I mean, I get it: the whole “if you look good, you feel good, and if you feel good, you do good”. Which makes so much sense when you think about it…Is looking good a placebo? When you trick your mind into believing you did something for your body. Or a funny example where you give a kid “beer” and they start acting drunk. It’s your mind. “The placebo effect is when someone experiences a positive result based on their belief in an intervention rather than the characteristics of the intervention itself,” says Shona Halson, PhD, an associate professor at the Australian Catholic University. A person’s belief might be something that actually might help them through something. Coping and grieving. But also a way to change a mindset.
In this case, when your hair is flowing the right way, your makeup base is looking clean, and your outfit is giving the comfort AND vibes you are looking for, then our mood lightens! We will know that the day ahead will be comfortable, and we will feel confident. That’s not just because you are going out to meet friends or going on a date. It can be when you are going grocery shopping or getting an oil change for your car. It may be the littlest things you do in life, but if you are presented in your best, you feel regulated. Harvard Health published an article, “It’s about creating a stronger connection between the brain and body and how they work together.” When you feel good in your body, you feel good in the mind.
Ever have those days when you can feel the clothes on your body, and you are automatically overstimulated, or the opposite: when you forget a sentimental necklace or a watch, you feel naked? High sensitivity: Your brain stops filtering out routine sensations like fabric rubbing against your skin. That can be caused by stress, lack of sleep, or anxiety and can put your nervous system on high alert. That piece (necklace or watch) becomes a part of your physical boundary over time, and removing it leaves a sensory gap that feels uneasy or incomplete.
Okay, enough of the science; getting into the fashion and the WHY
What is a good outfit? Jeans? A top that cinches in the right spot, a hoodie that is the perfect amount of baggy? A pair of the coolest Nikes? Or the cutest leather boots with a buckle on the bottom? Ahh yes. You pick the pieces of clothing you are most confident in, and you. It’s the outfit that makes your body and brain feel like they’re cooperating.
And maybe you already knew that, but I speak from experience. When I dress down, I almost feel the worst. I wish I could rock sweats, but it just doesn’t look right on me. That can be another topic (“dressing for you”). I feel underdressed and lowkey uncomfortable. I feel the best is a loose-fittingblouse and shorts, or a tight top and jeans.
The whole point of “look good, feel good” isn’t necessarily about looking perfect. It’s about putting something together and thinking, “this! feels like me”. For me, I’ve learned that getting dressed is one of those little things that can change the way I carry myself. Not about impressing anyone, but feeling comfortable in my own skin, and sometimes, an OUTFIT can just do that.
So the next time you’re getting ready, don’t ask yourself, “Does this look good?”
Ask:
“Do I feel good about this?”
Because maybe that’s what looking good was trying to tell us all along.
Angela ♡
Resources, because I did my homework, angels.
– ♡ Harvard Health Publishing – https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/the-power-of-the-placebo-effect
– ♡ Australian Catholic University / Shona Halson, PhD – https://www.nike.com/a/placebo-effect-at-work
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