What you wear is based on science

What we buy, why we wear and so much more

Have you ever automatically gravitated towards a group of individuals dressed like you in an unfamiliar room? Have you caught yourself eyeing the same styles as a friend you spend a lot of time with? Have you noticed that your wardrobe can sometimes mirror the content of your Instagram feed? If you’ve experienced more than one of the above scenarios, you’ll take comfort in knowing it’s no coincidence. There’s a science behind fashion that questions whether it's commonly-used definition of being a form of self-expression is, perhaps, too simplistic. So, to better understand why we wear what we wear, The Established reached out to mental health experts, designers as well as industry insiders and here’s what we found.

Fashion and fitting in

What Anna Delvey and Simon Leviev—the protagonists of Netflix’s headline-making titles—had in common besides spectacular people management skills and a love for money, was the ability to use fashion to fit in. While Delvey made her way into Manhattan’s elite circles sporting Celine sunglasses and clutching the season’s It bags, Leviev charmed women by wearing logo-laden jumpers and fancy watches. Binge-watching both their stories left me wondering if our wardrobe is, in fact, a way of saying ‘I belong’? “Fashion is frequently used to fit into a social group you aspire to be in. For example, one may want to wear better clothes at a place where they aren’t friends with a lot of people. If they look good, they feel someone there is likely to consider them as an equal,” says psychotherapist Binita Modi. This need to be included, according to Malini Krishnan, a psychologist and counselor at Inner Space counseling, is best looked at through the lens of exclusion. “Something branded as ‘cool’, gives the notion that owning it will lead to more social inclusion. Not owning it, on the other hand, might lead to exclusion. If one has subconsciously gotten habituated to turning to the latest trends to feel socially confident, a lack of fashion can lead to the fear of being left out,” she says.

Fashion and familiarity

Dressing alike, however, for some is not fueled by a desire to fit in or chase trends but by a shared experience. “People end up dressing the same because they are reacting to the same stimuli. It’s not herd mentality but a group reaction to something that leads them to choose a certain kind of clothing. If people want to wear track bottoms out more and more, it’s because they’ve gotten used to comfort,” says Nonita Kalra, editor-in-chief at Tata Cliq Luxury. Fashion, she believes, fosters familiarity. “It communicates without us having to speak that we have the same values, the same ethos, we react in the same way to the same stresses. It can, in a strange way, lead to a certain stability or peace. The uniformity of fashion also leads to a sense of security,” she says. Nishtha Bhatt, a mental health professional at The Akanksha Foundation, shares a similar point of view. “When I first meet someone, I look for similarities. If I see a colleague dressed in kaftans or ethnic prints, I automatically feel connected to them,” she says, citing clothing as a source of comfort and connection.

The influence of social media

While the link between the company we keep in real life and our wardrobe is evident, what about our virtual company? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an influencer as “one who exerts influence:a person who inspires or guides the actions of others.” So, as we spend more time speedily scrolling through feeds flooded with content from people whose job is, quite literally, to influence our choices, it comes as no surprise that our shopping carts are often shaped by who we follow as opposed to our personal preferences. “If one is vulnerable, what one sees on social media can become a yardstick of how approved one feels. It can put one on a ‘dress to impress’ spree and inhibit the connection to one’s gut sense,” says Krishnan.

For clothes maker Kallol Datta, there are two sides to this story. “Social media does drive everyone to look similar, clones if you will. At the same time, it’s where you may come across newer, independent labels that produce interesting, small-batch products which help amplify one’s sense of style,” he says. Bhatt agrees that social media can inspire and confuse in equal measure. “One can get a little lost and lean towards what looks trendy instead of what they feel comfortable in. Having said that, what we see on influencers can help us identify our comfort zone, and this can then help discover our natural sense of style,” she says. But, like much else, social media, at the end of the day, is what we choose to make of it. “Before social media, it was fashion magazines, after this it will be something else. There will always be imagery that tells you what you should be—because capitalism depends on it. If you’re aware of that, social media can be a tool that’s inspiring. It can open you up to a global audience of so many individuals who are unique. This allows for so much play and for appreciation of diversity,” says Shyma Shetty, co-founder of Huemn.

Fashion and feeling good

Speaking of diversity, it was displayed in more ways than one during the pandemic. Some of us were quick to adapt to the ease of elasticated waistbands but some of us turned to dressing up—feeling put together when things were constantly changing, gave us a sense of control and certainty. This was when we saw an increasing number of posts captioned ‘quarantine but make it fabulous’ and the addition of Crayola colours to the collections of countless designers. Karuna Laungani, one-half of the duo behind Jodi, attests to the positive impact certain clothes can have on its wearer. “At Jodi, we are about dopamine dressing—we want our clothes to bring joy through colour and print. When someone puts on a dress from us, the idea is for them to feel confident, comfortable and absolutely fantastic in it,” says Laungani, whose label has long understood the correlation between happy hues and happy moods.

For Kalra, the last two years have helped in bringing our personal style to the fore. “The pandemic has made us question why we even need that ‘It’ bag. We’re no longer looking at it the way magazines told us to. We’re wearing what we want to and using what we want to. The renaissance in personal style is coming now—we’ve pulled out old things from our wardrobe and discovered they have a new beginning in our lives. We’re going to see personal style emerge as more important than seasonal fashion,” she says, pointing towards a brighter future. One where we view fashion as a way to showcase stories over status, freedom over facades and personality over power.

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