We are what we wear! The rational ones might say that clothes are mere pieces of fabric worn as a garment. However, in the expert opinion, the clothes one wears have a drastic effect on our mood. We all have clothes that we love, which make us feel good about ourselves and everything around us. And the confidence that comes with the knowledge that you are looking good makes you perform much better in your personal and professional life. According to recent research, women tend to attach emotions to their clothes and only choose to wear the ones that make them feel great and look good.

How Clothes Affect Your Mood

Research indicates that apart from wearing clothes to lift our mood, we humans also use clothes to improve or mask emotions. We are naive enough to believe in a piece of clothing to get us through that critical job interview and stupid enough to declare the same cloth non-wearable if something goes wrong.

How your Mood Affects your Clothes

Not only your clothes affect your mood, but it’s the other way round too. Your emotional state plays a defining role in your choice of the outfit each day. Whether you wake up feeling ready to conquer the world or the world around you falling into a black hole, the clothes you will pick out for the day are a direct reflection of your mood, even if you are only subconsciously aware of it as you choose very sincerely from your closet. "Clothing not only influences others, but it also reflects and affects the wearer's mood," Dr Karen Pine, from the University of Hertfordshire, said during a study in 2012 that examined the links between women's moods and what they wore. A lot of women felt they could alter their mood by changing what they wore.

Psychologists aside, there’s another occupation that’s very much aware of the connection between our mind and the clothes we wear: Costume Designers. They design apparel that complements the message an author or director is working toward, acting like a real hint for something that’s brewing inside a character’s head. If you feel like your life is a living hell, you want to wrap yourself in a cosy, warm, old sweater and if your current mood is a sad happy-hour-can't-come-soon-enough? You wish to shed heavy clothes and strip away the pain. Sounds logical, doesn’t it?

Let’s take five universal emotions and observe how they affect our sartorial choices. After reading this, you would be able to tell precisely how every girl in the room is feeling just after a glance.

 Mood: Frustrated

Throwing away physical reminders of a bad day—clothes included—is common. Some Australian researchers found that people always avoid re-wearing anything they had worn during a hard situation. Suppose, if they go on a date and it doesn’t go well, they want to channel the negative feelings towards a thing rather than themselves. Even if you aren’t a cloth-shamer, you must have felt this strong urge to tweak your appearance after a frustratingly hard day. Changing out of your work outfit the moment you reach home into something comfortable is noteworthy. Sitting through tormenting meeting in a green dress might result in a home-coming grey sweatshirt; an extra-roomy pair of boyfriend jeans can replace tailored trousers.

Mood: Confident

When you are feeling confident, you will want to put on something fierce. A girl in a well-fitted black dress tells the world that she is not messing around and is here to talk business. A dress that enhances one’s body is valued not only because of the confidence it provides the wearer but also because the trust and admiration these garments bring are assessed long after it has ceased to be worn. Proper fitting clothes make you feel the truest, most reliable version of yourself.

Mood: Nervous

Got a significant exam next week? Know your stuff, up and down but consider giving a thought to what you are wearing on the D-day too. Putting on formal clothes makes people feel powerful, as pointed out by research that says our clothes affect the way our brain operates (namely, that we focus on real stuff rather than sweating the small stuff). On the other hand, casual clothes signify a comfortable, intimate environment —nice, but not always very suitable for being on our A-game. The classification of formals and casuals vary from person to person, but the traditional definition tilts towards sharp blazers, tailored trousers, classic pencil skirts and stilettos.

Mood: Tired

When tired and worn out, choosing an outfit is equivalent to running a marathon. Mostly you prefer a uniform, removing having to take another decision that day. Whether it's jeans, a sweater and boots, it’s the one that requires zero thought.

Mood: Happy

When you're on a higher note, you naturally gravitate toward bold looks. Everyone's definition will vary, but "happy clothes" are typically flattering, well made, and in bright colours. It's also commonplace to see a feel-good feeling result in a surge of fashion experimentation.