Ring! Ring! Ring! My hands reached my phone to stop the horrid sounds of my wake-up call. Luckily for me, I already knew exactly what I was going to wear, so I rolled over and shut my eyes for just 10 more minutes of sleep.
If you know me, you know my favorite thrifted red granny sweater and my favorite pair of black sweatpants (of which I have three identical pairs). It’s probably my most recognized outfit. But during fall semester of my sophomore year, it was more than just an iconic thrift find and comfortable, cloud-like pants. It was a safety net.
There are approximately 15 weeks of class in the Asbury academic calendar, and after 11 weeks, I had rotated between the same three different sweaters and three identical sweatpants. And no, I did not do this because I was dared to. It was just easy, uncomplicated and predictable, thus I found relief in wearing the same thing over and over, since that was one less thing for me to hassle with. In fact, I thought I was a genius for doing this!
If you opened my closet and drawers, you would find much more variety than you might think. In fact, I own more dresses than I do t-shirts and more jeans than any other type of pants–even though jeans are usually my very last option. But, during that season of my life, it would have been a rarer sight to see me wearing those articles of clothing than seeing a kangaroo with wings. The thought of having to choose a different outfit filled me with anxiety, and looking back on that time, it was not so much genius that led me to my everlasting rotation; I had become so overwhelmed with everything in my life that simple decisions had become unfathomably stressful.
A recent article from the website Transforming Education, titled “Uncategorized Student Stress Statistics [2024 Update],” stated, “Over 60% of students report feeling stressed daily, indicating a high prevalence of stress in the student population… 94% of American college students feel overwhelmed by their studies, suggesting that academic pressure is a major contributor to student stress… 44% of American college students report symptoms of depression, highlighting the significant mental health challenges faced by students… 41% of American college students report feeling anxiety, underscoring the widespread nature of anxiety among students… 57% of female students report overwhelming anxiety, compared to 40% of male students…”
Enclothed Cognition is the idea that the clothes you wear can influence your psychological processes. So, my clothing clutch became more of a symbol of my burdens rather than a revolutionary choice. Even when I wanted to wear something a bit different from the norm, I felt so outside my body and could not get myself to walk outside my dorm room until I changed back. I was stuck. I needed something to feel consistent and controlled, and the only way I knew how was with my clothes.
I wish I could tell you that my fall sophomore semester was the only time I made this into a habit, but unfortunately, this persisted until this past summer. If you have ever traveled to Europe, specifically Paris, France, then you know that the sweatpants and sweatshirt combo is an absolute no-no, even when going out for simple grocery shopping trips. So, when I packed for my travels I decided to leave out my security blankets shaped-shifted as comfort clothes and opted for the ones I was so intimidated of.
We often think of empowerment as an amazing speech given by an inspiring leader or maybe strategizing plans to make a dream into reality. Sometimes it can even be reflecting over past triumphs we achieved. But, there are even more subtle things that can lead to feeling empowered. One of those is the clothes you wear. It might’ve helped that I was in a completely new country where no one knew me, thus there was no set expectation of who I was and what I usually wear. In France, I could dress the way I had feared. Soon enough those clothes that sat in the back of the closet became the ones I reached for without shame or guilt. I was excited to go out, even just for a bit, because I did not feel odd wearing a dress or jeans. And the sweatpants I had become so emotionally attached to laid peacefully in my drawers back at home. I will say, dressing nicer has not fixed all my problems, and you shouldn’t expect it to; however, it motivates me to look forward to something each morning. I’ve also found it exciting to think of new ways to style what I wear. Everyone needs a small victory during each day. Mine just so happens to be drawn from clothing. Even though the shortcut I used for so long made me feel comfortable, it’s sometimes the longer route that is the most beneficial.
