Change Your Outfit to Upgrade Your Confidence in a Snap

Can you remember a time when you had something on that really lit you up? Like you didn’t just walk by the mirror and try to hide from it rather you stopped and gave yourself a little smile? Like you felt EMPOWERED, fully yourself, confident, and maybe even HOT? I hope you have a picture in your head right now and it’s so vibrant that you are wondering if you still have that outfit. If you can’t remember a time like that, we need to chat stat! But here’s where I’m going with this….why don’t we aim to feel that way EVERYDAY? Sure, maybe that outfit was something you wore to a special event that you wouldn’t wear in your day to day life, but why aren’t we trying to emulate the feeling that outfit gave us in our everyday lives? I think it’s because we don’t think it’s possible. I’m here to prove that notion wrong.

Wonder Woman changes her outfit when she needs extra power and you can too!

Studies show that by simply putting on makeup, doing your hair, and putting on clothes you feel confident in, your productivity increases drastically. Maybe you think to yourself: fashion is frivolous. But when we peel back the layers and look at what’s really going on, we recognize that “frivolous”, is the last thing fashion is as supported by the scenario you had playing in your head just a minute ago. The fact is clothes can give us a real boost in our confidence.

The technical term is dopamine dressing. Putting on clothes that make us FEEL good has a physiological reaction in our bodies. BOOM. My shopping addiction has now been justified! I kid, I kid! In all seriousness, there is solid reasoning behind the idea of putting thought and effort into how we get dressed each day. Because I know this can feel overwhelming for many women, I figured I’d break it down step by step.

Focus on How You Want to Feel

Notice I said how you WANT to feel not how you actually feel. If clothes can have an impact on our feelings, why not make them work to our advantage. Do you want to feel productive today? How about powerful? Maybe you just want to feel comfortable? Focusing on the feeling you are going for is always the best place to start.

Step 1: Pick ONE item in your closet that you know will align with the feeling you are going for. You don’t have to pick 4 powerful pieces of clothing in order to get that feeling. So my advice is to pick ONE item you know is going to invoke that feeling and build out from there. For example, if I want to feel powerful, I might choose a blazer (these are my FAVORITE blazers of all time!). Or a pair of slacks that make me look taller. Then I can add on from there.

Step 2: Pick the accompanying items still going after that feeling but use color as your next step. Keeping with the theme of power, and knowing I am incorporating a blazer, I am going to then choose pants or a top that have bold colors in them because for me, bold colors equal power. Keep in mind, this is all about YOU. Maybe bold colors and blazers aren’t what make you feel powerful at all, but a jumpsuit with combat boots does. Dial it in based on your own feelings. That’s all that matters in my opinion!

Step 3: Accessorize accordingly. To go with my power blazer and bold colors, I would likely keep everything else simple. My shoes, jewelry etc will be the icing on the cake, not the items I’m making a statement with. On the flip side of that coin, if I had gone more basic with my outfit selection and still needed something extra to bring on the feeling of power, accessories are a great way to do it with bigger pieces of jewelry and maybe some sassy shoes.

The time that comes to mind for me was a couple of months after my boys were born. It had been a long road to pregnancy for us so I felt like my body wasn’t my own for far longer than 9 months which meant I wasn’t wearing most of my wardrobe for a very long time. So, the first time I was able to put on non-maternity jeans I basically felt like I could rule the world! I mean a good pair of jeans can do A LOT for a gal you know? And I am HERE for helping you find the items in your closet that make you feel that good on the regular!

Ready to learn more about how this all works? A good place to start is checking out my page on my seasonal wardrobes!