How does your personality influence style choices. How does psychology impact on everything from how clothing communicates to how you shop.
The Psychology of Dressing “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” It’s one of those phrases that’s been repeated so often it’s lost most of its meaning, filed away with other bits of advice nobody quite believes any more. Which is a shame, because there’s genuine psychology behind it, and it’s…
You know the outfit. The jeans that always fit, the tee or jumper that goes with everything, the one you reach for without properly looking at it because your hand already knows where it lives in the wardrobe. On the mornings you’re rushed, tired or simply not up for a decision, it feels like the…
“I just don’t have a creative bone in my body when it comes to clothes.” I hear some version of this constantly, usually from women who are clever, capable and creative in every other part of their life. They’ll happily design and plant a gorgeous garden, talk someone through a complicated work problem, or throw…
Ask most women what counts as “being creative”, and you’ll get the same short list. Painting. Writing. Playing Music. Maybe baking, if we’re being generous. Getting dressed doesn’t make the cut. It sits filed away under admin or as a daily chore, somewhere between unloading the dishwasher and replying to emails you’ve been avoiding. I’d…
The Real Reason You Keep Buying Clothes You Never Wear Open your wardrobe right now. Somewhere in there is a top you loved in the shop and have worn twice. A jacket that seemed like a great idea and now just takes up hanger space. Maybe a dress with the tags still on, because the…
It Was Never the Purchase in the Bag. It Was the Choosing. Here’s a small mystery worth sitting with. You’ve had a rotten day, you’re feeling down. You go shopping, and you feel better. We all know this happens, and most of us are faintly embarrassed by it, because the obvious explanation is a bit…
You Bought It for a Woman Who Doesn’t Exist Yet Go and open your wardrobe. Not metaphorically, actually go and look. Somewhere in there, I’d put money on it, is a garment with the tags still on or never worn. Something a size down from where you are. Something for the gallery opening you don’t…
The Sale Price Is a Comparison, Not a Saving Here is a sentence that has cost women more money than almost any other: “but it was reduced from $120.” We say it to ourselves in the shop. We say it to our partners at home. We say it, a little defensively, when someone admires the…
If You’re a Shopaholic With “Nothing to Wear.” Here’s What’s Actually Going On. “I’m a shopaholic, yet I feel like I have nothing to wear, and it gives me anxiety because I have too much stuff.” This was emailed to me by one of my lovely readers. If that sentence made you wince a little…
