With summer officially starting in two days and (hopefully) warmer days in arms reach, it also means dressing for it! Summer means beach, vacation and festival outfits, but most importantly… COLOUR.
We’re finally out of the gloomy days of winter and spring and can finally start to wear something other than puffer jackets and thermals. Winter palettes are very much dark neutrals and muted colours, such as black, grey and dark brown and summer palettes are bolder and brighter colours, such as green, blue and pink.
Bold, eye-catching coloured outfits have been termed “dopamine dressing” due to their feel-good, mood boosting qualities. More on this later, but for now I will give you a brief overview of dopamine and what it is.
Dopamine and Colour
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter made in a few areas of the brain (more specifically, the midbrain areas called substantia nitrate and ventral tegmental areas). Dopamine release plays a vital role in your emotions, making you feel pleasure, satisfaction and motivation, thus why dopamine is named the “feel good” neurotransmitter. In recent years, studies have found a significant correlation between viewing colour and dopamine release. Particularly, bright, bold colours are known to trigger dopamine release which therefore are related to happiness and pleasure, visa versa dark colours are associated with negative moods.
By understanding how colours can affect our mood, we can use dopamine triggering colours to help us create a more positive mood surrounding our outfits, and therefore confidence. So, choosing to wear clothing in colours linked with happiness could also translate to you feeling happier, too.
*Another fun fact- Dopamine is actually a precursor of norepinephrine and epinephrine- two neurotransmitters which make you feel excitement, arousal and can boost attention.
Dopamine Dressing
Dopamine dressing has become synonymous with wearing “flamboyant” colours… think neon! These colours match the energy you tend to put out when dressing in these tones. Due to bright colours having a connection to how happy you feel, they also can make you feel more powerful, confident and individual, which can have a profound effect on how you perceive your day to have been. This then in turn correlates colourful outfits to a good day, which then motivates you to wear colour more frequently- its a continuous cycle!
Dopamine dressing and using colour to elevate mood has been a theory for 2000 years, however only since scientific research has improved in the past 100 years have we seen theoretical research become factual. We now know that the dopaminergic reward system exists within the brain.
So, basically when our brain is exposed to colour, the brain responds by releasing dopamine and it could become a habit to wear more colour as your brain will always associate the outfit with happiness and having a better day. Choosing to wear a brightly coloured item (or full outfit, like us) can spawn in an upward spiral, for example; wearing the colour you enjoy and leaving the house like this can the potentially inspire others to wear a more bold colour.
A flood of dopamine can make you feel euphoric, therefore if you wear a full brightly coloured outfit, it could potentially make your day feel more satisfactory compared to if you are wearing a duller, more muted outfit. As the outfit makes you feel elevated, it can also make others feel exactly the same. All in all, is there any downfall to wearing colour? We say, no, and so does Color Psychologist, Domicele Jonauskaite.
The image above shows that darker shades of colours is associated with fear and sadness, while more vibrant shades are associated with joy and relaxation.
In regards to dopamine dressing being 100% about colours, it can actually relate to clothing items too. Some garments are seen as more mood boosting than others, for example, blazer sets/suits have been notoriously called “power suits” because they give you the feeling of being important and influential. Ditching PJs and sweatpants and swapping them out for an item more out of your comfort zone can make you feel better, not only just about yourself but how others perceive you.
H.L. Lang and Confidence!
At H.L. Lang, we designed our items to have both. Our blazer sets are aimed to make you feel powerful and confident, as suits can do, and provided in bright colours will make you feel stand-out-ish and happy. Overall, colour AND style are closely linked to our emotions and confidence- associating style with power.
Banner images: Chlce instagram, Andrea.colorfulstyle instagram, sammyfitz21 instagram, hannahlronan instagram