a funeral wearing all black and being surrounded by others wearing all black. Now, think about going to a party or a get together at a beach. They evoke totally different moods and mentalities! 

Over the last few years, I’ve been on a mission of reinventing my closet to be full of colors that I love, which in return, when worn, make me feel happy and motivated! So, they definitely affect the way I think (more positively), but I know that it may not be the same story for everyone. It’s always interesting for me to reflect on older outfits of mine that just didn’t feel “right,” and realize now that it simply was only the colors that felt “off”... Even patterns have a similar effect on me. Strange.

So, does the way you dress affect the way you think? Is it fun to you or do you feel indifferent about it? What are your thoughts on this? Until next time!