Dopamine Dressing: How Clothes Can Lift Your Mood

Ladies, have you heard of dopamine dressing? When I was researching fashion trends for 2022, one of the trends was dopamine dressing. So, where does the fashion community develop these trends that we know already exist?

What is Dopamine Dressing?

Since 2020 when the pandemic began, many of us have felt a loss of control, and the things that brought us joy each day were inaccessible or put on hold. Thankfully, though, we have control over at least one thing that’s connected to happiness for many people: our clothing.

The connection between what we wear and how it affects our mood is getting attention this year as style publications predict that the trend of 2022 is “dopamine dressing.” Which involves dressing in a way that brings you joy and boosts your mood.

How Color Can Lift Your Mood

So, while some style forecasters stay focused on bright colors as the basis of the dopamine dressing trend, it’s all about personal preference.

Can the color you wear affect your mood? Research says yes; color can affect mood, behavior, and stress levels.

 

 

As in interiors, rooms painted a certain color have an effect on our mood. We use a lot of color theory as interior designers when working with our clients and the same theory applies to fashion.

Below is a kitchen I did for the Atlanta Homes & Lifestyle Showhouse in 2015. The pop of colors in this kitchen made it so cheerful.

I wrote about “How getting Dressed and Showing up to Lift your mood” a few years ago. This post was before COVID, but in 2018 we saw a rise in suicides in women over 50. Color and fashion have so much impact on our emotional health.

If you don’t know what color looks good on you I suggest you take a color personality test.

How Does Fashion Lift our Mood

Even though dopamine dressing is trending again in 2022, this fashion practice for dressing to lift your mood has been around for a long time. I think fashion experts needed to reintroduce it again. We spent so much time in self-isolation during the pandemic. We had no reason to get dressed up. Now the fashion experts think bright colors will lift your mood. However, putting on anything that makes you happy will do the trick!

Do you love dressing up for a wedding or an event? How does it make you feel? Do you notice how instantly you feel beautiful? So many weddings and events were postponed during the pandemic which also created a loss for feeling elegant. Putting on elegant outfits has always made boosted my mood.  I have always looked forward to formal affairs because I am not the only one who gets dressed for the occasion. My husband looks dashing in a tuxedo or suit which makes me fall in love with him all over again. 

Dopamine dressing is a testament to you knowing what is best for yourself.

Thank you for stopping by today!