one’s control. While there is not much you can do about things you have no control over, take some time to pay attention to the things you can control.
When you find yourself stuck in a slump or you get a bad case of the blues, it won’t do to dwell! As the old saying goes, there’s no use crying over spilled milk.
Know that there are still some things you can look to in your everyday routine to improve your mental well-being. One of them is how you dress. It affects your day more than you think it does. Let us explain to you how.
How Dressing Well Helps You Internally
Dressing up for the day has an emotional effect on you. It changes how you perceive yourself and, as a result, how you feel about yourself throughout the day.
It is a great way to express yourself.
First and foremost, it is essential to understand that fashion and dressing up are ultimately about self-expression. It lets you take control of your self-perception and dress to express, not to impress. But simply, it can also be a way for you to enjoy yourself!
Have fun with it and make it an opportunity to tell people about who you are. A creative way to do so is to wear clothes and accessories that give hints about facts about you and your interests. Go strutting in the streets wearing your favorite band shirt, a ring made from your April birthstone, and even dye your hair—the sky’s the limit!
When you are intentional about how you dress, it helps you feel more confident. When you are more confident, you become more receptive to the opportunities that come your way.
It puts you in a good mood.
Scientists coined the term “enclothed cognition” to refer to the effect clothes have on a person psychologically. Since clothes can dictate how you feel about yourself, liking what you wear improves your mood. The joy of dressing up is really a benefit in itself!
When you have a grooming ritual, it also acts as a sort of orientation to prepare you to be productive for the day. That is why even if you are doing school or work remotely, it helps to still get up in the morning and freshen up as if it were any other school or workday. Choose clothes with your activities for the day in mind, too, for good measure.
How Dressing Well Helps You Externally
Getting dressed for the day does not just have a positive impact on you mentally and emotionally. It also has favorable effects on the people you interact with, whether in real life or via your conference calls.
It helps you make a good impression.
When you dress according to the occasion, you give the people you meet a good first impression of yourself. Take a job interview, for example. You wouldn’t want to show up in a tank top and shorts, right? That is because you want recruiters to see that you are reliable and professional.
Your primary goal is still to feel comfortable in your own skin when dressing up, but that also means wearing appropriate attire for certain occasions. Remember that there are times when your self-expression must be done from within some set parameters.
It makes you look good to other people.
Besides making a good impression on colleagues, classmates, and superiors, dressing well also makes you more attractive. When you look good, it is easier for people to notice you and be interested in you.
Dressing well makes you feel more at ease in social situations, making you interact with other people much more naturally. Whether you are trying to make new friends or hoping to catch a date, dressing well can only be of good use to you.
Dress Down Days Are Important, Too
Note to self: while dressing well is definitely an essential life skill, life does not revolve around it alone. Like many other things in life, it is good for you to have breaks, too, when it comes to how you dress. It is perfectly okay to have rest days when you lounge around in your loose shirts and sweatpants.
Just take this lesson to heart: dressing up shows that appearance gives genuine improvements, and at the same time, helps you value the importance of the substance that goes beyond that.
