The Importance Owning Your Personal Style Has on Cognitive Health and Self-Love.

Fashion + Self-Love Party, Day 8.
Guest post by Alice Allen from A Lot on Your Mind.

A quick introduction – I’m Alice, author of ‘A Lot on Your Mind’. I run a primarily Psychology blog so this is my first ever post delving into the world of fashion. And what a better way to do it by teaming up with 13 other wonderful bloggers to spread positive vibes! 

I hope you’re all enjoying the party so far. Please go check out the previous week’s posts too for some more inspiration! A MASSIVE thank you to Alissa who came up with this innovative idea of the first fashion virtual blog party. She is always so friendly and hard-working, and posts amazing content! We can’t appreciate you enough, Alissa, thank you for bringing everyone together.

What’s even greater is that you, yes you – our lovely readers, will benefit from this too. From reading some empowering perspectives from 14 bloggers, to getting the chance to win some truly special giveaways, and taking part in fun games – what’s not to like?

So let’s bring it back to what this party is all about: 

SELF-LOVE.

We should strive to make this the heart of us, the most important journey we can all embark on. Put yourself first for once. Take some time to appreciate the real you. What we all tend to forget about is the importance of loving ourselves. This is not emphasised enough in society – but it certainly should be! We are all amazing, unique individuals – “no-one is you and that is your power”. First and foremost this Valentine’s Day we also need to give ourselves some love and care.

I truly believe that part of loving yourself is embracing who you are – the authentic you. And expressing yourself can be so empowering. Fashion is a great means of doing this and can give you a confidence of feeling great in what you wear. After all, fashion encapsulates more than just appearance. However…

“Fashion says ‘me too’ and style, ‘only me’.”

Let’s embrace our individuality and take pride in our personal style. Our sense of self is reflected in the clothes we wear. What you wear is an extension of yourself, a snippet of your personality…SO LET’S OWN THIS. It’s time to place importance on accepting yourself, being comfortable in your own skin, shining bright, and feeling legitimately happy through dressing for you and loving the clothes you’re wearing.

There are many benefits to this. If you feel good about the way you look, you are more likely to portray a better attitude, be more focussed, and complete tasks with more precision. You will feel more confident, happier, and motivated.

Two psychologists, Hajo and Galinksy (2012), coined the term ‘enclothed cognition’ which argues that your style reflects and affects your mood, health, and overall confidence. If our clothes affect our mood, why don’t we use clothes to lift our mood, and above all, be happier in ourselves. Fashion is more than just caring about what message you’re sending to others, it’s about fundamentally feeling great about yourself. So, dress up for you and you only – give yourself that freedom of wearing what you want and what makes you happy.

Here are some tips to owning your personal style:

1. Your personal style is a great opportunity for self-discovery. And this can be so enlightening. Celebrate your life and yourself, make this an exciting experience! Be guided by your intuition, or find inspiration first to find out what you like or dislike. I’m always scrolling through Pinterest and saving things to my ‘Style’ board! It’s a great way to figure out your style. Experiment with different colours, textures, patterns, accessories. Have fun with it!
2. You don’t have to be a slave to fashion. Your favourite clothes are timeless because they make you happy. Something that makes you feel beautiful and confident will never go out of style!
3. Don’t be afraid to be different – think about what influenced you to buy that particular outfit. Dress for yourself, and wear what you want to wear. Don’t be too afraid to wear something due to what others might think – be yourself and be true to yourself.
4. Self-love can come from choosing outfits you would not typically wear but would LOVE to. Sometimes it may be hard to step out of your comfort zone, but if you really want to try a different style – go for it! If it doesn’t work out, you have still discovered what fits your personality and what doesn’t.
5. Maybe you can develop a fashion trademark! Find some elements that encapsulate who you are. Whether that is always wearing some sentimental jewellery, quirky prints, certain colours, vintage handbags, brightly coloured socks – anything you want. Own it because it’s part of you!

Of course, fashion is just one form of self-love. But if you allow it, it can be a brilliant way of giving you confidence and a step on the right road to embracing yourself. Practice giving yourself some love and care. You are your highest priority. Be your own inspiration, and truly embrace everything that makes up who you are. After all…

Thank you so much for reading. And don’t forget to check out the other hosts and keep following this party for more awesome content.

– Alice 🙂

–Guest post by Alice Allen.
Alice writes the blog A Lot on Your Mind.
You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

What is your favorite thing about your personal style?

Tell us in the comments!

Recommended Posts Written by Alice:

Trait Theories of Personality.

Consciousness in Philosophy and Neuroscience.