Dopamine Dressing: What It Is, How to Do It

Get in loser, we're putting on colors and materials that make us feel good and going outside

Mar 30

Dopamine dressing. Is it a buzzword, a phase, an extension of the avant-basic 1 fashion trend, or a movement that needs to be shouted from the rooftops? I tend to think it’s a little bit of everything.

Let’s side track quick. If you don’t know about the term avant-basic, you may gain a better understanding from the below imagery:

Are you triggered yet^ Sources clockwise from top left: pinterest, baggu, amazon, lisa says gah!, lisa says gah!, lisa says gah!, pinterest

Avant-basic peaked last summer, and I didn’t yet know its name, but if I left the house wearing any of the above items or anything under the avant-basic category, I’d turn to a friend and self consciously ask them if I looked too “Instagrammy”. The movement of lime green, cow print, Urban Outfitters scamming vintage resellers of the murano lamp market, and cottagecore daisy/psychadelic checkerprint spread like wildfire through Instagram, thus my referring to it as the Instagrammy style. I was painfully aware that I was participating in an “Instagram fashion trend” and I felt embarrassed for myself. Even though I loved the items I was wearing, I felt exposed, like someone would see me and think, “oh, she’s on a specific Instagram algorithm and must be trapped”. I could spot a girl on the streets of New York who was also on the same algorithm as me. But I digress.

Back to dopamine dressing.

Dopamine dressing has a lot of different definitions, not least of them wearing bright colors. But listen.. it doesn’t always need to include the brightest colors, but it can, if that’s what makes you happy!

And that is the heart of dopamine dressing my friends. Dressing to increase your serotonin! Dressing to feel good! Dopamine dressing is (or should) be wearing colors, items, materials, and clothes that make you feel good. Whatever that is.

A perfect example of dopamine dressing for me. A Local Woman taffeta dress, white bobby socks, my favorite Prada loafers. All of these items are my absolute favorites, and wearing them together feels like utter bliss.

Many of us instinctively dress for dopamine without the need for cultural zeitgeist. But two plus years into the pandemmy, it’s no wonder it’s garnering buzz. Our lives have shifted in profound ways, one of them being how and why we dress. Maybe it’s due to the fact that the usual “business casual” of pre-pandemic days are far behind us, and a WFH/hybrid lifestyle allows us to experiment with our personal style. Additionally, after wearing sweats for most of 2020, maybe some of us are feeling the need to redefine our wardrobes in ways we haven’t yet before.

Dopamine dressing is closely tied to color therapy. Remember mood rings, where a certain color of your finger represented a mood you must be feeling, or the notion that painting certain rooms of a home different colors can be helpful?

Some *very basic* principles of color therapy and its relation to mood:

Red has long been known to cause excitement, arousal.
Blue has been linked to creativity.
Green may make us feel powerful.
Orange has been linked to confidence and zest, boldness.

And the list goes on.

My Idea of Dopamine Dressing!

These are colors that I feel a true love for, and am always pulled towards.

#C1A7E2 is a newer love for me. Even as recently as two years ago, I did not like purple. At all. But I really like it now. I wish I didn’t sell my lilac purple Opening Ceremony wool sweater on Depop :-\
Sunny lime I’ve been digging over 2 years now. Peak dopamine.
Cornflower blue has always been my favorite color. 1/2 of my wardrobe is this color and I never get sick of it. It’s especially helpful when you have one major color in your wardrobe because it makes packing for a trip much easier!

But colors are not the only thing that make an impact on our moods. Materials do, too. My favorite materials include:

taffeta
organza
tulle
chiffon
silk
sequins (don’t own a lot but would like to!)
anything with embroidered beads (same for these guys)

When I was younger, I loved taking my mother’s see-through scarves and donning them around the house. Not much has changed between then and now as I still love these materials.

When I see the above list, I realize how most of these materials are super tactile and heavy and have a certain feel to them. No wonder! Sense of touch also has an impact on mood. This must be why I hate jeans 90% of the time.

Prints may make you happy, too! Whatever it be, put it on and feel the dopamine rush!