Is wearing colour good for your wellbeing?
- Charlotte Garbutt
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Recently, I got to meet one of my favourite contemporary crime writers, Elly Griffiths. Before she said anything else to me, she admired the colour of my coat! Prior to entering the Merchant Adventurers' Hall in York for the talk, my friend had recognised me from a distance because of my apple-green coat. But can colour do anything for us other than prompting compliments from writers, and making us stand out on a dark, wet evening? You may have heard of dopamine dressing. Dopamine is colloquially known as the feel-good hormone, as it's the hormone released when we experience something enjoyable. Dopamine dressing is the term given to dressing to boost our mood, confidence and sense of joy, often associated with wearing bolder or brighter colours. The following blog post takes a peek at six colours, their psychological associations and the moods or feelings each induces.
Green
Whilst the colour green isn't the colour we most commonly associate with happiness, it has its own feel-good properties. Green is of course linked to the environment, but it's associations are broader than sustainability or even politics. Green is the colour of wellbeing, renewal, growth and regrowth and of healing. Going out into green spaces and bringing plants into our indoor spaces have been shown to be good for physical and mental health. Because of its position on the light spectrum, wearing this colour from nature can also help us feel calm. It can be a good colour for de-stressing, for use by wellbeing practitioners and those seeking a fresh start.
The Irish will tell you it's the colour of good luck as you'll be invisible to leprechauns when wearing it!
Blue
As a cool colour, blue is sometimes associated with sadness - that sense of 'feeling blue'. Blue is a calming, reassuring colour: if we were exposed to considerable amounts of blue, it could reduce our blood pressure. Blue can often giving those wearing it the appearance of trustworthiness, professionalism and even authority. It's a great colour for relaxation as well as for job interviews and any time we want to invite trust. As I'll have mentioned before, it's a favourite the world over - seen from our denims to our corporate pinstripes.
Red
Ignoring associations with danger and aggression, wearing red can be a useful mood booster. Wearing red can give us energy as it's a colour that can increase blood pressure and metabolism. Studies also suggest that seeing red can make our physical reactions quicker and give us a short-term physical strength boost. Although seeing red before a test isn't advisable as some studies suggest it can negatively affect performance, wearing red is energising when you want to feel and look confident and ahead of giving a speech or talk.
Yellow
Yellow is a warm colour, meaning any colour that has more yellow in it than it has blue, will also be a warmer version of that colour. We see sunshine as yellow and use language which suggests positivity and happiness, such as having a sunny disposition. SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is a form of clinical depression suffered during the winter months when the body has limited exposure to daylight. Owing to its links with sunshine, it's not surprising that we associate yellow with joy, vitality and positivity. Believed to influence the left side of the brain, yellow is thought to act as a mental stimulant - ideal for encouraging creativity and communication. So green may be the colour of wellbeing, but yellow is the colour of happiness.
It's a shame therefore that people often shy away from wearing yellow, believing that it doesn't suit them or that it's too bright. Because of its proximity to the colour of many of our natural skin tones, yellows from the 'wrong' seasonal colour palette can, I admit, make us look sallow, jaundiced and unwell. The 'right' yellows, however, will give us a healthy warmth and our complexion a 'lift'.
Orange
A couple of years ago, I went to the first meeting of a new networking group. None of us had met previously but we'd shared our professions on Facebook ahead of the meeting. Apparently, as I was approaching, wearing an orange knitted midi dress and orange coat, the others identified me as the personal stylist! I had deliberately worn orange as the colour of confidence - a colour to make you feel more confident and to give the impression you're confident.
A blend of red and yellow, orange has the energy and power of red, combined with the joy and creativity of yellow. Orange is a beneficial colour to wear (or to decorate with) when you're feeling sad or need to be motivated to take action with a new project.
A warm colour, orange is more suited to those with a warmer skin tone, but orange will complement an outfit in cooler shades, so can it be incorporated into your look without you needing to wear it closest to your face.
Brown
The last colour I'm focusing on that might be good for your mood is brown. Brown shares warmth in common with its brighter siblings orange and yellow, but has the more grounding associations of green and blue. Like green, we associate brown with nature, giving it associations with dependability, calm, stability, comfort and safety. Wearing brown can therefore make you look approachable, warm and dependable. If this sounds boring, as brown suits many people (especially as we age) more than black, brown can be a sophisticated - even edgy - alternative to black. Pairing browns with other colours, or tonally with other shades of brown or with prints and patterns stops a brown outfit looking dull or conservative.
And finally....
If you needed any other hint that wearing colour can boost your mood, the Swedish word färgglad, meaning colourful, literally means colour happy!
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