The majority of women (about 96 percent) believe that what they wear affects how confident they feel, according to latest figures. When you get dressed for work Monday morning, do you reach for comfortable slacks and a boxy top or a stylish bodycon dress? You’ve most likely heard of the phrase “dress to impress,” but how often do you aim to impress yourself?
When you’re feeling the Monday blues or have been studying for exams all week, you’re more likely to reach for loose-fitting clothes and jeans because they’re more functional and effortless. If you’re uncomfortable with certain parts of your body, you might adapt your style to hide those features. “I’m afraid of bodycon dresses,” Safiya Nygaard says in the Ladylike video above. “It’s more the being exposed that freaks me out. I just prefer a flowy dress, just in case I want to eat a big lunch.”
But what would happen if you went against your instincts and wore outfits that pushed you out of your comfort zone? In a study led by Karen Pine, psychology professor at the University of Hertfordshire, it found that women should “give more thought to what [they] wear and even dress for happiness, irrespective of how [they] are feeling.”
In fact, the study found that clothes can really lift a person’s mood, especially if they’re trendy, colorful and well-cut. Feng Shui expert Donna Stellhorn tells Good Therapy, “Each element has an energy.” People tend to reach for jeans when they’re feeling down because they relate to “a desire for stillness and stability,” Stellhorn explains. Animal prints, on the other hand, are associated with one’s desire to feel alive.
If you can relate to these emotions, watch the video above to see these women face their fears after a week of trying out different styles. Safiya Nygaard even rocks her “Legally Brunette” dress and performs Elle Woods’ classic bend and snap!
As Tiffany Reese, stylist and owner of Lookie Boo, says in the video, “I’m a big believer in facing our fashion fears because I don’t think we should let clothing have so much [negative] power over us.”
