Fashion is a genuine form of self-expression rather than a performance
Dressing for fashion culture, especially for women, is implicitly (or one would say explicitly) shaped by the way one will be seen by others—particularly, by the male gaze. But what if we, women, change the way that is seen? What if clothing did not define who we are, but is seen as an act of self-recognition, freedom, and personal identity rather than performing for someone else’s approval? I feel that women have become a prop to men and we must do everything in our power to contend to that, but that is quite wrong. Women are allowed to express themselves however they would like to. We must dress in confidence.
Fashion is more than just a piece of fabric, it is psychology. The clothes that we wear can communicate our mood, values, and self-preception before we even say a word. As Psychologist World explains, “The clothes we wear send powerful signals to our peers and strangers, projecting the self image of us that we want to display.” Clothing becomes a visual language for our identity. It should not be how people perceive us. The important thing is how comfortable we are in our skin. Clothes that we can feel confident and relaxed in help with that comfort.
“Fashion Is Psychology” elaborates that “When it comes to the fascinating and intricate subject of clothing choice, psychology plays a vital part,” which notes that the clothes we wear can shift our mindset, a concept called enclothed cognition: “the symbolic significance of clothes affects our cognitive functions.” For example, when we wear formal attire, it can shift our mindset and encourage creativity and more intellectual thought.
This further represents that what we wear does not just change the way others see us, it impacts the way we think, feel, and act in ourselves. When we choose outfits that align with our internal beings rather than the external validation, fashion becomes another extension of self-knowledge in representing ourselves.
Finding Yourself Through Self Confidence
The idea of the male gaze, coined by film theorist Laura Mulvey, describes the way women are often viewed through the lens of the heterosexual male desire. That same dynamic extends into the fashion culture as it influences everything from advertisements to the way people feel about their own reflection. When the focus of what we wear shifts from how I feel to how I will be seen, clothing then becomes a tool of surveillance rather than a way to self-express.
Psychologist World discusses that appearance is often used to impress or manipulate social perception as they write that “males were found to try to impress their dates by emphasizing the security that they could offer the partner…women, however, were deceptive with regards to their body image, exaggerating physical features in an effort to appear more attractive to their date” (Benz et al, 2005). This dynamic represents how the gaze conditions people to view their bodies more as objects than as an extension of their identity. Dressing for yourself challenges that cycle as it asks, what if the only person I ever need to impress was me?
Science confirms what our intuition already suggests: how you dress affects the way you feel. That is why putting on a well-fitted blazer before a presentation or putting on your favorite pair of sweatpants can instantly shift your mood. Wearing something that represents confidence can make you feel confident. Our wardrobes are a representation of our social scripts, but they can be rewritten. Choosing clothes based on comfort, color, mood, etc, rather than any expectations allows you to redefine what confidence looks like for you.
Finding Self-Acceptance Through Personal Style
Dressing for yourself is not just about self-esteem, it is about social change. When we reject the societal gaze and embrace our own self-defined style, we chip away at the systems that profit off of conformity and insecurities. It also expands on what fashion can mean. When more people dress for their own comfort, it gives them more power to themselves, making them more inclusive and diverse from the world around them.
Of course, dressing purely for yourself is not always the easiest. Media pressure and body standards constantly reinforce the idea that beauty equals worth. Access to inclusive clothing still remains unequal and even when we try to dress for ourselves, the internalized gaze still lingers. Our own influence and the media around us is the first step to loosening our grip on society and losing the internalized gaze.
So tomorrow, when you open your closet, ask yourself: Who am I dressing for?
And let that answer be myself.