dopamine dressing

English

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Etymology

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Coined by American fashion psychologist Dawnn Karen in 2020.

Noun

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dopamine dressing (uncountable)

  1. The act of wearing clothing or accessories that elicit positive emotions and boost the wearer's mood.
    • 2022, Shakaila Forbes-Bell, Big Dress Energy: How Fashion Psychology Can Transform Your Wardrobe and Your Confidence, Little, Brown Book Group, page 111:
      When people think of wearapy, dopamine-dressing is often the first thing that comes to mind because it provides psychological grounding to the ‘look good, feel good’ concept.
    • 2023, Erica Davies, Style Chapters: Practical dressing for every life stage, Hodder & Stoughton, page RA1-PA7:
      And the phrase ‘dopamine dressing’ has become a popular fashion phrase to describe clothes that make us feel happy. The dopamine part comes from the idea that wearing something happy gives you a rush, which is linked to the chemical dopamine released in the brain.
    • 2023, Nick Trenton, The Anxiety Cure: 37 Science-Based (5-Minute) Methods to Beat Back the Blues, Stay Positive, and Finally Relax, [self-published], page 112:
      Psychologist and coach Elizabeth Lombardo explains that “dopamine dressing” is not about specific colors or styles making us happier; rather, it’s about optimizing the associations we personally make with the clothing we wear.

See also

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