Fashion may well have a reputation for being somewhat superficial, but rest assured, there’s much more to what you wear than meets the eye! . Specifically, it’s the COLOUR of what you wear that can be credited with these hidden depths, since colour is known to have a significant effect on both mood and emotions, giving a whole new meaning to the term ‘retail therapy’. This theory, that the colour of what you wear has meaning beyond visual stimulation, is one that many might underestimate, but according to research, it can affect everything from heart rate, to blood pressure and breathing (Keith Jacobs and Frank Hustmyer, 1974.) Some studies even suggest that we FEEL colors more than we actually see them. The reason is all down to colour psychology, which while based largely on generalities, has a very individual aspect as well. For example, how a colour impacts mood can be influenced by personality, context and personal experience, so might be different from one person to the next. Given that mood itself can affect your choice of colour outfit (and subsequent moods), there is a bit of a ‘chicken and egg’ debate in play on this ‘happy clothes’ theory. The question, therefore, is one of how to override habitual and instinctive dressing and dress for how you WANT to feel that day, rather than where in your wardrobe the mood takes you in the morning. By mitigating grey skies with your brightest dress, there is a very real opportunity to boost both mood and wellbeing for the autumn and winter months ahead when, let’s face it, we probably need all the sunny vibes we can get!!