Is your mood dictating the colour of your clothes?
The roles that colours play in our lives are bigger than you’d imagine, and this applies notably in the fashion and modelling industry.
Models are regularly asked to wear clothes that fit in with a designer’s collection, so this offers little relevance in the model’s choice. However when clothes shopping or deciding what to wear on any given day, the choice of colour is often attributed to how you might be feeling…Models Direct take a look at what your colour choices may say about you…..
This so-called “colour psychology” is observed throughout the world, and it’s often overlooked as the reason why some colours are preferable to others – depending on your mood, of course.
Before we look specifically at mood-controlling colours, think about how you might choose a particular shade or design in everyday life. Vertical stripes on clothes are often flattering, as the observer’s eye sweeps up and down, rather than across, thus creating a slimming effect. Pale and neutral colours are regularly used on walls to create the illusion of more space – next time you see an average-sized room decorated with dark wallpaper, consider how small it feels. If you entered a similar-sized room with lighter colours, it’d feel so much larger.
In marketing, colours are vital. After all, customers usually make a quick decision – sometimes in seconds – based purely on the product’s chief colour. A good example is the logo used by Premier Inn, which first operated as Travel Inn. They adopted the named “Premier” to represent being at the forefront of hotel chains. And their colour? They chose purple, which has apparent connections to sophistication and importance (it’s closely linked to royalty, with the Imperial State Crown adopting the same colour).
Flick through a decorating / painting brochure, and there’ll be literally hundreds of shades. The paint industry is huge, but not as considerable as the fashion business, and this is where your mood can affect your decisions.
We all know that black symbolises sadness (e.g. funerals), but it can also denote style and merit (e.g. business suits). When you “intentionally” select a black dress or shirt, it could be due to unhappiness – or maybe you want to feel stylish, even in your own home.
Red is a dominant, vibrant colour, associated with romance (or dare we say it…lust!), warmth and power. Selecting a red skirt or just even a red tie could mean you’re feeling confident, authoritative or sexy, and your choice might be made even before you decided; the human brain is a complex organ!
Picked out a blue shirt recently? You were probably relaxed and feeling happy – quite the opposite of the term “feeling blue”. Orange is warm (too bright and it may come across as outlandish), but it doesn’t reflect the intensity or ferocity of red. Yellow is a friendly colour and chances are you’re in a good mood with hopeful feelings (or just plain crazy if going for a yellow three-piece or “onesie”!) Though green is associated with health and envy, it can also indicate wellbeing, as it’s a lively colour with vivacious connotations. White is perhaps the most universal colour, and seldom doesn’t feel inappropriate, though the likelihood is that you’re feeling positive and confident (that it’s stain-free…)
So, whether window-shopping, choosing an attire for an event, or just lounging at home, your frame of mind may possibly be dictating the colour of your clothes. In fact, your clothes selection could be anything but black-and-white.
