Three things to wear when you need to boost your confidence

Here’s a clue, it’s not your old jogging bottoms!

The clothes you wear have a direct effect on your mood. That’s a fact that has been scientifically proven and, before you ask, not by me dressed up in a white coat asking random strangers leading questions – the less said about my school statistics project the better! It is genuine research done by real scientists and they even have a name for it, ‘enclothed cognition’.

We all have days when we wake up feeling ‘meh’ and when we do, we usually reach for clothes that are well inside our comfort zone. For me, this is wearing dark baggy clothes that hide me away and a parka with a hood so big I keep bumping into things. This does nothing to improve my mood and in fact, makes me grumpier. This is fine on a day when you are able to go back under the duvet but when it’s a day you need to be confident and visible it can leave you feeling out of sorts. The simple act of choosing the right outfit will lift your mood and is a short cut to boosting your confidence.

Read on for my three top tips on how you can create an outfit that gives you confidence:-

1. Wear your best dress…shoes, skirts, trousers, necklace or all of the above! It’s hard to stay in a bad mood when you’re wearing something you love. There is no point ‘saving’ styles you love for best as this usually means you end up never wearing them. Sequins to the office, why not? An ‘evening’ dress could work for the daytime if you wear it with a sweater and boots. If I had a pound for every ‘best’ item I’ve seen in a wardrobe that’s never been worn, I’d be rich! So wear your best when you need it, don’t save it for a day that never comes.

2. Shift out of your comfort zone – we all have a comfort zone of tried and tested styles and there is nothing wrong with that per se. I’m not about to tell you to dress like Zandra Rhodes and I’ve no intention of getting rid of my big hooded parka. However, when we wear clothes that shift us out of our usual status quo it also has a positive effect on our mood. When I’m shopping with a client there is always the first moment they try on an item they wouldn’t usually wear. They find this a challenge at first and the initial reaction is a screwed up face but after a little time to adjust these pieces end up becoming wardrobe favourites. Have a look in your wardrobe and see if there is anything you haven’t been brave enough to wear and put this on. If you haven’t got anything in your wardrobe, challenge yourself to buy something different the next time you go shopping.

3. Use accessories too add the finishing touch – I know Coco Chanel said we should take something off before we leave the house but in my experience most of us need to add something. I meet many people who are not quite sure how to accessorise effectively and so don’t bother. My advice would be to choose your ‘thing’ whether that is a necklace, scarf or earrings etc and have these pieces to hand when getting dressed. You’ll never wear them if they are in a tangled pile in the bottom drawer. Put them somewhere accessible and you’ll be more likely give them a try. They really can change an okay outfit to a fabulous one.

If you would like to achieve a confidence boosting wardrobe without the stress of finding it yourself, I would love to help. Drop me an email on sally@queenbeestyling.com or arrange a free consultation call to find out how.