I did it again this morning. I tried to use my own fashion psychology principles to change my mood, and failed.
First, a bit about that mood. It can only really be described as ‘trying to keep crippling anxiety at bay, 85% of the time’. Let’s just say that fundraising for your early-stage startup as a sole female founder during your first year of marriage is a bit of a special situation.
Getting dressed this morning, my impulse, of course, was to go all-black-everything. In particular, a thick chunky knit black sweater with a high funnel neck that I seem to want to wear every single day lately.
Black as my go-to is predictable. Our research has uncovered that people like me who score high on the personality trait of neuroticism, tend to prefer black.
Fashion psychology research we carried out demonstrated that those who score high in neuroticism are significantly more likely to prefer an all-black outfit.
Neurotics often experience fluctuating emotions and are more prone to worry, anger, melancholy, anxiety, (and creativity, phew). Color psychology tells us that black is shielding and provides emotional protection, so that makes sense.
And yet, I said to myself, ‘no, let’s be better than that’. Let’s use clothes therapeutically, let’s turn things around with pink. In particular, a ballet-pink Cos sweater with a big ruffled panel of organza that sticks out (this unusual feature satisfies my high openness). Hopeful, I put it on, ready for a dose of la vie en rose. Alas, I feigned satisfaction for about 10 seconds before I ripped that sweater off and put on the chunky black knit with a sigh of relief.
In times like these, should we ought to dress how we feel, or dress how we want to feel? This is one fashion psychology question that I struggle to answer with precision. After all, at TPOF, we argue that one needs to dress ‘in alignment’, wearing what feels right, what feels good. On the other hand, we argue that clothes ought to be used therapeutically, to bolster our mood, to trigger qualities we want, and to help us pivot when we need to.
The answer I keep coming back to is a vague sense that it comes down to a mathematical formula. It seems like: personality traits (x) + mood (y) + day (a) = ideal outfit (n). We need to factor in who we are at a baseline level through the Big 5 Personality Trait model, add the mood at hand, and what the day calls for, to arrive at what is truly in alignment.
Above is my personality profile. As you can see, I score moderate-high on neuroticism, which makes me pretty highly predisposed to liking black. Now let’s add in the anxious mood. And the fact that the day calls for work that’s a bit more budgets than Bottega. Yeah, pink was never going to work. I would have to be lower in neuroticism, or be in a better mood, or it would have had to be my birthday, for pink to work. (Take the test for your own profile here).
As I type, I feel immense gratitude to my chunky black knit, black headband, black leggings and black Nike Air Force 1s for making me feel secure enough to go forward into battle another day. Black accepts the inescapable darkness of life as it is, and lets you carry on anyway. Pink doesn’t allow for the dark stuff. Its saccharine undertone tries to cover up the darkness, which seems to make it even more pronounced. Much like the polarizing presence of sunny days, loved-up couples, and happy songs when you feel like a mess, pink stands at a too-distant end of the spectrum if you’re going through it or veer towards the neurotic.
I realize I need to invest in more black staples. January and February are around the corner, and my birthday isn’t until August.
In the world of post-pandemic dressing, one word has taken social media by storm: cheugy (pronounced: chew-gee). In the worlds of fashion and lifestyle, cheugy describes a look, a thing or a person that’s considered out of date.