3 Tips To Help You Dress For Your Mood

I recently polled a group of women to find out their most important factor in choosing their outfits each day. Aside from where they were going (work, an event or occasion, etc), 51% actually said it was their mood that  determined their look. At first I was surprised. I thought for sure it would be the weather (that was the runner up) or even the amount of time they had to get ready. But then I thought, well duh, I did ask women! How often are our personal decisions not based on our mood or feelings…. And then I thought ‘well how great is this for my clients and everyone else in the world who has to get dressed every day? (which really should be everyone, and if not I want to know where you work!… and what they keep the temperature at … I digress) The reason this is so great is because your mood is up to you. So how empowering, this means that you have the power to decide what you wear each day to portray exactly how you are feeling!

But then I thought about those days when you’re just not feeling it. When your under the weather, when your overwhelmed at how much the day ahead of you holds. When you’re bloated, when you’re anxious, when you don’t like how any of your clothes fit. Or even when you’re not sure how to portray the mood you’re in! So here are some tips to help ensure dressing for your mood doesn’t backfire on you:

1. Choose outfit options the night before. I know, this may sound completely the opposite of impulsively “feeling it” in the morning and running with it. But how many times have you been excited about an event taking place the next day, but then wake up late and your stressed out rushing, or it’s rainy and gloomy out. If you chose an “I am so excited to be here” outfit the night before you can still roll with that mood despite the morning’s hiccups.
2. Take note of “feel good” outfits so you remember to revisit them. For example, I recently attended a baptism with a friend. She called me before hand and asked me what I was wearing and told me she planned to wear a dress and shoes she had worn to a wedding last year because she had felt really confident in it and was feeling over the top confident very recently.  Have those types of outfits filed away for when you need them.
3. Define what “mood” means to you and decide if it is in fact appropriate. When I refer to dressing for your mood, I mean upbeat moods, and even themes. For example, bright, cheerful, smart, bold, excited, flirty, sexy. Or vintage, preppy, polished, edgy, laid back, nautical, daring… I could go on and on. But If your mood is tired, stressed, overwhelmed, angry, unsure, then you may want to take a different approach. Not many of us aim to look like we have a headache, or if a co-worker even breathes in our direction we are going to snap. So on these off days, think in reverse and dress for how we want to feel, how we intend our mood will be once the day is in full swing. It’s a trick that not only fools others, but also helps us come around as well!

What is YOUR #1 factor in getting dressed each day? If it is indeed your mood as well, share some tips on how the last time worked in your favor! What was your mood and what did you wear to portray it?