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Express Yourself: The Relationship Between Fashion and Mental Health
Fashion – we love it, we hate it, and we spend a lot of money on it. So, it comes as no surprise that this three trillion-dollar industry has an interesting relationship with mental health and wellbeing. Granted, fashion’s impact on mental health probably isn’t something you consider when you get dressed each day, but this doesn’t minimise the weight of the issue – which is more expansive than you might first think. With this in mind, today, we want to take a look at how fashion can impact our mental health, from how it can box us in and free us all at once. Behind the façade of fashion…
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Fashion and Mental Health: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Are you comfortable in your own clothes? I’m asking because the garments we wear CAN have an affect on our mental health in both positive and negative ways. Getting dressed in the morning: it’s a task everyone does daily, some more consciously than others. Whether that be getting dressed for work, choosing a ‘cute top and jeans’ for lunch with some friends or maybe dressing up with a pair of heels for dinner date in the evening. With each and every outfit we select (intentionally or unintentionally), we are communicating non-verbally to the outside world. What we wear is who we are! Fashion is a way for society to express…
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Battling Inner Demons: The Pressure of the Fashion Industry
Fashion culture is undoubtedly a test of stamina as much as it is of ability. It presents us with a glossy facade: the world of glamour. Occupations in fashion are hugely romanticised and the lifestyle is considered an illustrious fantasy. Yet, its focus on the superficial means that for those working in creative industries, their work is closely associated with identity and worth. Therefore, those with insecurities or vulnerabilities in regard to identity or value are at risk of experiencing life-encroaching anxiety. As a result of the competitiveness of the industry, little attention is paid to the issue of mental health for its employees. Fashion is notoriously crippling to the…
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Self-care is more than a face mask
Written by Shona Radcliffe // @shonaradcliffe Something that’s thrown around a lot nowadays is the notion of ‘self-care’. I’m sure you’ve seen the Twitter threads, the magazine articles and the Instagram stories of other people practising ‘self-care’, however this ritual is becoming more and more based on purchasing products under the illusion that they’re going to make you a better person, instead of actually building ourselves a better tomorrow. What we now consider to be self-care is actually a superficial, romanticised version of looking after ourselves, perpetuated by internet culture and the pressure to be constantly improving. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be working to change who we are,…
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Fast Fashion And Being Seen On Screen
Buy, snap, post, discard. Our consumer culture encourages incessant buying, and approval from peers via social media further incentivises our hunger for newness. For some of us it’s become the norm to be seen on screen only once wearing a new outfit. Fast fashion brands like ASOS and Pretty Little Thing have capitalised on this and their massive Instagram following is testament to their power. Buying in line with ultra-fast fashion trends has become the norm for some of us – after all, all our heroes are doing it, right? How many of us have watched our favourite influencers unveil their fashion ‘hauls’ – many of which cost hundreds of…
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Does Consumerism Really Make Us Happy?
Written by Chiara DellachàInstagram: @_slaveil_ // Web: https://slaveil.net Once upon a time people were proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities and sense of purpose. Once upon a time people looked for happiness in experiences, relationships and achievements. Some would even find it. Then consumerism happened. The sad truth is that consumerism has influenced us more than we think. Our consumer-self has become so powerful that it took over our human-self. ‘Uh-uh. No way. Sorry but I’m smarter than them, I don’t let advertising trick me into becoming a consumption-addict. I am a conscious buyer”. Then why is that whenever we’re faced with important social and political issues (like climate change, mental…
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Pressing Pause on Fashion
This year I’ve been travelling around and living abroad. As a result of having to live out of a suitcase, I’ve had to keep clothing purchases to a minimum. In fact, I actually went 6 months without making a new clothing purchase. In the fast fashion era we’re living in, going 6 months without a new purchase is quite unusual. I know many people can barely make it through a week without hitting the shops or the apps. It was definitely the longest I’d gone without buying new clothes. I was forced to live with the same limited amount of garments – about a quarter of my wardrobe. In there…
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Fashion: Body Image, Diversity and Mental Health
The fashion industry often comes under fire for lack of diversity, but are their statements of change anything more than empty promises? Thankfully, we now have more models of varying shapes, sizes and ethnicity but I still wouldn’t go as far as saying the fashion industry is inclusive. We have women such as supermodel Ashley Graham whose success is worldwide, and is really pushing the body positive moment but the sad truth is whenever we see “plus size” models doing well and landing big campaigns they are still blasted with a lot of hate. And it is clear that social media also has a huge impact on the fashion industry: for…
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Retail Therapy vs. Fashion Addiction
When we consider the euphoric highs and ever-increasing lows associated with addiction, is intoxicating ourselves with fashion really as harmless as we think? With her flowing silk scarf and ornate drop earrings, Rebecca Bloomwood sweeps into an upscale department store. Here, glossy mannequins tempt her with their plastic-perfect figures and designer outfits. Later on in the film, Confessions of a Shopaholic, we learn that Rebecca is deeply in debt. However, that doesn’t stop her from going full Wrestlemania at a sample sale where women engage in tugs-of-war over boots and dresses (an excellent way to infantilise women, but that’s another story for another time). From the saccharine, pastel-hued shopping spree in Enchanted, to Carrie Bradshaw’s reverence for shoes, retail therapy is a…
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Fake It ‘Til You Make It: Creating Confidence With Our Clothes
Stumbling into a 12th step recovery program at age twenty-seven, I “came to” rife with fear, guilt, shame. Self-confidence was in the gutter. I hadn’t lost much else as I hadn’t possessed the skills and mental health to achieve anything of value to lose. There wasn’t much in the way of a wardrobe. I waited tables and outside of that uniform, it was the grunge era. My clubbing outfits were sparse ensembles of plaid mini skirts, flannels, tank tops and Doc Marten boots. I plunged into the “stream of life”. Participating as a new (albeit raw) self-aware adult, I found the current – without any buffers or numbing agents – to…
