How Fashion Can Be A Daily Confidence And Mental Health Tool For Women

Forbes

13 hours ago

We've all been there before, standing in front of the mirror, wondering if the outfit we chose highlights our best features. In that moment, it's not just about fabric or fit; it's about how it makes us feel. The outfits we choose set the tone for the day ahead. The perfect outfit gives us the confidence to walk out the door ready to own whatever comes next.
When clothes align with your personality, body and mood, they become a daily tool for transforming your appearance and entire state of mind.
'Fashion can build or tear down self-confidence,' states Denise Focil, founder of the sustainable label AS by DF. 'There's a lot of pressure, especially with social media, about what's trending. That pressure and constant brainwashing from the media is a problem, because it can tear down self-confidence tremendously by forcing us all to think that we're supposed to fit into a round mold, as if that's the mold we're all supposed to fit into.'
The American Psychological Association introduced the concept of enclothed cognition in 2012. It suggests that the clothes we wear influence our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. It highlights the connection between the symbolic meaning of clothing and the physical experience of wearing it, impacting our cognitive processes. This means that what we wear can subtly, but significantly, affect how we perceive ourselves and how we perform tasks.
Additionally, the National Library of Medicine published a study on how Dress is a Fundamental Component of Person Perception. It states that clothing significantly shapes how others perceive us. The authors propose a new model that places attire alongside the face, body, context and viewer traits, revealing that dress influences judgments of social identity, mental state, status and aesthetic taste.
Clothing is far more than fabric. For many women, it serves as an emotional amplifier. Personal fashion is a way to project strength. For others, it's about feeling comfortable in their own skin.
Clothing As Emotional Armor
Focil sees dressing as a daily act of intention. She states, 'I always say you have to dress for the day that you want ahead.' A jacket with structured shoulders might serve as 'armor' for a high-stakes meeting. A playful dress could set the tone for a night out with friends. No one fashion rule applies to the masses. Personal fashion is about projecting the image you want others to have of you.
That mindset also means pushing back against the pressures of social media, where trends are amplified and conformity is rewarded. The fashion designer encourages people to ignore the trends that don't work for them.
'I'm always looking toward the future of trends, because trends are important,' Focil comments. 'I look at those trends and decide whether they fit into the lens of my esthetic, if they're true to my brand, into my way of thinking. Again, customizing it for me, some of the trends fit, some of the trends I reinterpret and some of the trends don't fit at all. I'm constantly looking and going, yes, no, move over.'
The Self-Care Connection
Focil compares fashion to other small acts of self-care. Just as a fresh haircut or a new lipstick can lift your mood, the right clothing can reset your energy. Her top advice for women who want to boost their confidence through style:
Focil's philosophy is all about customizing your style to highlight what you love most about yourself:
'Clothes are a vehicle for making you look your best,' Focil concludes. 'If you know how to choose things that fit you, your personality, your body type, that's what makes it exciting. Fashion doesn't need to follow a single formula. It has to be a customized one that you create. Don't let the clothes wear you; you wear the clothes.'