Fashion Psychology- A brief overview

“Style is a way of speaking without you saying who you are.” – Rachel Zane

So in our day, how many times do we look at somebody, then look at their clothes and start to make our judgements based on how they look, and how they are dressed. We may not know it yet, but this perspective of looking at a person’s appearance, how they look, what they’re wearing and how are they carrying it, it all comes under fashion psychology.

I had never come across this term before, so it has been a really new and fascinating concept to me. This does not just go out to other people, it goes out to ourselves as well.

We are constantly worried about things if we are too healthy, or too thin. We try to understand society’s norms and then try even harder to fit. This is sad for us as beings because we are the way we are and there is no harm in that. But we often beat ourselves over the fact that we are never enough. So keeping all that aside, let us take a closer look at what fashion psychology really is.

What is fashion psychology?

Fashion psychology is said to be the impact of what we wear, what others wear, and how all that affects our judgement abilities and perceiving abilities. Basically, clothes make all the difference. In the way, we see things, in the way we talk to people.

For example, if a man wearing torn and dirty clothes come to us in the street, we would prefer avoiding such a man. But if the same man was dressed in neat and clean clothes, and came to us for help, we would definitely have a better perspective of him. So this is what fashion psychology really is. Your judgements based on appearances and how you see things in the fashion perspective.

Fashion choices have an impact

We may not know it, but the kind of fashion choices we make has an impact on us and on the people who meet and greet us on that day.

Let us see a few of these impacts of our clothes:

• Self Motivation: One of the biggest impacts of clothing is that we usually wear clothes which motivate us. Makes us feel better and happier. Makes us want to go out there and achieve everything while looking nice and sharp. So in the long run, wearing clothes which motivate you makes you more confident. It makes you more comfortable with yourself and makes you want to go higher than where you are right now.

• Statements: In many places, we find that people change their dressing sense for a cause. They will change their appearance to show people what they really stand for. Because clothes speak, when words don’t. For example, when a person shaves their head for cancer, it is for awareness. That such a horrible disease is prevalent and we need not judge those who are going through it.

• Values: Our fashion choices reflect what values we stand for. You can usually see a person for who they are, on the basis of what kind of clothes they prefer and how they keep their hair, and what kind of shoes they are wearing.

• Growth: Another thing our clothes resemble is our growth as a person. We usually do not prefer wearing the type of clothes we wore as a teen, or as a kid, or something. That shows growth in us. That we have evolved from what we were and now we are going beyond that to proceed into our next level.

A few facts about fashion psychology

• Athletes and runners are more likely to greet other athletes wearing similar gear.
• Out of ten women, nine of them will have clothes in their wardrobe which they have never worn ever before.
• The above fact is not true for men though, it is said out of three men, only one will have clothes that they have never worn before.
• People who dress for the job have been said to be more likely to get it.
• Men have been said to approach a woman for a date with higher possibilities if she is noticed wearing red clothes.
• Wearing the same colour, and blurring the dividing lines can actually make you look slimmer and thinner.
• A woman who is provocatively dressed is more often judged than the women who cover up well.
• Doctors gain more faith from their patient if they are witnessed wearing a white coat.
• Diagonal lines on a body create some sort of illusion, and it can actually make you look slimmer.
• Choosing the correct clothes and accessories can actually make a person feel more confident and comfortable about themselves and it can reduce anxiety.

Importance of fashion psychology

Fashion psychology is an emerging field. We first came across it in the 18th century. It has evolved since then. Fashion psychology is a much needed day to day psychology m it is not as what we may think of it to be. It goes beyond all those facts. We see the importance of fashion psychology in various fields of fashion and psychology and education. Fashion psychology is really necessary when applying for fashion-related fields because you have a deeper understanding of fashion and how it works on people.

You now know, how things are and why are they the way they are. If you help somebody pick out clothes, you know what would appeal to them and what would not. This is why fashion psychology is important. It creates a better understanding among us so that we have a better outlook for clothing and accessorizing. In the education field, there are not many psychologists who have pursued this field. This is why it is an emerging field.

That means that there are tons and tons of opportunities waiting for you to go out there and give it a chance. In the field of psychology, as I said before, there are not enough fashion psychologist out there. That means that fashion psychology t requires more thorough research and different outlooks of it. It has more opportunities in the professional field as well. And that is why fashion psychology becomes important.

Conclusion

Towards the end, I would like to say that we are what we wear. No matter how much we can defy that fact but at the end that is a huge basis on how we are judged. Our appearances have a huge say in how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us as well. That is why it is important that we wear better and more efficient clothes and put more thoughts in our appearance than we ever did before. Because it makes a difference. It makes us go a level higher because now we have gained this knowledge of fashion psychology.