As a personal stylist, I’ve come to realize that a lot of my job is psychology-based (I don’t care what anyone says, stylists are psychologists too). As I work with clients, a lot of their hurdles involve wanting to feel a certain way when they put on clothes but they don’t have the tools to achieve the feelings they desire. Just like in branding and marketing, color plays a HUGE part in how we feel when we get dressed, and can even be used as a mood booster and confidence changer! Let’s explore how different colors make us feel in clothing and apparel:

1. Red

When we wear red, the mood we’re trying to give off is dominance, sexy, vibrant, sultry, love, & intensity. For a client you have that may be going through a depressive state, or a sad moment in their life (i.e. a breakup) – encouraging them to wear red can help change their mood.

2. Pink

When we wear pink, we exude daintiness, love, compassion, softness, and understanding. This can obviously vary between wearing hot pink that’s very vibrant and bright, seen as a pop color, versus wearing light pink that’s very muted and soft. Pink is a great color to have your clients wear if they’re trying to update their wardrobe for the Spring & Summer seasons.

3. Yellow

Yellow means bright, cheerful, sunny, open, and young. Suggest this color to clients who want and are seeking to attract attention. This is also a great color when going to an interview as it gives off the impression of rational thinking, strength, and self-confidence.

4. Blue

Different shades of blue can mean cool, calm, quiet, & serene like the ocean – but can also resemble loyalty and trust – and encourages decision making, understanding, wisdom, and responsibility.

5. Black

Black, hands down being one of my favorite colors, is a great color to have in your closet as a true staple color. Black can be used as a slimming technique. Black represents power, dominance, and authority. It’s classically known for meaning dark in regard to EMO and alternative trends – and can also represent elegance and timelessness.

6. Green

Green is the universal color of nature, but depending on the value of the green can vary. If you have a soft or even neon green, that can mean refreshing and vibrant, versus a muted green can mean serious.

7. White

White – being my second favorite color – is a blank slate, and essentially can be molded to mean whatever you want it to. For me, white can me anything from clean, pure, innocent, to classic. I use white as a slimming technique myself as you can see, and it’s a MUST color in your Spring & Summer wardrobes.

8. Brown

Brown is a staple for your Fall wardrobe as it’s another color that relates to nature and the earthiness of the season. Brown means strength and reliability, but for me, as a Black woman, it’s just a beautiful color. I absolutely love brown and nude tones on all shades of brown women, it just shows how beautiful our melanin is. For myself, I use brown in a lot of my luxe loungewear. So on a day when I want to relax and feel cozy and soft, I will definitely resort to some shade of brown.

9. Orange

Orange is a color that I am slowly but surely trying to incorporate more into my personal color palette. I’ve noticed that orange is a color that a lot of people love on me because of how it works with my skin tone and the gold in the jewelry and makeup that I always wear. Orange resembles vibrancy, full of energy, and creativeness. It’s a great color for Summer because it’s a direct correlation to the sun. Just like with the color red, orange is a great color to recommend to a client who needs a pick me up in their mood and spirits.

10. Purple

Purple can represent royalty, luxury, wealth, and sophistication. This, again, can vary based on the value of purple, because light purple, or violet, or my favorite word in the English dictionary – lavender, can mean tranquility, peace, pure love, & peace. A lighter shade of purple is also a great staple for Spring.

Now that you know how colors play a role in how we act and our moods, how are you going to use the tool of color in your wardrobe? Let me know in the comments below!