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Suits by Fruity Booty & Collina Strada.

It is often said that an era can only find definition in retrospect. Yet the 2020’s are sure to go down in history as a period of instability; ecological, socio-political, and economic. Historically, responses to globalized suffering – be it warfare or fascism– reap ages of richly reactional art. In the current wake of international pandemic, governmental strife, and technological abstraction, artistic expression of the self requires a touch of optimism. Introducing: Dopamine Dressing.

What exactly is dopamine dressing?

Those who find fashion to be an industry of vanity forget that manner of dress constitutes a true science.

Between the garment and its wearer there forms a chemical reaction– dopamine dressing particularly attributes style as a catalyst for joy, targeting this association between mind and clothed body to be one of psychological exuberance.

In other words: dressed correctly, you might just trigger a release of uplifting neurotransmitters.

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Chobom wearing Chet Lo.

Fashion psychologist (yes, this is a real title) Dr. Dawnn Karen first dubbed the term “dopamine dressing” in her 2020 publication Dress Your Best Life, and its relevance has only grown– as referenced in Alice Cary’s style spread for Vogue UK and Amy de Klerk’s article for Harper’s Bazaar.

Yet the aesthetic of dopamine dressing has flooded the banks of fashion from street to swimwear. Embodied in Marc Jacobs’ whimsical youth line, Heaven; in London based House of Sunny’s cheery color-blocking; in Versace’s vibrant clashing prints; dopamine dressing invokes the theory of “enclothed cognition” to justify loud, elaborate style as a coping mechanism for a decaying world.

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Featuring House of Sunny Lookbook & Versace La Vacanza Summer 22 Campaign.

And what does it look like in a swimsuit?

Just as happiness wears many faces, so too does dopamine dressing. Recognizable qualities include vivid palettes, saturated hues and eclectic layering. Fuschia, chartreuse, clementine, emerald, saffron. While color theory plays a definitive role in the psychological efficacy of dressing for dopamine– the brighter the better– it is perhaps the air of flamboyance and zing that distinguishes this style. Be it dissonant textures, playful patchworking, or psychedelic prints, the feel-good energy of dopamine dressing stems from the aura of the wearer.