At 101 years old, Iris Apfel is the original gangster of dopamine dressing. (Noam Gali/Getty Images)
I love colour, and lots of it, so when I heard about “dopamine dressing” and the relationship between colour and happiness, I was instantly fascinated.
The idea of this fashion trend that’s taken the world by a kaleidoscopic storm is that you can alter your mood by dressing in certain items. The concept is usually associated with bright colours, but pattern, texture or even an item of symbolic value could leave you feeling all the happy feels.
Truly, in case you missed it, this trend is big. Just look at TikTok or Instagram, where influencers and fashionistas have cultivated huge followings simply by dressing in a maximalist mélange of luminescent pinks, vivid chartreuse and
clashing ginghams.
But they’re not just fodder for an excellent selfie. Apparently, there is some science behind this style statement too. Dopamine, often called the “happy hormone” or “feel-good neurotransmitter”, is released when your brain is expecting a reward.
According to healthline.com, “When you come to associate a certain activity with pleasure, mere anticipation may be enough to raise dopamine levels. It could be a certain food, sex, shopping or just about anything else that you enjoy.”
In this case, the pleasurable activity is wearing clothing in a rainbow of hues, patterns and crazy cuts.
Initially called “mood-enhancement dress”, the term “dopamine dressing” was coined by Dr Dawnn Karen, a pioneer in the fashion psychology field, which focuses on how colour, beauty, style, image and shape affect human behaviour.
Fast forward a couple of years and dopamine dressing is everywhere, including the fashion runways.
Luxury fashion house Valentino’s Pink PP Collection 2022-23 was what it termed a “pink-out”. The collaboration with colour-matching system company Pantone saw them create and trademark an intense new hue called Valentino Pink PP. Closer to home, clothing retailer Mr Price is awash with an array of 1990s neon rave-ready kit and Foschini’s window displays are dotted with cute two-piece suits in violet and fuchsia.
Even silver fox Brad Pitt has embraced the movement. On the press tour for his latest film Bullet Train, Pitt has debuted an impressive array of fun lewks — including green, pink and peach suits, playfully paired with sunshine-yellow trainers. And the man has never looked happier — even literally leaping around on the red carpet.
And it would be remiss of me not to mention the OG of dopamine dressing Iris Apfel. At the of 101, the bespectacled interior designer and fashion icon has been dressing like the queen of dopamine for decades — proving you are never too old to feel the joy.
Bright ideas: The new collection from Valentino is all about pink.
In living colour
Does dopamine dressing work? On a quest for bliss, I decided to give it a whirl and live my life in glorious technicolour for a week. This is what I learnt.
Planning is required — especially if you aren’t dopamine ready. Upon inspection, I was surprised how much black, grey and denim filled my wardrobe. This meant repeating the bright, colourful clothing I do own, mixed with a few items I thrifted and a couple of bold new budget-friendly staples.
I relied on accessories to pump up the colour factor. Loud hats, scarves, earrings and sunglasses were essential. I went maximalist and paired clashing patterns and colours but this may not be your bag.
A week of living colourfully led to a new clothing mindfulness that will absolutely help dictate my sartorial choices going forward.
It also made me more aware of the people around me. Arriving at a coffee shop dressed like a tropical whirlwind, I realised that other patrons were a palette of dour blues, greys and blacks. South Africa’s traditional clothing and blankets are a swirl of colour and I had thought we, as a nation, embraced this colour-loving ethos, yet this didn’t seem to be the case with our everyday choices.
And people’s reactions to my newfound style? While I got some looks, they certainly weren’t negative. In truth, many compliments came my way! A friend even went out and bought some very loud, very patterned pants once she’d seen me in them. The positive feedback made me feel good.
During my not-so-scientific experiment, I spoke to colour therapist Traci Kretzschmar, who owns Colour Me Happy, a business that has spent the past 17 years providing colour psychology services to the corporate world. This authority on “colour consciousness” believes, “For us to be more cognisant on how to use colour is empowering and life changing.”
Brad Pitt arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘Bullet Train’. (Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/AFP)
Kretzschmar thinks dopamine dressing can open our minds to many new possibilities and that, crucially, colour has power and meaning both for you and those around you. For example, she says, “If you are wearing pink, it’s because you need to be nurtured and supported. And when people see you wearing pink, they think, that’s such a loving and approachable person.
“So, while you may be feeling un-nurtured or not loved enough, other people then react to you positively and that attention is important. That’s why we need to be aware of colours, because once you see it from that perspective, you will never be able to look at it the same again.”
As far as men dressing boldly, Kretzschmar says, “Men are wearing more salmons, pinks and mint greens — you just have to tell them that, instead of dopamine dressing, they are power dressing for themselves and it makes them feel powerful.”
And, of course, even the most traditional gent can find his place in the dopamine-dressing world.
Fashion veteran Blair Eadie
“A lot of very conservative men are wearing very bright socks. It’s their way of being naughty and experimenting with colour,” Kretzschmar adds. So, with all these ideas in mind, did dopamine dressing make me happy and put some pep in my step? Although my experiment was far from technical and measured, I think it did. I adore colour and I have a predisposition to gravitate towards it anyway, so an orange shirt, a buttercup-yellow hat and a swirly pink scarf became my staples, and lifted my spirits.
Would I recommend it? Hell, yes. We all deserve to feel good, wear nice things and feel confident. Bright bursts of colour worked a treat for me but that might not be the case for everyone. Maybe your idea of going big with the hues is more moderate.
Dress in whatever makes you feel like “hot stuff”, as my late dad always used to say. Wear what brings you joy — whether it’s that little black dress or a technicoloured dream coat.