The Key To Getting Out Of A Mental Funk Is In Your Closet
I have a small confession to make. Up until recently, I had this hang-up that caring about having a cohesive and stylish wardrobe, and beyond that, MAKING VIDEOS about clothes was frivolous, to say the least. When I decided that I wanted to niche down on helping women make the most of our their wardrobes, I was a bit hesitant that the videos would lack substance.
In an effort to ease this feeling, I started thinking about why our clothing matters. Beyond protection, beyond adherence to the social norms, why should I care what clothes I put on my body?
Psychologists apparently had the same question. There have been dozens of studies testing how clothing affects not just only how we think, feel, and act, but also our levels of attention, confidence, and abstract thinking. This effect is what scientists now call ‘enclothed cognition.’ Turns out, there is something be said for dressing the part.
I have to admit that I have not been dressing the part during this Stay-At-Home period. This ninth (tenth?) week of quarantine is laying heavy on my mood. I admit that I am not putting that much effort into the way I look, and I’ve had the same blue jeans and select few tank tops on a heavy rotation. Could I possibly ease the quarantine fatigue by making more of an effort with my clothes each morning?
Professor Karen J. Pine, author of ‘Mind What You Wear,’ explains that how we feel affects what we chose to wear, and what we wear in turn affects how we feel. The simple act of breaking the habit of working-from-home casual wear, however, can have a tremendous effect on our moods, since our brain’s reward pathways are activated when wear something new and unfamiliar.
Pine is co-founder of Do Something Different, a series of psychological programs designed to help people inch out of their comfort zones in areas such as business, personal development, and healthcare. One of those programs is Wear Something Different, where participants get a series of short guidelines for trying new things with their wardrobes for four week. The program seems to no longer be on sale, but the concept sounded so fun and helpful, I could not not give it a try.
In an effort to help lift my quarantine mood, I decided to challenge myself to 10 days of trying something different with my clothes, following a set of guidelines inspired by the Wear Something Different Program. I’ve also invited Benita Robledo and Emma Losey, two fellow YouTube Creators, to join me in this challenge.
Benita (left) and Emma will be joining me for the challenge this week.
WEAR DOWN THE FUNK WARDROBE CHALLENGE
Day 1: Wear an item you reserve for “a special occasion.”
Day 2: Wear the oldest item in your wardrobe.
Day 3: Style an item in a way you haven’t before.
Day 4: Wear two (or three, or four!) different prints at once.
Day 5: Wear two items that you wouldn’t usually wear together.
Day 6: Wear an item you love, but for whatever reason you don’t wear often.
Day 7: Mix two different styles i.e. boho with rock, preppy with tomboy, etc.
Day 8: Wear something that grabs attention.
Day 9: Wear something you would only wear to a fancy party – but dress it down.
Day 10: Dress to impress!
We will be sharing our outfits every day on Instagram with the hashtag #WearDownTheFunk, and everyone of course is welcome to join! It’s a perfect opportunity to wear those items that you love but don’t have a reason to wear. Why not wear them now? Feel free to start this challenge whenever you want, and be sure to tag your post with #WearDownTheFunk. Leave me a comment below so that I know to look out for you on Instagram.
I hope this video inspires you to try something new with your wardrobe, and help lift the mental funk. As always, thanks for watching!
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