How Your Wardrobe Can Support Your Mental Health

Wardrobe and Mental Health

Every piece of clothing inside your wardrobe and how you dress has the potential to bring positive effects to your mental health. With all the stress in our lives, our mental health might not be in good shape. Taylor Jay Collection can help you build a wardrobe full of outfits that supports your mental health.

Portrait of a young, smiling Spanish woman.

Your Wardrobe Builds Confidence

When your confidence is down it can be hard to get it back. A quick confidence booster is to dress the best you can & spend the day outside. Here are some fun ideas to consider: 

  • Try a new outfit and explore. 
  • Make the world your home and wear pajamas outside. Most people won’t care, which may help you get over some social anxiety too!
  • Small changes to your outfit may be enough to boost your confidence. Add a scarf, hat, sunglasses, or even a stylish facemask.

Image of a woman driving her car.

Colors Affect Your Self-Image

Colors have a psychological effect on the human mind. Every color we see has a unique effect on us. Here are some of the effects that colors may have on people:

  • Red pops and catches people’s attention.
  • Blue pops in outdoor settings giving a lively emotion, but blends in indoor settings & gives a professional demeanor. 
  • Yellow gives a warm and welcoming feeling.
  • Green shows life and joy.
  • Purple has a mysterious vibe to it.
  • Black can be either professional or mysterious as well.
  • Grey is a lighter version of professional. Not too serious, but still quite capable.
  • White signals purity and is similar to yellow’s warm & welcoming feeling.

Image of an African American woman on the beach.

Cultural Identity

Minority groups have long had to deal with issues that negatively affected their mental health. Issues such as everyday racism, discrimination, prejudice, hate crimes, and systematic racism have been going on for centuries and are still ongoing. One way to counteract these negative effects on your mental health is to accept who you are. You may have identity issues, but wearing the traditional clothing of your culture and ancestors may give you some closure. Embrace the culture and history of your people. Here are some examples of how to do that:

  • Afghan-Americans can wear the traditional clothes that would usually be worn in Afghanistan. Under Taliban rule, Afghan women are experiencing severe oppression and are not allowed to wear traditional clothing or even go to school. This has caused many Afghan women to suffer severe mental trauma. This may be a great way to both reconnect with your origins and bring about awareness.
  • Indigenous Americans have been largely forgotten and ignored by the general public. Individuals can wear the traditional clothing of their peoples & remind the world that they are still there and will continue to be there for thousands of more years. Wearing traditional clothing may bring awareness to the hardships and mental trauma Indigenous communities have been having for centuries.
  • Asian-Americans are beautifully diverse. There are all kinds of clothing styles from various cultures such as Vietnamese, Cambodian, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and so on. Hate crimes against Asian-American communities have escalated in 2020 and 2021, causing detrimental effects to the mental health of Asian-American communities. Wearing traditional clothing may bring awareness and appreciation to the diversity of Asian-American communities.

There are many other minority groups (African-Americans, Iraqi-Americans, Indonesian-Americans, etc) and it may help boost mental health to embrace who you are and never forget where you come from.

The best way your wardrobe can support your mental health is to embrace who you are. Dress in a way that shows off your personality, and maybe even your history. At Taylor Jay Collection, we also believe that dressing how you want is the best way clothing can boost your mental health. 

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