Why Fashion is my Therapy?

Fashion has progressed over time and that progression has definitely impacted us all. I don’t know about you guys but I feel like my own personal style has changed as well. Style, most commonly defined as the way we choose to dress is someone’s personal take on fashion and/or trends. Style is the choosing of clothing and accessories that holds a mirror up to the high street, the runway and also social media. For me? It’s a little deeper than that.

My style is a form of personal expression. It truly reflects who I am and how I’m feeling day to day. You probably also pick your outfits based on how you’re feeling inside on any particular day. So don’t get surprised if I tell you that it was scientifically proved that what you wear reflects your state of mind, your mood and your feelings about yourself. If your self-esteem is low, and especially if you’re not feeling good about your body or your appearance, you may be more likely to choose clothes that help you “hide,” or that don’t require you to put much effort into your presentation. Feeling more positive about yourself may lead to more flattering and noticeable outfits.

Years ago, I was that type of girl who hates her body. I wasn’t confident enough. I didn’t like who I was: I didn’t like the way I talked, the way I looked, the way I walked. I hated my smile, my nose, my hands, my height, my weight, my body…everything. Imagine how much hate I used to live with every day. I was plagued with negative thinking and self-doubt. I used to think I was the ugliest woman in the world. Then, I realized that living that way and hating myself was actually a choice, and I can change it since I wanted that change and I wanted to become happy. Since that, I have worked really hard on myself in order to love and accept who I am; and fashion had definitely helped me.

I like to use fashion as my therapy, to think of my style as my own personal therapy. It’s the way I choose to convey my feelings, both positive and negative, it’s a way in which I decide to introduce myself in certain situations and it’s a way in which I also dictate and transform my mood. Thanks to fashion, I get to express fully who I am through my clothes. They may be just clothes for some people but, for me, they are tools _ magical tools to tell your own personal story, share your creativity with the world and tell to people who you are without even saying a word.

In psychology, your choices in your closet can not only affect your feelings about yourself but also your mood. However, this idea can work in the other direction, too. Meaning changing your clothes could change your mood. Let me put it this way, wearing unflattering clothes may darken a bright happy mood. And wearing more flattering clothes will make you happy and boost your self-confidence. And that’s how Fashion helped me go from being shy to not afraid of being in the spotlight, from being insecure to giving the credit that I deserve, from feeling worthless to feeling fulfilled, confident and committed to make my dreams come true.

Thanks to fashion, I’ve learned to trust my feelings. That’s why I choose my daily outfits based on what I’m feeling that day. If I’m feeling sad, I try avoiding an impulse toward clothes that reflect that bad feeling. Instead, I reach for something that I would usually choose on a happy day. If I want to feel confident, I would probably reach for something that will flatter my body and some high-heels of course. Making an effort to treat myself to my happy clothes, regardless of a sad feeling, reminds me that I am worth the effort, and that I deserve to feel good in my clothes. Remember, I don’t rely on my clothes to make me feel confident because confidence is a feeling comes from within, from your inner-self. However, my clothes help a little bit to boost that feeling even more.

How do I define my style? I define it as Me, as Nada Nour. This is who I am. Some days I can dress super casual, others I can wear something very classy and artsy. So my style is definitely a mixture of all those styles combined together to create something that represents who I am. My style is relatively my soul. I feel I put an emphasis on versatile tailoring, on pieces that have longevity in my wardrobe and on brands I have a passion for. Sprinkle in the occasional trend piece that captures my heart and a bold choice of color here and there, and I feel like that’s my style. But there’s something that dictates my style far more than trends and dress codes – how I’m feeling and how I want to feel.

Equally I utilize my style and fashion as my own form of self-love and self-care. Trust me; I’m not crazy for saying that (or maybe I am lol). Because just as taking the time to pamper myself with my favorite products, taking some me time away from social media and organizing my life lifts my mood, so does switching up my look. It’s not that fashion helps me to fake how I’m feeling but it most certainly offers a different perspective for me and the opportunity to focus on something I’m so passionate about. Investing a little time and a little love into my outfit choice, truly feels like therapy to me. It’s therapeutic to create and to style and to dress myself in the clothes that others have already poured that design and passion into themselves.

Style is truly anything you would like it to be. Allow your mind to run wild with fashion and transform how you feel or equally let it comfort you when you feel you need it most. Style can be exciting, calming, passionate, muted, vibrant, edgy, classic, fashion forward or even all of the above all at once. Style is there to be embraced however you want to and should be fun to embrace.

I’d love to know if you are like me and you reflect yourself, your surroundings and your mood in your clothes and style. Let me know what you think?