High on Color Dressing loud is the new dressing down. Can bright colors and bold patterns really elevate your mood? Welcome to the brave new world of dopamine dressing.
COVID-19 lockdown sent us into our sweats. We sat in monochrome cotton surrounded by neutral-colored walls for so long our brains actually lost the ability to accurately track the passage of time. We became starved for stimulation. We spent 18 months in our khaki-colored apartments, and when we came out, we collectively decided it was time to banish the beige. It’s no wonder we came out craving color— bright, bold, eye-catching color in rich, satu18
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rated shades of magenta, sage green, and eclectic blue. We wanted to wrap ourselves in it, to cover our bodies from head to toe in vibrant shades. Color is a mood, and we can’t get enough of it right now. Vibrant hues and bold shades are the antidote to the dark days of winter, and our lives are more saturated with color than ever this year. The post-lockdown world is looking a little more bright and a lot more vibrant. This is the feel-good trend we need right now. From rain-
bow dresses to electric blue suits, the hottest 2022 fashion trends are setting a bold mood— and we’re getting high on color. Brain Chemistry That high, in fact, comes from dopamine, the brain chemical that influences your mood, emotions, and motivation. Your brain releases dopamine into your body when it’s anticipating a reward, which is what motivates you to do the thing that delivers the reward. Color is
closely associated with emotions—we use it to describe our moods. We say we’re “feeling blue” when we’re sad, “seeing red” when angry, “tickled pink” when filled with glee. But does your mood dictate your color choices or do your color choices dictate your mood? The science is out on that. What’s not up for debate is that as humans, we give objects (including clothes) symbolic meaning. So our brains start associating that t-shirt we were wearing
PHOTO BY TINE BEK FOR STINE GOYA SS22, COPENHAGEN FASHION WEEK
TEXT STEPHANIE WILSON
