Fashion and Mental Health

Staying fashionable and being involved in the fashion world certainly has its perks. Many people see fashion as a hobby, and others see it as their passion. Either way, fashion plays a very important role in our society. However, the role it plays in people’s lives differs from person to person, especially regarding the effect it has on their mental health. For example, studies have shown that the fashion industry has brought a lot of pressure regarding fashion and body images to society, especially for teenagers. The fashion industry’s advertisements most of the time depict models who reflect today’s unrealistic beauty standards and this has brought people’s confidence in their own self-image to be distorted by these standards presented by the media, which has caused people’s mental health to be affected by the fashion industry.

Mindless Mag states that people in the fashion industry are 25 percent more likely to experience mental illness than any other industry. However, this negative effect on mental health is not exclusive to only those in the fashion industry but also to the general public as mentioned above, but these effects are particularly stronger on teenagers. Teenagers have a lot of pressure during this important time of their lives because, during these years, teenagers are torn between their childhood and their future adulthood which in itself causes a heavy impact on their mental health.

Fashion nowadays has been more welcoming and inclusive for everyone and even has reinvented how fashion is portrayed to the world.

Not only that but during this time, their environments also change, especially when it comes to the shift of middle school to high school, where appearances matter a lot. During these times, teenagers are trying to find who they really are, which leads them to be heavily influenced by others, especially by the media. Those of us who have transitioned from our teenage years and into adulthood can heavily agree that even if we had the best time of our lives during high school, it still doesn't mean that high school is an easy environment to adjust to. Many teenagers feel extreme pressure during their first year of high school to establish a strong image of themselves to present to others, so that many won't be victims of bullying or any other forms of harassment.

A lot of teens then find fashion to be the answer to their problems and believe that if they can represent themselves as fashionable individuals, then their popularity will rise. This ideal can be very negative because while fashion can boost up our confidence, it can also be a double-edged sword where teenagers can feel superior and begin to judge those who are not as invested in the fashion industry as they are. Some teenagers use fashion as a protective method against bullying, but this rise of self-confidence can later shift into arrogance, leading to the harassment of others who dress and look different. But how can the fashion industry cause this negative effect on mental health? Well, some teenagers often feel the need to look just like the models being advertised by the industry in the first place because most of them are not confident with their own self-image, so they desperately grasp into these beauty ideals to feel superior and diminish everyone who looks different than they do, creating a cycle of bullying. 

This is not the only effect that fashion has on mental health, in fact, many mental disorders have led to bigger problems such as eating disorders which are not only exclusive to teenagers but also affect adults. Another very common and crucial effect that fashion has had on our society is the economic factor and the way mental health plays into this. Varying from person to person and how involved they are in the fashion industry can determine how their economic position affects their mental health through a fashion lens. What does this exactly mean? In our society, keeping up with the newest trends has become very important, for some it has actually become quite a center in their life and let’s be honest, keeping up with the coolest and latest trends is often very expensive, and if a certain person feels pressured to dress accordingly to the image that they have left on others then this can have a huge impact on their mental health.

Another effect of this comes when people have been extremely loyal to certain high-end brands and dress to show a sign of status through these brands, so the moment where the person no longer can afford to shop from expensive brands, some individuals go through crisis and are focused on what others will think about them. This can have a negative impact on their mental health. However, not all effects of fashion on mental health are negative! In fact, the fashion industry has rapidly become more aware of the negative aspects of the industry and has worked to solve these negative ideals. Fashion nowadays has been more welcoming and inclusive for everyone and even has reinvented how fashion is portrayed to the world.

More and more people have also found a great interest in the fashion industry and this has awakened many talents to become involved in the fashion world, creating new and unique small businesses and designs. Fashion is also a source of entertainment for society, so even if a person is under a lot of stress, the way they dress can help enhance their mood. Not only that but fashion is heavily involved with colors which can help people be influenced by color therapy which can benefit their mental health. One of the strongest positive effects that fashion has had on mental health and for society, in general, is confidence and finding one’s style and personality through fashion. Fashion is a very expressive form of entertainment, and many people love to explore it so that they can find their true selves and express it through the way they dress, this can also bring people a strong sense of confidence which can work beneficially towards their mood and overall mental health.

Fashion is also a very personal form of entertainment so most of the time, people have had garments that are very personal to them and have even become forms of comfort which is known to barring a positive effect on mental health, fashion can even become a coping mechanism for people. While the effects of fashion, like everything, can be negative when abused, it is also a very productive and creative form of entertainment that has led more and more people to find themselves and dress proudly according to their personality and style.