The Ask.
Create a plan to bring principles and practices of positive psychology into the world
The Process.
Identify and investigate a topic in positive psychology
For my plan for positivity, my goal was to investigate the relationship between fashion and confidence. There is a phenomenon called “enclothed cognition”, which captures the systematic influence that clothes have on the wearer’s psychological processes . Certain articles have symbolic meanings that evoke specific emotions from our psychological schemas. Sometimes, even dressing professionally can make individuals perform better because they feel more confident since they are dressed for the task. In addition, the way we dress impacts our self-concept, which is how we view ourselves. If simply putting an empowering outfit makes people see themselves in a better, more positive light, that is something we should actively engage in. Clothes can be written off as basic necessities, but it is possible to incorporate the practices of engagement and positive emotion.
Create a plan to put this positivity into practice
In order to execute this, I reached out to VCU students and asked them “why does fashion make you feel confident?” and a picture of them in an outfit they love. With this information, I made an Instagram page called the “Power of Fashion” and posted the students’ pictures and shared their responses to the question in the caption. In this case, the group benefiting from the practice of positive emotions and engagement are VCU students. I thought this was an appropriate choice because one of the most popular ways for college students to express themselves is through what they wear, and fashion plays a significant role at VCU because of our arts school. In addition, it is at this age that it is easy to be confused about your identity and compare yourself to everyone around you, so identifying and reflecting on something that makes you feel confident and good about yourself is crucial.
Power of Fashion
Before I even started any part of this project, I knew it was going to be called the Power of Fashion because I fully believe that fashion truly does have the power to make someone feel confident. While I was waiting for the responses to come in, I worked on one of the parts I was most excited about: the logo. I knew I wanted it to look futuristic and because I love color, I also wanted it to pop and be vibrant. In addition, I designed graphics with just cute, empowering sayings to sprinkle throughout the pictures of the students. Lastly, it was time to post these favorite outfit pictures and caption them with these students’ responses to why fashion makes them feel confident. It was really sweet to read through everyone’s responses because I could relate to how they felt too and it made me understand once again, the power of fashion.
Why does fashion make you feel confident? Let’s find out
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"In my day to day life I'm not the most confident person, but when I'm able to get dressed up in my favorite pieces then I feel so much better about myself." -Claudia
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"I have always loved fashion because it can interpreted in so many different ways and putting on a cute outfit always makes me feel put together." -Schuyler
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"Confidence is always something that I struggle with but when I express myself through fashion it boosts my confidence and serves as a creative outlet for me. I enjoy using fashion as a way to display my current mood and love for clothing". -Amaia
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"For me, wearing unique pieces like fun jackets or bold accessories helps boost my conidence in regard to fashion because it allows me to express myself and be authentically me!" -Abbie
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"Clothes and patterns helped me find my true self. I think patterns gives outfits a uniqueness, Which makes the person wearing it unique." - Julie
