How to Keep your Fashion Mojo in Lockdown

Well the dark nights are drawing in, the temperature has dropped and the chance of having a festive get-together with our mates in the run up to Christmas looks less and less likely doesn’t it?

It’s very tempting to just shove on your comfiest, most ancient hoodie (complete with pasta sauce stains) and hunker down for the winter.

But research shows that what we wear has a direct impact on our mental health, and that putting effort into what we wear helps keep us feeling more positive and motivated.

So if you’re looking down the barrel of a long winter working from home or weeks of looking after the kids largely stuck inside, consider how your outfit choices might go some way towards lifting your mood!

Here are my top tips on dressing for happiness

1 – Inject some colour into your wardrobe! Studies have shown that switching your usual black for something more vibrant can increase your endorphin levels, giving you an instant hit of happiness.

It can feel a little nerve-wracking to introduce colour if you’ve always stuck to darks, but you can ease yourself in slowly!

A glorious green scarf or a sunshine yellow vest under your old faithful black cardi will cheer you up in an instant.

2 – Channel your inner Marie Kondo and do a wardrobe edit. Hey, you could get the whole family involved and turn it into a little fashion show. Pop the prosecco and get the kids to hold up thumbs up or thumbs down signs… be warned though; kids can be brutally honest!

Charity bag anything that doesn’t make you feel great. You’ll be left with way less clothing, but you will know that anything you pull out to wear from now on will make you feel confident.

3 – Invest in some good quality loungewear. Nobody wants to spend a winter lockdown in skinny jeans and tight tops… just to sit on the sofa every night. So look at pieces which will be comfortable but still have a little glam factor.

Think cashmere knits, soft fabrics and wrap cardigans layered over silk camisoles. There are some gorgeous, fitted jogging bottoms around these days that look way too stylish to be classed as loungewear. It’s all about finding pieces which are relaxed but still make you feel like the old you!

4 – Don’t forget the power of accessories in brightening your mood. A gorgeous necklace or statement earring can help you feel so much more ‘done’ in a flash. Plus, with our social lives temporarily taking place back on zoom; people are inevitably going to notice your earrings more than they would your fabulous skirt!

5 – Every now and again, lock the bathroom door and declare a pamper evening. Who cares if nobody is going to see your toes? Chucking a bit of pink polish on them is one of the oldest quick-fix pick-me-ups in the book. And while you’re in there; don’t underestimate the impact a little touch of false tan can have.

You don’t need to go the whole hog (or the whole mahogany), just a touch of tint on your face and arms will be enough to remind you of sun kissed summers. We’re all counting down the days until the next one after all!

Sarah Hughes

This guest post was written by Sarah Hughes who owns and runs www.thegoodthingisthough.co.uk

You can contact Sarah on sarah@thegoodthingisthough.co.uk, or via her Instagram @pearlsofkiddom  

Sarah describes herself as “A frazzled mother of three little hooligans aged 9, 7 and 3. I love writing articles on anything from Pilates to Parenting, always trying to say things honestly, with as little swearing as possible.

Running my website and the charity fundraising that comes with that gives me great joy. I am currently writing a novel which I aim to finish at some point before my youngest child leaves home for university.”

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