Wear Your Confidence

Kionah Flowers

Have you ever heard the saying “if you look good, you feel good?” That claim highlights the significant power of fashion. Fashion influences everyday life more than you may perceive because fashion expands beyond clothing. It functions as an extension of your personality. Whether through garments, accessories, or hairstyles, everybody has developed their own distinct flair. A unique style doesn’t necessarily correspond with designer apparel. You don’t have to own a Chanel bag or wear Louboutin heels to convey style.

A distinct style involves what you like to wear. When you accept yourself and embrace your fashion identity, wearing what you want allows you to be who you want. Junior elementary education major Rosemary Dickson explains, “I do tend to wear whatever I want. I feel more comfortable in the clothes I wear because they are like a shield. They are like armor. When you have that armor, it protects you from negative influences, and you become more confident.”

Fashion empowers you in the same way it builds confidence: through emotions. Fashion can make you feel many different ways. A cozy, soft sweater can help you maintain comfort in the same manner that a bold, red lip can boost your selfassurance. Accentuating your best features or personality traits can assist you in carrying poise throughout the day. It all depends on how you want to feel during the specific activities you plan to do. Kelly Ngaruko, a senior mathematics major at Millikin University, believes the level of confidence gained from fashion varies from person-toperson. She says, “For a second, you feel more than what you thought you were. It gives you confidence. It’s like wearing a suit. You wear the story or the credibility.”

Fashion empowers because it allows you the freedom to look how you want. If you can’t fully show who you are with words, you can illustrate it through your appearance, and you can set yourself apart by not conforming to the opinions of others. Molly Smith, a junior professional writing major, states that fashion does, in fact, bolster

confidence. She says fashion “tells a lot about a person. Most generally, if a person is wearing darker colors or cooler toned colors, they’re more calm or more inviting or neutral. Sometimes it could mean they’re kind of shy or introverted. Other times, when people are wearing brighter colors, they actually show a more bubbly, inviting kind of attitude towards other people. They probably are more extroverted.”

Fashion represents a doubleedged sword. It can promote selfesteem but also deteriorate it. If someone utters negative comments about how you look, you may notice a dip in your confidence and become understandably upset. Yet the opposite also applies. If someone praises your fashion sense and compliments what you’re wearing— whether it’s as small as a bracelet or as obvious as a pair of pants—their approval will probably cause you to feel happy. In some cases, those kind words give you the extra dose of energy you need to finish your day on a strong note.

Fashion also serves as a method for voicing your views and convictions when you find yourself

verbally unable to do so. Everyone has seen simple T-shirts with meaningful slogans stretched across the front—think “The Future is Female” and “Keep Calm and . . . ”. Not only are you empowering yourself through the messages on your clothing, but you are empowering others as well. When someone reads a statement coinciding with their beliefs, they may be prompted to discuss their viewpoints more openly because they know they are not alone. What you may visualize as a simple style decision can affect the extent to which someone else interacts in popular debates and society in general.

While fashion operates as a tool for empowerment, you should not rely solely on it. If you’re not open to experiencing personal growth, you will never genuinely feel empowered even through the clothes you wear. Furthermore, watch out for the trap of comparing yourself to others and their style. Replicating the style of others you admire is a starting point, but don’t

be afraid to branch out and discover your own look. All human beings are individuals, and no two are the same. You should welcome your individuality instead of hiding it behind the exact same clothes you see

the people around you wearing. Strive to arrive at a place where you are uniquely and unashamedly yourself, and society will have no choice but to make room for you.