Have you ever gazed at all the clothes in your wardrobe only to think “I’ve got nothing to wear?”

This is the conversation I had with journalist Jessica Davis who interviewed me for the Harpers Bazaar article “The psychology behind wearing colour – and how to make it work for you.”

One of the things we talked about is how Colour is an amazing form of self-expression.

Because what colour allows us to do, is communicate how we’re feeling, how we want to feel or how we want other people to interact with us – without having to say a word.

And what I shared with Jessica is this usually one of the missing pieces in our wardrobe. A range of colours to express how we’re feeling, want to feel or how we want others to interact with us.

When we have a wardrobe full of colour, this is easy, but for those of us that might only have a few colours in our wardrobe, using colour to express ourselves can be challenging because we don’t have a lot to choose from. It’s like we are living in one or two emotions which isn’t a healthy state to be in or a true reflection of who we are as humans.

That’s why having a range of colours in your wardrobe that express your authentic personality is so powerful.

Here’s why colour is so powerful…

Before we could speak, colour was our primary way of communicating. It still is our primary language on a subconscious level and by being more conscious of the colours we choose, we can tap into being able to speak the language of emotions.  

Colour can change how we think, feel and behaviour in an instant!

For example, I might be feeling a bit agitated or overwhelmed and for my outfit I choose to wear red.  

But here’s the thing about colour. Each colour has positive or the adverse traits and it’s personal to us whether we pick up on the positive or the adverse ones.

So if I am already feeling agitated or overwhelmed and then I choose to wear red, it’s likely that will reinforce the behaviours I’m already feeling so I might feel even more agitated, overwhelmed and anxious as they happen to be some of the adverse traits of red.

But someone else might be energised and full of motivation as they are feeling some of the positive traits of red.

When we know that colour can be used to express or even influence us, we can make conscious colour choices from what we already have in our wardrobe whilst also keeping an eye out for colourful pieces to bring in.

Are there colours you would like to bring into your wardrobe? What I love about colour is that you can experiment. When you’re out shopping try on different colours and pay close attention to how it makes you feel and that’s how you can start to bring together colours that you can wear to express yourself on a daily basis.

My wardrobe is a rainbow of colour, but I’m still on the hunt for a piece of clothing in watermelon red but it’s proving very elusive.

I’ve found it in tea towels in this colour but not in clothes. Maybe I could stitch the tea towels together. What do you reckon?

You can find out more about the eleven main colours and their positive and adverse traits, check out my book, The Little Book of Colour.

To read more on my discussion with Jessica in Harpers Bazaar and to discover some top tips to bring colour into your wardrobe from Stylist, Author and Presenter Zeena Shah click here.

Wishing you a colourful day,
Karenx