Dress Up to Beat the Blues

When you are feeling low, pull out that magenta jacket and the yellow scarf, says our Style editor, Gwendolyn Kou.

We all have days when we want to just lie in bed and not do a thing, let alone dress up. Sexy models stare at you from glossy magazines making you wonder if you could fit into that sexy silhouette. Looks great, but not worth the effort you think as you dash for work in your oversized blouse/t-shirt/shirt. Same old shoes, same old jeans, and same old YOU!! I am not going to tell you to that you need to look for higher meaning in life or that something’s wrong with you. What I am proposing is to do exactly what you don’t want to do on your worst days: DRESS UP!! 

When those blues hit us, some of us might take a day or two to recover; some of us take months or even years. Nearly all of us tend to do some soul searching. But, in all those tough self-analyzing and soul-searching lessons, we somehow miss the most important lesson: taking control of our moods. It’s not only what you feel inside out but also what you feel outside in. 

You may or may not agree with me. Nevertheless, try this little exercise the next time you feel like shutting the world out. Pull out your best silhouette, wear your best shoes, do your hair the best you can, wear a little make-up (or not) and go grocery shopping. You’ll see how it changes your mood. Why not wear your best clothes for small errands? What are you keeping them for? Wearing your special clothes once or twice a year is pointless. You spend a huge amount on a dress you really love and then wait endlessly for that “right” occasion to flaunt it, at an office party maybe or a wedding. By then that style is already ancient and you have to face looks that say, “get with the 90s, sister”. Why wait to feel special to wear something special, I say? You are special every single day. It’s how you handle your moods that allows you to determine your perspective and what you wear plays a huge role. 

And that doesn’t necessarily mean that when you dress up you must go out. No, you can dress up and lounge around your home. Watch TV, read a book, clean the house, cook, do whatever it is that you do when you are home. Okay so you spill something on your precious buys. So what? Why should you wait to feel gorgeous once or twice a year? You only need your approval on what works for you. The idea is to wear clothes that lift your spirits and turn your mood around. So why not go crazy with colors? I did. I wore bright purple jeans with a bright magenta shirt and a yellow floral printed jacket. I couldn’t care less what people thought or did not. I think it’s the confidence with which you wear such wild colors that actually turns them in your favor. So go ahead ladies, go wild or go glam as long as you dress up when you’re down nothing will ever get you down!