Psychology and Fashion – How Do They Cross Paths?

I have been telling this all the time in almost all of my articles. Fashion is an art and every Fashion Designer is nothing less than an artist. Same is true with Psychology. Psychology as well is nothing less than an art in itself. But both are complete different fields. One deals with people’s appearance where as the other deals with people’s behaviour and pondering over how people’s thoughts and brain works and responds.

But one thing that is common in both Fashion & Psychology is that both of them deal with people. Psychology is one of those fields that intersects with almost every field you can think of. Psychology also has myriad of fields within it from behavioral psychology to social psychology. Did you know that there is a whole field of Psychology that deals just with Fashion – Its called Psychology of Fashion/Psychology of Clothing and another field of Psychology that deals with colors which is called Psychology of Colors.

Since colors are an integral part of Fashion, our focus will be Psychology of Colors.

But lets first finish talking about Psychology of Fashion; Shall We?

It all started during 19th Century when an American Psychologist named Henry James introduced the notion of Psychology into Fashion. There have been thousands of researches done from then on the subject.

Studies suggest that what people wear has an effect on their attitude, mood, confidence and their overall behaviour. In a way, you as a fashion designer would help someone gain confidence. You can use the science of Psychology to manipulate how people react to certain designs and to modify their purchase patterns so that customers would lean towards the brand you are working for. This is where Psychology of Fashion & Psychology of Marketing intersect.

Taking a scientific/psychological approach to Fashion will enable you to understand human behaviour in the context of Fashion. Even though Fashion is a creative, glamorous & dynamic field; it's not the one without any problems. Psychology can help you understand and solve those problems in the field.

Psychology Of Colors:

Colors have been altering our behaviour for centuries now. Big brands have been using the Psychology of colors for a really long time.

The best way to explain this might be by taking the example of KFC. If you visited KFC; Its filled with the color red which is believed to rev up ones apetite and induce hunger. KFC does not use red just because it looks good; It uses red to bring in more business. Same goes with Amazon and any other big brand you can think of.

Here are some details about which color affects your behaviour in what way.

Blue : Blue creates a sense of trust amongst people. So if you are new into the field, blue might help you in cultivating the trust of your customers for you. Blue is also the color of peace, order & loyalty. It gives the mind a sense of calmness & serenity.

Yellow: Yellow is mostly used in warnings. But it is the color of happiness as well. But yellow is one of those colors which has to be used very carefully. Using more of it has a history of creating a feeling of nausea among people. Hence be very aware of how much of yellow you are using.

Green: The color of nature. Green relatively gains people's attention when compared to other colors. It's also relatively easier for people to remember something that’s green since it stands out.

Orange: Orange creates a sense of impulse in people when they see it. It can be used as a fun color since it helps stimulate physical activity & a sense of confidence. Its also the color that depicts affordability.

However, orange can be slightly overwhelming. A research paper by Lucky Tonk advises, "Orange will be used sparingly to bring your attention to something, but not so much as to overwhelm the actual message of the advert."

Black: Black has always been associated with luxury. Darker the tone of black, the more luxurious it is. Black also represents elegance, sophistication & power. Now you may realise why they wear black suites in Men In Black. It's one of my personal favorites as well. Let me know what are yours in the comments.

Pink: Pink is compassion, youthful, understanding & a bit of romantic. It’s a common misconception that most of the females like pink but the fact is that very small percentage of females pick pink as their favorites. Most of the women according to a study likes blue.

You can check out this post about How Psychology Plays A Role in Fashion Designing – Psychology Of Colors & Clothing in Fashion for more information. Meanwhile, if you are someone looking to become a Fashion Designer. Here is a list of some Best Fashion Designing Courses that might help you out.