Color your clothing to match your mood

Colors can greatly affect your mood. Choosing your clothing with that in mind can give you a leg up on the day.

Blue clothing soothes the person wearing it and those around them. The color can help enhance the brain’s ability to think creatively, according to a study done at the University of British Columbia. The study also found that red was linked to detail-oriented tasks like proofreading and memory retrieval. Thanks to our reactions to stop signs and the red pen often used by teachers, red makes us vigilant and better suited to detail-oriented tasks.

Blue clothing soothes the person wearing it and those around them.

Purple brings out the artist in you, according to Joe Lupo, co-owner of an image and style consulting service. In an interview with Women’s Health Magazine, Lupo explained that wearing purple shows that you are a self-assured free thinker.

Wearing purple shows that you are a self-assured free thinker.

Black shows power, studies show, and people will perceive wearers of this color as competent. Lupo suggests softening this dark hue with lace or ruffled embellishments.

Orange is seen as enthusiastic and inviting. Wearers of this bright color will appear social and approachable. It can be hard to pull of a lot of orange, so try an orange pant, belt, or shoes if you want to start out small.

Orange is seen as enthusiastic and inviting. Wearers of this bright color will appear social and approachable.

Those wearing green are putting others in a good mood, says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, found in Women’s Health Magazine. The connection of green with nature makes wearers feel peaceful and content.

The connection of green with nature makes wearers feel peaceful and content.

Yellow brings memories of sunshine and happiness. This bright color can be difficult to wear without looking like a giant highlighter, though, so try a yellow top first, or a bag instead of a full-on ensemble.

Yellow brings memories of sunshine and happiness.

Play with patterned combinations of colors to harness their mood-inducing powers to your advantage. Just remember to do what’s best for your skin tone, and that pairing a patterned piece of clothing with a solid-colored item will help to tone a crazy pattern down a bit.

Pairing a patterned piece of clothing with a solid-colored item will help to tone a crazy pattern down a bit.