ARTICLES
Capsule Wardrobe Guide 2026
I’ve got a few serious questions to ask you. They’re proper serious. Answer them honestly.
Do you have too many clothes but no outfits to wear?
Do you spend a very long time looking for an outfit to wear?
Do you come home to a mess of clothes on your bedroom floor?
Do you find yourself unable to stop shopping for brand new clothes every other week or so?
Do you find your wardrobe to be overflowing?
If you’ve agreed to two or more of these questions then you’re probably at the right place then. I had a problem where I just had too many clothes in my wardrobe. This wasn’t a case of having too much choice though. No, no.
Every piece was boring and outdated by five plus years, or reminded me of the past. I would find it hard to pick an outfit for work or to go out in. I didn’t want to wear the same thing over and over because I didn’t want to give the impression that I didn’t own many clothes (I was super silly to think that!).
I probably only wore about 10 per cent of my clothes. The other 90 per cent would be pushed into the depths of my closet never to see the light of day. The thing is, they were just sat there doing nothing. After getting my first ‘real’ job out of uni I felt like it was time for a change. And maybe redoing my wardrobe would make me feel like I was sealing the deal on entering a new chapter in my life. Yeah, all that stuff if you get what I mean.
Since switching to a capsule wardrobe, I now care less about what other people think of my appearance, I have free-time because I don’t have to plan outfits, I care more about where my clothing comes from, and I don’t feel the need to buy into trends. Better yet, my wardrobe is clean! Marie Kondo who? (Sorry Marie Kondo).
WHAT IS A CAPSULE WARDROBE?
A capsule wardrobe is basically a set of specially chosen clothes that are versatile, durable, of good quality, and timeless. These are pieces that will be worn a lot and for a long time. An optimist would say that a capsule wardrobe can last a lifetime. As a general rule, a capsule wardrobe must include pieces that are interchangeable. In other words, if you get dressed in the dark, you’ll still look and feel well put together. If you have two trousers and five tops, that’s ten outfits right there.
Research has shown that implementing a capsule wardrobe into your life can save you money in the long term, distance yourself from trends and fast fashion, and take the stress out of choosing an outfit to wear... and time. You can make a wardrobe for each season, simplifying outfit planning all year round.
I have listed some basic steps for you to develop your own capsule wardrobe, including things that I wish I’d known.
CONTENTS
Set some time aside to assess and clear out your wardrobe.
Plan out what you’d ideally like to wear.
Do not neglect comfort for style.
Figure out what style of clothing suits your body shape.
Figure out your ‘colour season’.
You may find out that you prefer certain brands.
Start with good quality basics. A basic of your own might not be someone else’s. (+ General guide)
Where can you get clothes to add to your capsule wardrobe?
Once your wardrobe is getting into shape, don’t restrict your options.
Don’t bother about what other people *may* think.
Last thing to note, keep your wardrobe in good condition.
1. Set some time aside to assess and clear out your wardrobe.
Firstly, it’s a good idea to examine your clothes to figure out what you’d like to continue wearing or let go. Essentially, ask yourself why you want to start a capsule wardrobe in the first place. If you’re not happy with your current wardrobe, have a think about why that is. Whenever you have free time to look around your wardrobe, find out what clothes you like and don’t like. Clearing out your wardrobe will give you space to work with and will help you unclutter. It will take longer than you think to go through your clothing so set aside maybe an hour or two.
You don’t have to get rid of your current wardrobe and start from scratch. Please don’t do that. You will generally want to keep items that you wear - they can be used as a foundation for your capsule wardrobe. If you’re finding it hard to decide whether to keep a piece or not, think of the last time you wore it and how it makes you feel when you wear it. If it’s been over a year and has no significant value to you, it’s maybe time to wave it buh-bye. I heard someone say on TikTok the other day:
If it fell in poop, would you keep it?
You have many options with your unwanted clothes. Get a bag or box to put your clothing in to avoid them from getting in the way and mixed up with clothing that you want to keep. You can sell them for money on second hand clothing websites such as Depop and Vinted which are simple to explore and use. You’d be surprised by how many people would want to purchase your clothes, especially with tags on. Another option to consider is to give your unwanted clothing away, either to friends, family, or to a good cause. Your clothes do not need to be binned!
It was hard to get rid of my current wardrobe I must admit. I found myself saying, "Oh I forgot I had that [insert clothing item here], I might wear that soon." No, you’re absolutely not.
2. Plan out what you’d ideally like to wear.
Before you go all out on finding new clothing, it’s best to have a think about what you’d like your wardrobe to look like. Think about the long-term and not just what’s in at the moment. Ask yourself:
“So, do I see myself wearing this in the next [time frame]?”
If not, explore more! There’s no rush. However, this is a one-off, if there’s a special occasion coming up, you could consider renting items instead.
Do some research. Explore! Have a think about questions like:
Where do you live?
What are the cultural expectations?
What’s the weather like where you live?
Is what you want to wear practical and comfortable?
What will you be doing in your clothes?
Is this item appropriate for where you’ll be wearing it?
Is it good quality?
Will this item hold its value in case I want to resell it?
Will I be able to fix it?
Will I be able to get it tailored?
You can use sites like Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok for outfit inspiration, but this comes with a heavy warning - Be aware of fast fashion trends and certain aesthetics! A capsule wardrobe is intended to be timeless. Whilst I do suggest scrolling social media, it’s inevitable you’re going to run into trends and certain aesthetics. Once you start exploring your own unique taste, searching different online retailers, and scrolling on your feed intentionally, you’ll be able to spot trends immediately, I swear. I’m not saying you can’t buy clothes that fit a trend; what I’m saying is to make sure you’re buying the item because you actually love it, not because an algorithm told you to.
I have a bit of beef with ‘aesthetics’. Be unique, find things that you enjoy, don’t be pressured to fit into one category!
Save posts, like them, or screenshot them so you can refer to them later.
3. Do not neglect comfort for style.
Looking good is great, but comfort is also an important factor in curating a capsule wardrobe. A capsule wardrobe is meant to make you feel comfortable… and confident! If your pieces don’t fit you well or they feel like a pain to wear, you’re not going to follow through with your wardrobe.
You’re wearing your clothes, bags, and shoes likely all day so they’ve got to be comfortable and practical. You don’t want to be wearing a brand new bag only to find that one of the straps break the second week of using it, or your new shoes are too tight on your toes, or your new jumper is so itchy that you spend the whole day wanting to crawl out of your skin, or that ‘perfect’ pair of trousers is so stiff that you can’t actually sit down at your desk comfortably, or your coat looks amazing but is basically made of paper, leaving you freezing cold the second you step outside.
Be intentional and take the extra step to evaluate an item - Read reviews to see what other people don’t like about the item, read the materials the item is made of, etc.
We don’t think about this much but, clothing and accessories can affect our health greatly from the materials they’re made of, to the fit. If we’re wearing heavy bags on our shoulder over a prolonged period it can cause aches and pains in the long term, if our shoes are too tight it could cause bunions and various foot problems, polyester and other synthetic materials could trap sweat and bacteria, chemicals added to materials that make raincoats and smart watches durable and water resistant could contain high levels of PFAS, certain materials in jewellery could cause allergies… there’s a lot of things that go under the radar. At the end of the day, (many) brands prioritise profit over your wellbeing. It might sound harsh, but I’m telling you this because I can: don’t be ignorant about what you’re putting on your body. Think of building a capsule wardrobe as a form of the trendy buzzword ‘self-care’… Well, it’s two words really, right?
Use filters on shopping sites to make shopping easier for you and less overwhelming.
4. Figure out what style of clothing suits your body shape.
One key thing to remember is that one size does not fit all. What looks incredible on one person might look completely different on another. Choose pieces that fit your specific frame, and I promise you, your confidence will flourish. Fit is so important, please do not ignore this advice.
You can find out which pieces flatter you by determining your body shape and discovering items that accentuate the features you love. Baggy, oversized silhouettes may be the vibe at the moment, but research suggests that clothes that fit us well enhance our image more positively.
A study by Howlett et al. (2013) looked at how minor changes in clothing affected first impressions. They showed participants photos of a man for just five seconds. He wore two different suits: one ‘off-the-peg’ (standard store size) and one ‘bespoke’ (tailored to his body). The results? Even though the differences were minor, the man in the tailored suit was rated significantly higher in: Confidence; success; flexibility; and salary.
Basically, when your clothes fit your body shape perfectly, you communicate positive attributes without saying a word. I may add that this study focused on men, but think of this like the universal language of ‘intentionality’. When your clothes actually follow the lines of your body, rather than fighting against them, you look like you put effort in your appearance (not to say that you don’t). It doesn’t mean you have to wear skin tight clothes, rather, it means understanding where your shoulders actually sit, where your natural waist is, and where a hem should hit to make you look like you, not like you’re playing dress up in someone else’s wardrobe.
Get your clothes tailored if need be, or as a new hobby learn to make clothes yourself!
Once you know your shape, you stop buying clothes because they looked good on the mannequin and start buying them because they look good on you.
5. Figure out your ‘colour season’ (if you want).
Is the whole colour season thing a fad or could it actually be useful?
A capsule wardrobe is traditionally based on plain and/or neutral colours. It seems that beige, black, grey, white, and green are amongst the most popular colours. However, a neutral colour palette may not fit everyone nor may be appealing to us all. It’s like house interiors that are all beige or grey. Susan down the road might love an all beige house interior but Billy at number 23 might beg to differ. Search for your personal ‘colour season’. It’s an assessment of what colours suit you based on your hair colour, eye colour, and skin colour. You don’t even need to go to a colour season specialist that all the influencers are visiting, and may even be paid to attend... Here are things you can do:
Visit a store and look at the clothes in person, see how the clothes look against you. Bear in mind that the lighting in the changing rooms can differ to the shop floor itself.
At home you can take a photo of yourself, upload it on a word document or in your notes app and clip an image of clothes you like and drag it on yourself.
Find videos of colour season analyses of people that look similar to you, self-explanatory.
If there’s one thing about these analyses, it may be off-putting if you’re told that red looks bad on you and you’re down bad for all things red. YGWIS? Life’s too short for that, for real. Wear whatever colour you want.
I think a large problem with capsule wardrobes is that when you stick to a certain set of colours, it can get boring, and that is not an outcome that you would want in terms of a capsule wardrobe.
When incorporating colour into your wardrobe, have a think about:
What colours do you love to wear already?
What colours are easy for you to wash and maintain?
What colour is your wardrobe mostly already?
What colours do you not really like?
What colours are you willing to try out?
If I’m going to have a little bit of a quibble about colour psychology and clothing, many people on social media incorrectly state that wearing certain colours can help you feel certain moods, or may even tell you about your personality. Colour in psychology is a complex topic. Culture plays a massive role in how we perceive colour, so it carries different meanings for everyone. Colour plays a large role in marketing too.
6. You may find out that you prefer certain brands.
Sometimes we have brands that we like more than others because of the values they’re associated with or because their sizing is reliable. Remember though, brand names aren’t as important as you might think. A luxury label doesn’t automatically mean ‘quality’ anymore—sometimes you’re just paying for their marketing budget. Try to explore brands that you’ve never really acknowledged before, from local makers to high-street alternatives; you never know what you can find!
7. Start with good quality basics. A basic of your own might not be someone else’s.
There’s no set number of clothes for a capsule wardrobe, but it’s best to have enough outfits to wear for a variety of occasions such as work, lounging, probably grocery runs, school, weddings, parties, etc. You may find it helpful to split pieces into sections such as workwear, formalwear, casualwear, and loungewear (just clothes that you wear at home). You can also arrange your clothes into a hot weather pile and a cold weather pile and arrange them accordingly when the seasons change. What you wear for work might totally be separated from your other clothes. Have a different set of items for each season.
It’s good to start with a small amount of items first. Just remember if you have two bottoms and five tops, that’s ten outfits right there (2 x 5 = 10). However, if I’m being honest, ten items would leave me to get bored pretty fast. You don’t need 20 different variations of one specific item though.
Think about the core first:
Underwear
Tops
Bottoms
One-piece/dress
Shoes
Accessories
Then think of context:
Occasion wear
Workwear
Gym clothes
School wear
Holiday clothes
Lighter clothes for warmer weather/heavier clothes for colder weather
I’m going to be honest, there was an actual pre-set clothing list here before, but in reality a capsule wardrobe will look different for everyone. Explore what you need, what you’re potentially missing, and what would benefit you, tailoring it to your specific lifestyle and needs.
8. Where can you get clothes to add to your capsule wardrobe?
Creating a capsule wardrobe doesn’t need to be expensive, time consuming, or completed in one go. Cheap doesn’t always mean poor quality and expensive doesn’t always mean good quality. Although you still have the option to shop in retail stores, you can also get good quality clothing from smaller businesses, thrift stores, charity stores, second hand clothing sites, friends, family, and car boot sales. You’d be surprised by how many good quality items there are out there, yet to be found, and at a good price.
It can be tempting to purchase the first thing you see due to sales tactics such as discounts and one time offers. Before you purchase an item, it’s a good idea for you to carry out an internet search to see if another retailer is selling said item at a better deal.
Whether you agree or not, all mega fast fashion retailers (not naming them) are ethically and environmentally atrocious. Greenwashing is on a mad scale too. Just because these clothes may be cheap doesn’t justify anything. And if you disagree, please take a look at how these clothes are made. Ask yourself, why is a tiny-£1.50-wear once-translucent-100% polyester top even a thing? I’m not in the mood for an existential crisis so I’ll stop right there.
Keep packaging that items come in for when you want to resell items if you don’t like them.
9. Once your wardrobe is getting into shape, don’t restrict your options.
I’ve seen a lot of guides on capsule wardrobes saying that you should stick to certain types of clothing and colour palettes. Or, it needs to be minimalist. However, I think a capsule wardrobe is a trial and error activity that should be fun and allow your creative juices to flow. Don’t put pressure on yourself to include only specific colours. If you like that neon pink t-shirt, go for it. It gives you individuality. If you think about it really, if everyone decided to create their own capsule wardrobe in the same way, we’d all be wearing neutral colours. How fun would that be? Yeah...
Keep building it, explore what you like, what you dislike, find out what might be missing, it’s a project!
10. Don’t bother about what other people *may* think.
Nobody is going to care that you wear your outfits frequently. Seeing that you’ve made a wardrobe that suits you and makes you feel confident, there should be nothing to worry about. Re-wearing clothes is not a crime. Also, washing machines are a thing...
11. Last thing to note, keep your wardrobe in good condition.
Keep your pieces in good condition to ensure that they last long and still look great. Follow care instructions on clothing labels and store items appropriately when not in use. If you decide that an item doesn’t work for you anymore, you can always sell it or give it away knowing that it’s in good condition.
Thank you for reading. :)
Howlett, N., Pine, K., Orakçıoğlu, I., & Fletcher, B. (2013). The influence of clothing on first impressions: Rapid and positive responses to minor changes in male attire. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 17(1), 38-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612021311305128
Vinted Selling Tips 2026
If you’re finding it hard to sell your clothes on Vinted in 2026, these tips might just be exactly what you’re looking for. Vinted is a second hand clothing site that’s pretty awesome because it allows you to sell your unwanted clothing items with free listings.
These are quick and simple, tried and tested tips that will get you sales in no time. Selling is a piece of cake once you understand the basics. Vinted is very simple to use so give it a try if you can! It’s no wonder why it’s a leading online marketplace in 2026.
Vinted selling tips (2025)
Just got another 5 star rating on Vinted. #grafting
HOW DOES VINTED WORK?
Vinted is not a get-rich-quick scheme.
Most likely you will sell your items for far less than you intended to (or how much it was bought for originally). Cheaper items do better because buyers take into account the buyer protection fee and shipping costs (e.g., imagine buying an item for £1 and then having to pay £4 for it to be shipped, that’s now ~£5).
Compared to Depop, Vinted is more targeted towards the majority, rather than ‘young, trendy’ people. There are all sorts of items on Vinted. You get paid for what you sell, and you don’t have to pay a fee to Vinted. Instead, the buyer pays for the item, buyer protection, and the shipping costs. All you need to do is send your item in reasonable packaging and wait for the buyer to receive it.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO SELL THINGS ON VINTED?
To answer this simply, it’s not a one answer fits all scenario. Don’t expect your items to be sold within a couple of hours, days, or even weeks. It can take a long time for items to sell, even if you list it very well, or even if it’s a popular item. Buyers usually like your items and may be waiting for you to lower the price before deciding whether to purchase an item from you. See the key tip in make your presence known if you want to make a quick sale.
This answer depends on what exactly it is that you’re selling and how much you’re selling it for. Some people have items listed for a whole year before they see any sign of interest from potential buyers.
You might find that winter-associated items sell faster at the end of the year, and spring/summer items sell well from April to August for example.
You may have heard of the term BNWT, but what does it mean on Vinted? BNWT means ‘Brand New With Tags’. Items that are relatively new generally sell better.
Vinted is oversaturated; tons of items are uploaded daily, so your listing may never/rarely be seen (unless someone searches/filters anything that relates to your listing). Hence why descriptions and titles are important. More exposure = more chances of being seen by potential buyers. You can also follow your family and friends on Vinted if you’re interested in getting your items seen more. You can probably even join a Vinted group on social media sites to share what you’re selling (according to their terms and conditions).
Read the terms and conditions of what you can sell on Vinted itself here. You will be surprised at what you can and can’t sell. Consistently uploading items that violate the terms and conditions will most likely get you suspended from the app.
TAKE CLEAR PHOTOS OF YOUR ITEMS.
Don’t keep your buyers guessing. A photo speaks 1,000 words. Let the photos do the talking.
Add as little as six photos including the front, back, bottom, sizing label (measurements), authenticity card (if prompted), and any damages or imperfections. You can add up to 20 photos so make use of this.
Good lighting is a must. No amount of carrots can help a buyer determine what you’re selling. Daylight is good for photos, but as long as the photo looks like the item you are selling in person, then there shouldn’t be a problem.
A buyer ideally should be able to see a full length photo of the item especially if they are a long clothing item such as trousers, a dress, or a coat.
Keep your photos simple. No other objects are necessary.
Don’t alter your clothes to make them look like something that it’s not (e.g., moving the fabric at the waist so it looks more narrow in the picture), unless you’ve provided unaltered images. It can be misleading.
Take a picture of the item by itself, whether it be on a table, mannequin, or on a hanger. Make sure items are not sprawled out on your floor. Nobody wants your carpet dust. Also, skip wearing your items in photos. Buyers are more likely to purchase clothes that are not being worn in photos, especially if they’re brand new with tags (BNWT).
Don’t use screenshots from original listings/stores, but you can put the name of the item/item code in the description for the buyer to do their own research.
NEW FEATURE 2026 - Vinted has introduced a reverse image search feature. This allows buyers to upload a photo to find similar items instantly, making your lead image more important than ever. If your photos are clear and well-lit, your items will be the first ones to pop up when a buyer is searching for that specific look.
KEYWORDS ARE A MUST.
Use keywords in titles.
The more keywords, the more chances it will show up in searches.
Try using this title template to list your items:
[BRAND NAME] [COLOUR] [*MATERIAL] [ITEM NAME (if it has one)] [TYPE OF ITEM] *with [ADDITIONAL FEATURE]
*not necessary
For example:
Instead of ‘grey hoodie’ → Sisters and Seekers Grey Holy Hoodie with Pockets
Instead of ‘black top’ → M&S Collection Black Cotton Printed Graphic T-Shirt
Instead of ‘RI top’ → River Island Ecru Limoncello T-Shirt
DESCRIPTIONS ARE A MUST.
After selecting the category of your item, select the correct details about your item: size, colour(s), brand, material(s), condition, and price.
Condition - Don’t lie about the item’s condition. If you’re listing an item as ‘new with tags’ or ‘new without tags’ this means that the item has not been used at all, with the exception of wearing it just for the photos on the listing. If you’ve worn the item ‘a couple of times’ then list the item as ‘very good’. There’s nothing more annoying than seeing someone list an item as totally brand new when it’s not. Just be honest! I’ve bought a few BNWT items myself that have smelled very worn unfortunately...
Material - Please add any materials if you can find them on the label. Many people care about what materials they wear these days.
Colour - Add all of the colours on the item.
The ‘describe your item’ section will allow you to put more information about your item in your own words. Goodness me, please don’t use ChatGPT or other AI tools to write a description, it’s not that deep and it just makes your listing look suspicious and somewhat fake. Here, you can tell buyers that you’re open to offers if you are, if you have other items listed (if you do), whether you have a pet-free home (if you do), the original price you got the item for, etc. List any potential problems with your item such as bobbles, loose threads, scratches, or stains. You can also add the item code on the label.
The more description in your description the better it will show up in searches. Trust me. Better visibility is great!
You can also add the ‘trend’ your item belongs to. Is your item suitable for work? Mention that it’s suitable for work. Did you pass your driving test wearing your item? Mention its magical powers. Is it giving early 2000s fashion? List it as Y2K. Is it giving Christmas season? Write that it’s suitable for Christmas.
Try using this ‘describe your item’ template (delete as appropriate):
Hi, I’m selling this [ITEM TYPE] because I don’t want it anymore/it was an unwanted gift/I wasn’t able to return it.
[BRAND NAME, TYPE OF ITEM, COLOUR, SIZE (UK/EU), RRP, ITEM CODE]
BNWT.
Pet-free home.
List any potential problems here.
I’m open to offers.
I’m open to bundles.
I’m selling other items/having a clear out, please look at my other items.
Message me if needed.
Thank you.
ITEM CONDITION.
I’ve read people’s experiences of receiving heavily soiled and mouldy items, items covered in dust, items covered in hair, and so on. Vinted states that your items should be in hygienic condition.
Humans like looking at pretty things. To make your items look reasonable, you can give them a wipe, a lint roll, spot stain removal, give them a wash (remove odours and stains), sew holes, iron them, shave bobbles, wipe dirt, remove stones from soles, tie up laces, wipe inner soles, use paper to keep items in structure, etc. Doing this will make your items look better in photos. Photos will also feel easier to take!
Put your items that you have listed in a clean area away from the clothes you do use, like in a box, separate drawer, room, etc. Somewhere where you can find them easily. This means when you get a sale, all you need to do is package your item appropriately. No faffing or second guessing about the item’s condition or wondering whether you still want it, involved. Act like it’s not yours anymore.
Now... Think to yourself, would you buy clothes/accessories that don’t look so great?
WHAT PRICE DO I LIST MY VINTED ITEM FOR?
Set a reasonable price for your items. See what price the item is being sold at, at other places rather than Vinted such as eBay, Depop, or the original retailer (if still in stock). Buyers can also make offers in which you can both negotiate a price. Offers can only go lower than the price you list the item for, generally speaking. Take into account if the item is new, rare, still in store, worn, damaged, etc. Sometimes you might even realise that selling your items on Vinted might not be the best option; you might decide to list it elsewhere, donate it, etc.
Keep in mind that buyers go on Vinted to look for bargains (i.e., items that are cheaper than RRP) - List your item at a price that you think is suitable.
Example Description: [Brand name] black cap. RRP: £20. BNWT. It’s all packed and ready to go! Check out my other items please!
MAKE YOUR PRESENCE KNOWN.
Open the app once in a while. Your profile will inform buyers that you’re active on the platform and are ready to be asked questions/respond in a timely manner towards a sale/offer. Would you buy from an account that was last active more than 3 months ago? If buyers see that you haven’t been on the app for quite a while, they might not bother to contact you or purchase your items.
Respond to buyers (nicely). You will get ridiculous questions from time to time, but just acknowledging a buyer’s presence can go a long way with a short and sweet reply.
Poor communication is a turn-off and might drive buyers away.
This proves to buyers that you’re legit, not spam, and not a robot.
On your profile, add a profile picture (anything but the grey person icon) and short description (e.g., Hello, I post whenever, offers acceptable, etc.). No need to add your location or real name to your profile.
Turn on ‘holiday mode’ if you will not be able to send items out. If you miss the ‘send your item off’ period, the sale will get cancelled.
As a buyer, it’s a good idea to send a message to sellers asking if they’re available (if they haven’t been on the app for months), in case you make a purchase and then you realise that the seller is probably not going to acknowledge a notification, don’t read their emails, deleted the Vinted app, etc.
Quick sale tip: If you want to make a sale fast, and notice that someone has liked your listing (therefore shown interest), go ahead and message them an offer. They might just accept it. Don’t harass them though, not cool.
PACKAGING.
Package your items properly so that they aren’t damaged in transit. Items can be placed in a box or a bag like the ones you get clothes in from online shopping. Obviously don’t put something small in a large box; use a suitable size for the item you’re posting.
If you ever receive any packages in the post, it’s a good idea to keep the packaging. The next time you receive a package, open it carefully so that you can reuse the packaging to package your very own items. You don’t need to buy packaging with this method. Surely you have a bag of bags somewhere, or a box of boxes (if not, it’s a good idea to keep some if you can). You can get a marker to cross out any sensitive information such as your address and old shipping labels (or you can use a tiny splodge of nail varnish remover/sanitiser, but wait for the residual ink to dry so that it doesn’t smudge on you or your item).
Recently I’ve seen that people are using empty cereal boxes and tea boxes. Honestly, it’s fine to use whatever as long as it gets your items to the buyer safely and securely.
Kellogg's Corn Flakes...
Someone has taken the time to purchase your item so show some consideration by packaging your item appropriately. Slapping your item in a torn up, worn out, musty Tesco carrier bag will probably land you with a negative review. Think to yourself, ‘Would I be annoyed if I received this item in this packaging?’ (especially if it’s on the pricier side; £10~€15~$15). Put your items in suitable, clean, and durable packaging that will not get wet, destroyed easily, and is not see-through.
No crisp packets please.
Last resort, if you don’t have any suitable packaging around, you can purchase packaging from your local post office (boo to single use plastic!!!). The thing with this method is that if you're using Vinted to make a profit and sell items for £1-£5, are you really making a profit?
Before you seal your item, it would be a good idea just to take a quick photo of it, just for piece of mind, or if there's a dispute.
If you’re printing your own label at home, make sure that you don’t stick tape over the barcode/QR code.
If you’re printing your label off in store and have multiple items, it’s a good idea to place a sticky note on them so you know which is which (don’t want to send the wrong item!).
Bags you can reuse.
More bags.
LEAVE A THANK YOU NOTE (If you want...).
It’s recommended that you leave a note in the package with your Vinted username and a thank you to remind buyers exactly what they’ve bought in case they’ve bought many things at once from other sellers. This encourages buyers to leave positive reviews (most of the time). If you’re printing or writing a note, make sure the ink has dried fully before you place it with the item. You don’t want any oopsies. The note doesn’t have to be extravagant, here’s an example of what to write:
Example Note
Hello [Insert buyer Vinted username],
Thank you for buying my item. I hope it arrived safely.
Thanks,
[Insert your Vinted username]
You don’t have to go all out on leaving a note. A sentence will do.
I’LL JUST TAKE THE ITEMS THANKS, NO TREATS PLEASE.
Don’t place any food items in your package, although it may seem like a kind gesture. Firstly, it can be seen as inconsiderate if the buyer has certain dietary requirements. Secondly, would you eat food from a complete stranger? (If you want to that’s fine, no judgement). And thirdly, if it were a hot season, or the delivery driver has their air con blasting in cold weather, think about what could happen to a chocolate bar.
Although you’re technically not ‘selling’ any consumables; you’re not actually allowed to sell consumables on Vinted.
You’re on Vinted to sell your item, and your item only.
P.S. Seen this on TikTok lately... please do not spray perfume on your items either.
CHOOSE THE CORRECT POSTAGE METHOD.
You must understand how postage on Vinted works and how to post your item off.
Select a postage method that you’re comfortable with, from InPost to Evri. If you’re in the UK, Royal Mail is a little more complicated as your shipping label is not autogenerated by the Vinted app.
Ask yourself, can you get to the post office/postal service within a reasonable time? Is the distance suitable for you? Do you know if there are printing facilities there? Do you need to print the label yourself or at a store? What will you do if no locker space is free? Is it easily accessible? Does it make sense to you?
Buyers pay for the label and delivery, the seller’s job is to print the label and send the item off properly packaged.
Items are most likely tracked so both you and the buyer can see where they are.
Updated (August 2023): Vinted made a change where parcel size may be automatically selected - You may not have to choose yourself.
Before (August 2023): Once again, list the correct postage cost - You don’t want your buyer to pay extra fees for collecting their package. It can be disappointing for a buyer to find out that they have to pay an extra fee to collect their package at the delivery office. If this actually does happen, and a buyer refuses to pick the parcel up, it will be sent back to the sender’s address after a certain amount of days (Royal Mail). The refund process for Vinted can be avoided if you list your item correctly and have good communication with your buyer.
If you need any help with complaints, use the ‘contact us’ feature on the Vinted app.
Send your items off within one to two days. There is a timeframe where Vinted expects you to send your items off. Sending them off as soon as possible means that your buyers are more likely to be satisfied and leave a good review for other prospective buyers to see.
Keep the proof of postage receipt for future reference.
RECEIVE REVIEWS.
Once buyers mark that their item has arrived and it’s in good condition, they are prompted to leave a review. If they don’t you will get a autogenerated review and you will shortly be able to withdraw funds to your chosen bank account.
Reviews show that you’re a real person with legit items to sell and are worth buying from.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO LIST ITEMS?
List items when people are more likely to be online/on the app, such as on evenings, weekends, and holidays. ‘Payday’ (usually at the end of the month) is a great time to list as well.
It’s best to sell items at the right time, for example, winter coats in winter, swimsuits in summer, etc.
If you have a ton of items to sell (I mean more than 10), it’s best not to list them all at once. You can lose momentum and get bored pretty fast when you have to take multiple photos, write a description, choose the features, find the right photos, and so on.
CONSIDER BUNDLING YOUR ITEMS.
Bundle your items if you’re selling a lot of similar items. Someone could be interested in buying more than one thing from you. When you bundle items, you can sell them at a discounted price altogether.
PROMOTE YOUR LISTINGS.
If you really want to get your items seen more (or sold faster), there are three ways to promote your listings (for a fee though). You can choose to bump items, spotlight your wardrobe, or create collections. You will find these features on your profile page - Find the blue tab saying ‘Promote your listings’. As mentioned previously, more views means a greater likelihood of your items being sold. However, promoting your items does not guarantee that they will be sold. It will just place them in areas with more traffic.
Should you promote your items? Read the last two sentences again.
Vinted sometimes offers these promotions for free - Keep an eye on your inbox for messages from Vinted.
BUMP ITEMS (NOT FREE)
You can choose to promote individual items on Vinted. This effectively increases the item’s visibility by showing it right at the top of search pages.
SPOTLIGHT WARDROBE (NOT FREE)
If you spotlight your wardrobe, several of your items are shown to relevant buyers on their homepage and in between search listings. Buyers can scroll through these items and have the option to click on your profile.
COLLECTIONS (NOT FREE)
Introduced in Spring 2024, create collections is a new feature on Vinted. You can organise your listings like a Pinterest board basically. Collections can be shown on the homepage - the first page people see when they open the app. Hence the importance of listing your items with good quality photos.
It’s like a bundle and spotlight working together.
You might list all of your coats together in one collection, or maybe holiday clothes, jeans, work clothes, shoes, gym clothes, etc. It’s up to you.
FAQs
DO FOLLOWERS MATTER?
No, followers do not matter. You can sell items successfully on Vinted without having followers. However, if you consistently sell similar items (e.g., of the same category, style, ‘aesthetic’, theme trend, etc.), having followers can be an advantage.
WHY IS MY ITEM NOT SELLING FAST?
Probably too expensive.
No one is searching for your particular item.
Probably niche.
Your profile probably looks suspicious.
You have poor reviews, or none.
Your item shows up poorly in search.
You don’t have a ‘trendy’ item that’s high in demand at the time of upload.
You need to be patient and wait.
Possible algorithm changes.
Buyers may be waiting to purchase it.
Buyers are waiting for you to reduce the price.
CAN SOMEONE SEE IF YOU VIEW THEIR VINTED PROFILE?
No!
Thank you for reading. :)
Not sponsored by or affiliated with Vinted.
Free 2026 Digital Journal (PDF Template for iPad and Tablet)
If I’m scrolling on my YouTube homepage and see a video of someone sharing their journal or diary, bet you I’m adding that straight to my watch later playlist for inspiration. Unfortunately, upon watching the video the inspiration lasts about 5 minutes and wears off into an endless TikTok scroll. There’s a kind of effortless aspirational energy in watching someone else perfectly document their life—and the curated idea of someone else's planning is often more engaging than the reality of doing it yourself. The constant pressure to maximise output has made self-improvement less about internal growth and more about external, performative success.
This whole vibe reveals the biggest scam of self-improvement right now, we are mistaking watching for doing. The core of journalling isn't that Pinterest-perfect spread; it's the actual grind—the messy, sometimes boring work of writing down your real, unfiltered thoughts. If you want to stop getting that five-minute boost that fades into a TikTok scroll, you have to ditch the idea of being perfect and neat. You need to stop treating your notebook like content and start using it like a personal cheat code. That means forgetting the fancy pens and perfect handwriting. A page full of chaotic scribbles that you actually wrote is always going to be much better than a pristine blank page that you were too intimidated to touch.
I was so invested in digital journalling back in 2023 that I even bought a tablet just for digital journalling. I got through 24 years of my life without wanting or needing a tablet. Forget Netflix, YouTube, making Pinterest boards, studying, playing games and all that—what are you all doing with your tablets anyway? After deciding to publish PBMIF’s first digital journal in 2024 I was amazed to see the attention the first journal received, so I made one for 2025. Can I be honest with you? I didn’t even use one of them myself. The thought was there, but not the drive nor the motivation. If I recall, I think I wrote I wanted 2025 to not be a ‘filler’ year, demonstrating the 2025 digital journal. The truth is I haven’t had the most fulfilling year, in fact I wasted a lot of it just by being online, watching other people live.
2026 Digital Journal Diary (PDF Download) 🩶 | iPad and Tablet | GoodNotes, Samsung Notes
Besides being a great procrastinator, I've struggled to post content recently. This year, changing website providers significantly hit the site's Google search rankings, and competition from AI search results has added to the problem. This combination has unfortunately led to a loss of motivation.
Amongst the many problems with journalling, if you see it that way, motivation is quite a large reason why many avoid it. If you’ve ever dipped your toe into journalling, starting off probably sounded like: What do you write? How much are you supposed to write? Is this aesthetically pleasing enough? Do I have to write morning pages like my favourite influencer? What if I forget to fill in my habit tracker? It can be overwhelming.
I’ve designed this year’s 2026 digital journal to be somewhat simple and intentional; just black and white, with a lot of white space, a place for you to put whatever you want. It’s horizontal this year, there’s something nice about a full screen (16:10). I had in mind a sort of album which you can document your year month by month, so it’s a case of copy and pasting pages with the corresponding month. Just drag and drop the pages wherever you want. This digital journal’s clean and spacious layout encourages you to write effortlessly without the distraction and pressure of trackers and clutter. A simple canvas for your daily life. It’s motivating precisely because it doesn't impose rigid structures—your entries flow freely.
This journal blends bits and pieces of life crafting with PERMA theory. Martin Seligman, a leading figure in positive psychology, devised what is known as the 'PERMA' model, which is comprised of five elements that contribute to wellbeing; positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement/accomplishment (see Kovich et al., 2022). On the other hand, life crafting (Schippers & Ziegler, 2019, p. 3), is “a process in which people actively reflect on their present and future life, set goals for important areas of life, and create goals that are more aligned with their values and wishes”. This process has been suggested to help individuals find more meaning in their lives and help improve mental health (see de Jong et al., 2020).
“That’s a bit of me” (p. 6)
A piece of toast with no toppings is a tabula rasa (blank slate) - What toppings make you, you?
I have included an image of a piece of bread (that I personally toasted, no AI here) so that you can put things on it that represent you.
(I find philosophy too much to handle.)
Includes:
About me
2026 Calendar (Monday start)
Vision board – Vision boards can promote self-reflection and self-awareness (Waalkes et al., 2019). They also provide an opportunity for creative expression, communication, future goal setting, and exploration (Burton & Lent, 2016), without relying heavily on verbal expression.
Daily templates – Daily to-do, check-in, today I’m feeling, I think that, what I’m grateful for today, weekly grid.
Outfit builder – Being a fashion psychology blog, it’s only right to have included an outfit builder.
Wellbeing Activities –
Dopamine menu – Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that drives the brain's motivation and reward-seeking behaviour (see Dresp-Langley, 2023). Starters are quick and simple activities that don’t take up too much energy (e.g., having a coffee break, putting a facemask on, listening to a song, etc.). Mains are meaty activities that require greater focus and tend to have benefits (e.g., baking, reading, learning a new skill, etc.). Desserts are activities that are entirely for pleasure and make you feel good in the short-term, though they should probably be done in moderation (e.g., online shopping, scrolling social media)!
Wellbeing graph (short term/long term, mind/body) - If you’re not a fan of the dopamine menu, you can use this grid instead.
Wellbeing (wheel) log - Wellbeing encompasses 8 mutually interdependent dimensions: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, occupational, financial, and environmental (see Stoewen, 2017). You can fill in the wheel to record how you feel about each dimension. I’ve also provided a blank wheel in case there’s anything specific you want to work on.
Out of/in my control – Think about things that you can control in life and what’s probably not worth stressing over (see Botha & Dahmann, 2023). Inside the ‘in my control’ circle, write down all of the things that you have control over. On the outside of the circle, write down things that are not in your control.
Menstrual cycle – Record your feelings, symptoms, and energy level during each stage of your cycle to help you proactively manage each stage.
Ins and outs – What’s in and out in 2026 for you?
This to that – Reframe thoughts into positive ones.
Goal setting – Plan out goals you’d like to achieve.
Wishlist – What are your needs and wants?
To read/watch/listen list.
Review
Other – 26 lessons learned in 2026, habit tracker, vision board, mood board, routine, dream log, what’s in my bag, travel plan, thoughts dump, recipes.
Album templates
Blank pages and grids
Quotes – I’ve included my favourite quotes that I think you’ll like too.
173 questions based on PERMA theory and life crafting (of course, answer the ones you’re comfortable with).
I wrote about the benefits in more detail here.
Remember to always do what works for you, and do it for you. Try out the journal and let me know how you find it, or if you’ve got any questions! You can reach me here: @psychologybutmakeitfashion. :)
You may find the file below. It's a hyperlinked PDF that can be used on any notes app that allows PDF import (i.e., Goodnotes, Samsung Notes, etc.). To go back to the menu, tap on the top right corner of each page. If you have an iPad/tablet with a wider resolution and don’t like the black bars/want a portrait version of this journal, please let me know.
Continuing the series of PBMIF’s annual digital journal diary planner PDF templates inspired by positive psychology, here’s the 2026 edition. Compatible with iPad, Samsung tablets, iPhone, Android, and other tablets. To be used with PDF import apps including Samsung Notes, Goodnotes, and Adobe Acrobat. [16:10, landscape, 13.6MB]. No clutter. Hyperlinks included. Tap the right top corner of the page to go back to the menu in reader mode.
Includes: About me; 2026 calendar (Monday start); 2026 vision board; daily templates (daily to-do, check-in, today I’m feeling, I think that, what I’m grateful for today, weekly grid); outfit builder; wellbeing activities: dopamine menu; wellbeing graph (short term/long term, mind/body); wellbeing (wheel) log; blank wheel; out of/in my control; menstrual cycle tracker; ins and outs; this to that; goal setting; wishlist; to read/watch/listen list; review; other – 26 lessons learned in 2026, habit tracker, vision board, mood board, routine, dream log, what’s in my bag, travel plan, thoughts dump, recipes; album templates; blank pages and grids; quotes; 173 questions/journal prompts based on PERMA theory and life crafting.
Find it here: Click the image above.
Thank you for supporting PBMIF in 2025/6. I wish you an awesome year.
PLEASE DO NOT UPLOAD THIS PDF TO PUBLIC FILE-SHARING SITES.
You may want to read…
Botha, F. & Dahmann, S. C. (2023). Locus of control, self-control, and health outcomes. SSM - Population health, 25, 101566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101566
Burton, L. & Lent, J. (2016). The use of vision boards as a therapeutic intervention. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 11, 52–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2015.1092901
de Jong, E. M., Ziegler, N., & Schippers, M. C. (2020). From shattered goals to meaning in life: Life crafting in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2648. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3656964
Dresp-Langley, B. (2023). From Reward to Anhedonia-Dopamine Function in the Global Mental Health Context. Biomedicines, 11(9), 2469. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11092469
Kovich, M. K., Simpson, V. L., Foli, K. J., Hass, Z., & Phillips, R. G. (2023). Application of the PERMA Model of Well-being in Undergraduate Students. International journal of community well-being, 6(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42413-022-00184-4
Schippers, M. C. & Ziegler, N. (2019). Life crafting as a way to find purpose and meaning in life. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2778. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02778
Stoewen, D. L. (2017). Dimensions of wellness: Change your habits, change your life. The Canadian veterinary journal (La revue veterinaire canadienne), 58(8), 861-862.
Waalkes, P. L., Gonzalez, L. M., & Gray, C. N. (2019). Vision boards: A creative tool for self exploration and identity development. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2019.1602092
Time for a Mid-Year Reset
Welcome, this is your mini mid-year reset guide.
Can you believe we're already halfway through the year? It's easy to get caught up in what you haven't accomplished yet, but let's be clear, it's never too late to start something new or go after your goals. There's no need to wait for January 1st, and you shouldn't feel like the year has been a waste. You still have six months to make great things happen.
This guide isn't about shaming you, telling you to start a 3AM productivity routine, or forcing you to read a dozen self-help books. Instead, it's an opportunity to pause, reflect on your year so far, and re-assess what truly matters to you.
I know how easy it is to wait for the "perfect" time to begin. But more often than not, the perfect time is right now. When you finally get started, you might even look back and wonder, "Why didn't I do this sooner?"
So, let's get into it. Here are five simple things you can do today to have a little refresh. ✨
It’s time. (Credit: dupe/kimberguillen)
Your vision board CHECK-IN
You’ve probably made a vision board at the start of the year.
A vision board is a visual collection of an individual’s aspirations (i.e., usually goals you’d like to achieve by December). It can include images, words, symbols, etc. Think of it like a bucket list; goals you want to work towards. It serves as a visual reminder and keeps you motivated.
Vision boards can facilitate imaginative thinking, link our subconscious desires to conscious goals (Burton & Lent, 2016; Waalkes et al., 2019), evoke positive emotions and hope, empower individuals to take control of their future narratives, enhance a sense of agency and active participation in defining and visualising goals (Burton and Lent, 2016). Furthermore, vision boards can be a valuable tool for promoting career development and self-awareness. Creating vision boards can help individuals to identify their strengths and interests, develop career goals, increase self-efficacy and motivation, and also help individuals feel more connected to culture and community (Waalkes et al., 2019).
Benedict (2021) suggests that creating and presenting vision boards can help individuals to reflect on their experiences, again, identify their strengths and weaknesses, set future goals, visualise success, gain inspiration, and learn from their own and others' experiences.
If you’ve made a vision board for this year, pull it up, take some time to review it, check your progress so far, have a think about:
What’s on there?
Have you achieved anything on there yet? (Well done if you have!)
What have you not achieved yet? (There’s still time to achieve!)
Why have you not been able to make any progress yet? (Find out what could be holding you back.)
Is there anything you’re not interested in/doesn’t resonate with you anymore? (Change it, remove it, or postpone it. It’s alright to have a change of heart. With a vision board, the thing is that you have the ability to change it. Your goals don’t have to be set in stone.)
If you haven’t made one, give it a try. You can make one for the rest of the year or you can make one to reflect your dreams and desires in general. Some people like to break their goals down by month, while others may go with the flow.
So how do you go about making a vision board? You can make a physical vision board or a digital one, whichever you prefer.
If you want to make a physical vision board, get a piece of paper or card. Print off some images and quotes that you like and stick it on the paper or card. It could look something like this:
On the other hand, if you want to make a digital vision board there are three main ways you can go about making one: A notes app (e.g., Apple Notes, Samsung Notes, Notion, Goodnotes, etc.); using online editing software (e.g., Word, PowerPoint, Paint, Canva, etc.); or simply saving images in a folder in your gallery.
You can be as specific as you want, there are no rules. You can cover areas such as finance, relationship, career, lifestyle, and recreation. You could include things like:
Restaurants you want to go to;
A promotion you’d like;
A new skill you’d like to learn;
A clothing item you really want; or
A place you’d like to visit.
If you’d like to take your vision board a step further, you may even plan out the steps you’re going to take in order to achieve your goals. Start off small, what little things can help you get started today? Remember that things don’t usually come into fruition overnight and can take some time to prepare and execute.
wardrobe RESET: DECLUTTER AND REORGANISE
If there’s one thing that we all have in common in our day to day lives, that one thing has got to be deciding what to wear. Our wardrobe is an area of our life that has a large influence on us.
Find the time to go through your wardrobe and/or drawers and take a look at the clothes you have. As you do, ask yourself a few questions:
What do you wear most often and what do you genuinely love?
What clothing items don't serve you anymore, need some repair, or are just taking up space?
Have you rediscovered anything you totally forgot you owned?
In the UK, it’s summer in July (sorry if you’re reading from Australia).
Now is the perfect time to make your wardrobe work for you. If you're in a summer climate, bring your favourite warm-weather clothes to the front of your closet. Move those heavy knits, thick jumpers, and winter coats to the back or a different storage spot. This simple swap makes it easier to see and access the items you'll actually wear in the coming months. It can also help you avoid buying new things for a holiday that you may already have buried in the back.
Oh, and those clothes I told you to think about earlier that don’t serve you anymore - Let’s be real, they’re probably taking up space. With these, you can:
Replace them with something that fits your current needs and style;
Donate them to a local charity;
Sell them on a second-hand app like Vinted, Depop, or eBay;
Recycle them at a textile recycling centre;
Mend anything that just needs a little TLC.
Are you finding that outfit planning is quite a struggle at this time of year? If you find yourself in a rush in the morning and struggle to find an outfit for work, school, or in general then take the time to plan your outfits out the night before! You won’t believe how much time you’ll save.
You can even try putting together a capsule wardrobe, there are many benefits to having this system in place. A capsule wardrobe involves a curated collection of a few essential, versatile items that you can mix and match. It can simplify your decisions, help you save money on impulsive purchases, and make getting dressed feel less like a chore and more like a joy.
Exercise: GET YOUR BODY MOVING
Exercise/physical activity can provide us with a lot of benefits; it’s a great way to keep us not just physically healthy, but can also do wonders for our mental health as well.
The NHS (2025) recommends that 19-64 year olds take part in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week. According to a recent systematic review carried out by Huang and Wong (2025), featured in Frontiers in Psychology (Sec. Sport Psychology), ‘Exercise prescriptions for young people's emotional wellbeing’, it’s been suggested that: low-intensity exercises can help reduce negative emotions and increase mental toughness; moderate-intensity exercises can effectively reduce anxiety and increase vitality; short periods of running can enhance wellbeing; and 15–30 minutes of exercise can lead to lasting positive emotions.
Moreover, Trajković et al. (2023) discussed in a editorial titled ‘Effects of physical activity on psychological well-being’ that the positive psychological effects of exercise include increased life satisfaction, positive emotions, self-appraisal, self-efficacy, self-confidence, and physical competence. In addition, the authors comment that higher levels of physical activity is also associated with lower cortisol levels, lower negative mood, fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, and fewer sleep disturbances. They add that physical activity may be considered a protective factor for lower stress levels, depression, and poor eating habits.
Of course, you can tailor exercise to your own individual circumstances, what might work for someone else might not work for you. You don’t have to join a run club, sign up for a gym membership, start loading up on protein, buy a new Alo/lululemon set, neither a Peloton subscription. There are many things you can do to keep your body active such as:
Taking a walk (maybe in a shopping centre, at the park, the beach, etc.), especially when the weather is tolerable;
Playing with a pet;
Swimming;
Yoga; and even
Gentle stretches.
You can find hundreds of free guided workout videos on YouTube, with options for every fitness level. If getting active feels like a struggle, start with just a few minutes a day. The key is to start small and find something you genuinely enjoy.
If you find it hard to concentrate, find exercise quite boring, or if you’re nervous to exercise in a gym, try listening to your favourite music to boost your morale.
Journal: WRITE YOUR THOUGHTS DOWN
Speaking about keeping your body active, it’s also important to keep your mind active.
One simple way to do this is through journalling! Journalling is simply the act of writing down your thoughts, feelings, and ideas. It gives you a place to acknowledge them instead of having them just floating around in your mind (rent-free?).
Journalling can be an important tool for improving emotional and psychological wellbeing (Wurtz et al., 2022), and it’s pretty useful if you don’t have anyone to talk to or if you’re not comfortable sharing your feelings with others.
You can write in a notebook, a diary, a notes app, a journalling app, whatever you want. You can download PBMIF’s free 2025 digital journal here which includes many activities and questions to aid reflection.
To get started, try reviewing the first half of the year by reflecting on these questions:
What have you done so far that you're proud of?
What’s gone well for you, and what hasn’t gone so well?
What's made you happy or sad?
What are you grateful for?
What have you been putting off that you want to start now?
What has you feeling worried or restless?
If writing's not your cup of tea, you can still reflect in other ways. At the end of the day (in bed), take a moment to think about one thing you're grateful for. It doesn't have to be a major event—it could be a small win, like finding the last item in stock that happened to be your size, getting a package in the mail, passing an exam, spending time with someone you love, or even just finding an extra chip at the bottom of your takeaway bag. Stuff like that, yeah?
Even better yet, hear me out. When you get some private time to yourself, whether it be first thing in the morning, when you’re driving, cleaning, in the shower, or even right before you go to bed, just have a little conversation with yourself (or you can speak to God, the universe, etc. if you prefer) aloud. You can even look out of the window and just speak whatever’s on your mind. Talk freely and openly. Ask questions. Your own thoughts may provide you breadcrumbs towards breakthroughs.
Digital Detox: GET RID OF UNNECESSARY DIGITAL CLUTTER
Our digital devices… so prominent in our lives. It’s only right to keep them clutter-free, right? Otherwise they just serve as a distraction.
When you’ve got notifications going off all the time, a load of screenshots of recipes you’ll probably never bother to try, 100+ unread emails, ridiculous content on your for you page, let’s be real, is this not annoying? What’s more, do you find yourself scrolling social media for hours on end?
Schraggeová and Bisaha (2025) describe a digital detox as . . . “a range of online and offline interventions aimed at improving wellbeing by optimising habits and behaviours associated with technology use, particularly smartphones”. A digital detox isn't about not using your digital devices. It's simply any effort you make to be more intentional with your technology use. It's about taking back control of your digital life so it serves you and your wellbeing.
Try and make your digital habits mindful and intentional. Here are a few things you can do to give your digital life a little clean up:
Clean up your feed: Unfollow any accounts that no longer serve you joy. On the flip side, follow accounts that are uplifting, inspiring, or genuinely useful. At the same time, unsubscribe from newsletters that clog up your inbox and delete old spam emails;
Declutter your phone: Delete old apps, screenshots, and notes you don’t use or need. If you have screenshots of things you'd like to do or try, put them on your vision board! If you find your screen time is out of control, consider setting app timers to help you use your time more mindfully;
Reconnect with what matters: Instead of endless scrolling, use your device for real connection. Maybe send a quick message to a friend or family member you haven't spoken to in a while. Or, put your phone down and start that new hobby you've been wanting to try;
Perform a digital check-up: Take a moment to save important photos and files to an external hard drive or cloud service. While you're at it, do a quick password check and update your passwords. Keep them somewhere safe.
And there you have it: five simple things you can do to give yourself a mid-year refresh. I hope this guide helps you take a step back, reset your focus, and approach the rest of the year feeling more intentional and inspired.
Thank you for reading. ;)
Benedict, B. C. (2021). Using Vision Boards to Reflect on Relevant Experiences and Envision Ideal Futures. College Teaching, 69(4), 231-232. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2020.1850411
Burton, L., & Lent, J. (2016). The use of vision boards as a therapeutic intervention. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 11, 52–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2015.1092901
Huang, W. & Wong, T. L. (2025). Exercise prescriptions for young people's emotional wellbeing: a systematic review of physical activity intensity, duration, and modality. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1552531. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1552531
NHS UK . (Accessed: 2025, Jul 16). Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-for-adults-aged-19-to-64
Radtke, T., Apel, T., Schenkel, K., Keller, J., & von Lindern, E. (2021). Digital detox: An effective solution in the smartphone era? A systematic literature review. Mobile Media & Communication, 10(2), 190-215. https://doi.org/10.1177/20501579211028647
Schraggeová, M. & Bisaha, D. (2025). The effect of digital detox through digital minimalism using the MinimalistPhone [sic] app on the behavior of young users and their emotional experience. Computers in Human Behavior, 18, 100699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100699
Trajković, N., Mitić, P. M., Barić, R., & Bogataj, Š. (2023). Editorial: Effects of physical activity on psychological well-being. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1121976. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1121976
Waalkes, P. L., Gonzalez, L. M., & Brunson, C. N. (2019). Vision Boards and Adolescent Career Counseling: A Culturally Responsive Approach. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 14(2), 205-216. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2019.1602092
Wurtz, H. M., Willen, S. S., & Mason, K. A. (2022). Introduction: Journaling and Mental Health during COVID-19: Insights from the Pandemic Journaling Project. SSM. Mental health, 2, 100141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2022.100141
Q&A with LA: Why I Created a Fashion Psychology Magazine
The content is giving, but who is the face? Where is the visual?
(Context below)
Hello, I’m Lillia, the founder of Psychology, But Make It Fashion. Uh, hmm, no. OK, content creator then. Uh, how about no. Fashion psychologist? Uh, no. Let’s leave it as editor.
Over the past two years, I’ve been in the shadows (love that) writing content (do two articles per year count?) on the psychology of fashion... and wellbeing. Psychology, But Make It Fashion has become more than just a blog to me; I love interacting with you and creating content (that I hope you find interesting!). I wanted to take a moment to reintroduce myself (have I ever actually introduced myself though? Hmm...).
A couple of weeks ago I asked you to send in any questions you’d like answered. Although I couldn’t answer them all in this post, thank you for sending them in, it’s much appreciated.
Why did you create a Fashion Psychology magazine?
During my undergrad years, I had developed an interest in positive psychology (i.e., the psychology of flourishing, living a happy life, positive mindset, flow state, mindfulness, etc.) and took a liking to exploring fashion-related topics in my coursework, which in turn gave me a really good insight into the [fashion] industry’s shortcomings. Fashion has a large impact on our lives in many different areas, directly and indirectly. I created Psychology, But Make It Fashion to explore how psychology and fashion are connected, not just in a theoretical way, but in a way that leads to real, positive improvements in people’s lives. Life can suck a lot (sometimes). I’m very lucky to say that Psychology, But Make It Fashion has a global audience of over 100 countries and if the platform has offered anyone at least one useful titbit then I can say it’s been worthwhile.
Did you study BSc Psychology of Fashion or MSc Psychology of Fashion at UAL, and would you recommend it because I want to be a Fashion Psychologist too?
I don’t have any experience at University of the Arts London in that respect, but if you want to study psychology at a degree level (in the UK) make sure that the course is accredited by the British Psychological Society, make sure to have a placement year (or at least some form of work experience), and network! Networking and speaking to people with similar interests to you is quite important if you want to get your name out there. As much as it sucks, it’s not about what you know anymore, it’s about who you know.
Would you consider print? I would order it, please ship to Asia!
That’s kind of you, thank you for your interest. The idea of a print version is definitely something I’ve considered, and it’s really encouraging you’d be interested in it. Shipping to Asia is something I'd need to look into. I’ll keep that in mind for the future. It’s wonderful to know the blog resonates so far!
The content is giving, but who is the face? Where is the visual?
This question. Haha, I love this question. The face will remain behind the screen. I made Psychology, But Make It Fashion as a resource for Gen Z, it was never intended to be a personal blog. I need to use this question as an article title or caption. Becoming a content creator was never something I planned to do.
Why do you offer free stuff?
Knowledge is power.
What fashion influencers do you watch on YouTube?
I don’t really watch ‘influencers’ as much anymore, but from the top of my head I’ve been subscribed to Jordan Lipscombe, Nuria Ma, and Sian Lilly for nearly a decade now. I’ve always enjoyed their vlogs. I also think Heejoo's (Yoo's Beauty), Veiled's, Ena J’s and yuyusai's channels are fun to watch. I like urbex (urban exploration) channels too (e.g., Urbandoned, The Proper People) where they explore ‘dead malls’/abandoned shopping centres (does this count?). With YouTube (and any other social media platform) you can live vicariously through other people without having to visit places/experience things yourself anymore. I like to see what type of content the algorithm serves me these days—Just out of curiosity. But, it’s nice to watch content that aligns with you and makes you feel content.
Do you have a favourite quote?
I like quite a few but here are the contenders: ‘People can only meet you as deeply as they’ve met themselves’; ‘What would you do if success was guaranteed?’; and how could I forget… ‘It is what it is’.
What’s your go-to outfit when you need a confidence boost?
While I don’t particularly have a confidence-boosting outfit, I find that feeling put-together gives me confidence. And for me, that feeling comes from knowing I’m prepared. My handbag is always stocked with things I need such as tissues, gum, hand sanitiser, snacks, hair-ties, things like that.
Bonjour. What’s your coffee?
Bonjour! I’m a tea person, I like black tea with milk. I grew up drinking Lipton Yellow Label (controversial I know). Caffeine and I have a bit of a disagreement (Not that kind of disagreement, more along the lines of I won’t be able to sleep). I’m into loose leaf now because of microplastics and all that. There’s always something!
Love PBMIF. What are your biggest challenges in maintaining a brand?
Thank you! By brand, do you mean PBMIF? If so, I would say sticking to a consistent visual identity. Also I don’t like putting out low quality content at all. There was a time where I was posting daily on TikTok and while PBMIF was getting engagement I wasn’t happy with the content. I’d rather not post at all than post lame content.
Do you analyse people by what they’re wearing?
Absolutely not. I don’t analyse people either. Could you imagine? “Oh, your shoes suggest you’re feeling a bit off today...” Haha. That would be annoying, no?
Tell me something?
One of my friends had a rabbit that was allergic to carrots. Does this qualify? He used to eat lettuce. Not my friend, the rabbit.
Can you read my mind?
You know what? Yes, yes I can (no).
Your account’s likes on TikTok are hilarious. Who runs the account?
Busted.
I’m in a talking stage with a nice guy (I’m a girl) but he’s being a bit weird? He doesn’t reply to my DMs until like days after. He’ll post on his instagram stories though. Does he like me?
Ooooo, giiiiiirl. You’re asking me for dating advice? I’ll try my best. You’ll know when a guy genuinely likes you. Of course it’s inconvenient if someone doesn’t reply to you sooner. Our phones are in our hands a lot so there’s no excuse to not type a quick reply. Because I don’t know the whole situation, if I were you I would ask him why he is taking a long time to reply, and if he doesn’t come back with a plausible answer or one at all, then maybe take it as a sign that it’s not worth exploring that relationship, oherwise you’ll constantly be in a cycle of worrying. If he doesn’t meet your expectations, you have your answer.
How do you feel about overconsumption culture on social media?
I’ll leave a GIF set here of Britney Spears that’s been in my screenshots folder for years. I think it sums up how I feel about both overconsumption and social media. Life is about meaning and values. We all assign different meanings and values to everything. I have quite a lot of thoughts that you may have experienced as well such as ‘why are we here?’, ‘we’re on a floating rock’, ‘the planet is awesome with so many resources’, ‘why are we destroying the planet’, etc. What we choose to do or spend our time doing, willingly, can show what you place value in. We need to spend way less time on social media - that’s for sure! We need to be ourselves, find out what we place value in, and not copy trends. We’re losing our indivduality.
All this stuff goes away and it’s just yourself and your soul that you have to deal with.
Hi I’m from TH. Your journal has improved my life so much. Can you make a 2026 digital journal?
Hello! Thailand? What a stunning place. I like a novel by Alex Garland called ‘The Beach’ which is set in Thailand! I’m super glad to hear the journal has made a positive impact on your life. This is the best feedback I could ask for. Yes, I will surely make one for 2026. If you want it, I will make it.
Three words of advice you would give to people starting their own fashion brand?
Only three? I can’t, please... I need more time to decide. Research, create, connect... Can I add one more? Persevere... And one more? Refine.
Fashion Psychology student here, I’m stuck on choosing a dissertation topic, what did you write your dissertation on?
The wellbeing of fashion undergraduates and the impact of male plus size clothing models in TV Adverts. Quick advice for you: You should find a topic with enough literature to talk about! You’ve probably chosen it by now! Best of luck.
What’s your favourite way to unwind?
There’s nothing better than a very, very toasty shower. Very toasty.
I’m 21. All my friends have boyfriends and I don’t. I’m still living with my parents (love them) while I study and I’m starting to feel sad. I graduate from psychology soon!
Honestly, take a deep breath and chill. You’re young. If your friends have boyfriends, that’s on them. When you feel it’s the right time to be in a relationship, that’s the best time for you. I assume you don’t mind living with your parents still; it’s such a great thing to be able to live with your parents and study (in my opinion). Especially if you all get along, then don’t worry about what other people think.
What exactly do you think is making you feel sad? It could be the life stage you’re in at the moment. Do you think everyone is doing better than you? The reality is they’re probably not. There’s been a shift in how younger people in the world today see ‘success’. It was traditionally going to school, getting a job, meeting someone, buying a house, getting married, etc., but now it’s more about enjoying the here and now. Due to rising costs, a lack of jobs, and AI, it’s understandable why our generation never feel satisfied. We were not set up in the first place to thrive in the world we live in today, so we will adapt by learning new skills, enjoying our hobbies, be with the people we love, keeping fit, and finding meaning in our lives!
Well done on graduating!
If you could time travel and give your younger self one piece of fashion advice, what would it be?
You know what? I would tell myself, “You do not need to go to H&M to buy lots of shirts for sixth form, do your maths chemistry homework instead”. To this day I still have dreams about not revising for my A-Level chemistry exams. I despised chemistry.
Not a question, but I love this blog.
That’s so lovely, thank you. I’m glad you enjoy it.
Thank you for sending questions in. Bye! :)
2025 Digital Journal
Did you say you're looking for a new digital journal to try out in 2025? Say no more.
It's 2025!
You like?
PBMIF's 2025 digital journal has launched. Available as a PDF document, this journal can be used on any device using your preferred notes application.
After your nice feedback on the 2024 digital journal (thank you), I thought I'd make another one for 2025.
Yes, it's free.
WHAT'S NEW?
What's new this year?
The journal has an entirely new look. In this edition tabs/dividers and textures have been added, it looks more authentic, and it's more straightforward. It has a bit of a romantic feel - French menu-esque... It's designed for you to get to know you, better.
One major difference is that activities are now blended seamlessly into the journal; large chunks of text and instructions have been replaced by simple sentences. The rigid structure of the last journal was quite boring and I was never motivated to complete it myself. It's more customisable this time. By adding tab dividers, you're able to drag pages to whichever tab you want. The pages have an added texture to appear paper-like. I've removed page numbers. As this journal was intended for you to move pages around and add more (i.e., duplicate them), it didn't quite make sense to add page numbers this time because they'd be all over the place!
Taking these changes into consideration, I hope you find this journal more interesting to use.
JOURNALLING - DO WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU!
There are no rules when it comes to journalling. You can journal whenever you feel like it. Some people like to journal at the end of the week and some like to journal instead of scrolling through social media. Journalling shouldn't be a chore where you feel obliged to track your every waking moment.
Included in this PDF template:
Calendar;
Monthly tabs with hyperlinks;
100+ questions;
Vision board; and
Blank template pages.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF JOURNALLING?
Have you tried journalling before? (I can't commit to spelling journaling like this). Journalling has been shown to have many benefits including increased life satisfaction.
If you've never journalled before, it can seem quite overwhelming. What are you meant to write? Where can you find the time to journal? How do you know which app to use? What pen colour do you choose? PBMIF's 2025 digital journal has a clean layout; it's designed to not be overwhelming. It's simple and easy to use.
Journalling is about finding out what you like to write about; it's personal to your values, interests, and life experiences (Huston et al., 2024). You don't need to adhere to what others do with their journals. What you find comfortable and pleasurable is the best approach for you.
Gratitude and gratitude journalling have been shown to positively impact psychological wellbeing and affective functioning, while also decreasing negative affect and stress (Cauble & Downs, 2022; Hall et al., 2024; Mohamed et al., 2023).
A recent study (McKay et al., 2024), published in Mindfulness, found that most participants who engaged in a 91-day self-compassion journalling exercise reported positive feedback and beneficial impacts on self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. A journal is a low-cost and accessible way to improve self-compassion and wellbeing.
What is more, the beauty of digital journalling is that it's editable unlike pen to paper.
If you'd like to read more about the benefits of journalling, you can read this article.
You may find the file below. It's a PDF so it can be used on any notes app that allows PDF import (i.e., Goodnotes, Samsung Notes, etc.).
Thank you for your support, please do leave a comment, and even share your experience with the journal if you'd like to! I wish you a lovely 2025. Keep a lookout for more free downloadable resources.
2025 Digital Journal (Free PDF Download)
N.B. Hyperlinks only work in reader mode.
You may want to read...
Hall, A. H., Bache-Wiig, G. & White, K. M. (2024). Exploring the Impact of Gratitude Practice as a Protective Factor for Young Children. Early Childhood Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-023-01623-3
Huston, G. E., Law, K. H., Teague, S., Pardon, M., Muller, J. L., Jackson, B., & Dimmock, J. A. (2024). Understanding and optimising gratitude interventions: the right methods for the right people at the right time. Psychology & Health, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2024.2336042
McKay, R. C., Zottl, L., & Jung, M. E. (2024). Becoming Kinder to Yourself: Evaluating a 91-Day Self-Compassion Journal. Mindfulness. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-024-02484-6
Mohamed, N. H., Beckstein, A., Winship, G., Ashraf Khan Mou, T., Pang, N. T. P., & Relojo-Howell, D. (2023). Effects of self-expressive writing as a therapeutic method to relieve stress among university students. Journal of Poetry Therapy, 36(3), 243–255. https://doi.org/10.1080/08893675.2023.2174678
Skrzelinska, J., Ferreira, J. A., Linharelhos, M., Aguiar, E., & Matos, M. (2024). The impact of gratitude practice on well-being and mental health in post-COVID times among Portuguese adults. Current Psychology, 43, 34863–34874. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06974-7
Tolcher, K., Cauble, M., & Downs, A. (2022). Evaluating the effects of gratitude interventions on college student well-being. Journal of American College Health, 72(5), 1321–1325. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2022.2076096
Online Shopping Scams
Listen here, je déteste les arnaques. Pardon my French?
Hello, if you're reading this, chances are that you've come across something rather questionable while online shopping and you're not sure whether to believe it or not.
Shopping online has become a go-to for many of us. Within a few clicks, your items arrive at your doorstep... or your chosen location. No more going into a store. No more shrieking clothing rails (screeeeee). No more... human interaction required. Sounds like a dream (to someone out there).
As convenient as it is, there's always a catch... right?
In this case, that's the possibility of running into scammers.
As we explore the world of online shopping, it's essential to stay informed and alert to protect ourselves from falling victim to scams.
A scam is a fraudulent and deceptive scheme designed to trick people into giving their money or personal information away.
From questionable emails to dodgy links, scams these days come in many forms and are becoming more sophisticated as technology evolves. Scammers use a range of emotional tactics to manipulate and persuade consumers - Scammers try to evoke fear, sympathy, urgency, excitement, guilt, relief...
Anyone can be the target of a scam according to Koning, Junger, and Veldkamp (2024). The researchers wanted to find out what factors could make us susceptible to scams such as sociodemographics, personality, health, internet usage, prior fraud knowledge and exposure to fraud attempts. It's suggested that frequent internet use and low self-control could make us more susceptible, but of course, this is only one piece of research.
By recognising these 5 red flags and staying vigilant, we can enjoy a secure and comfortable online shopping experience (as it should be).
Do any of you remember when you could put your own image on a card? And now they're all mostly blank.
IT JUST SEEMS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE...
As they say, when something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
If an item that would usually be on the pricier side is discounted greatly, something must be wrong with it, right?
Double check the item's description to find out the reason why.
Examine any photos provided. You may want to carry out a reverse image search to see if the photos have been taken from somewhere else.
In some cases, the item may not be genuine, either a counterfeit or a knockoff, designed to look like the real deal.
Ask the seller questions if you can.
THE WEBSITE LOOKS A LITTLE OFF...
There are a range of checks you can use to establish the credibility of a website.
Look out for poorly designed websites with grammatical errors and low quality photos - A generally unprofessional appearance should raise an eyebrow. Are words spelled incorrectly? Are the fonts and logos inconsistent? Does the page look rather empty or all over the place? Legitimate online stores will invest in their website's appearance.
Take a look through the webpages - Is there a contact page, an about page, a T&Cs page, privacy policy, etc.? Or is it just one page?
Have a look at the footer at the bottom of the page - Is there a physical address? Look the address up online.
Also, take a look at the website's address (URL). This is found in the bar likely to be at the top of your browser. Ideally, the URL should start with https:// - which means “Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure.” This basically means that your data is being transmitted securely. In addition, your address bar may display a padlock as well.
Upon checking the URL, also check for spelling errors and be aware if the URL is long.
You can also search for the website online to see what results appear.
Moreover, you may want to take a look at their social media. Do they actually have any accounts on reputable social media sites? Do they have followers and do they look real? Do they have comments? How new are the accounts?
WEREN'T EXPECTING AN EMAIL OR TEXT?
One of the most common scams is known as phishing. 'Phishing' is when scammers use emails, text messages or phone calls to steal your information. Usually, this method guides people into giving out their personal details in some way. Scammers may hide behind the disguise of reputable businesses where calls, emails, and text messages can seem really legit.
Stay vigilant when receiving texts and emails that you weren't expecting.
You should never be asked for your National Insurance (NI) number/SSN, PIN, a one time access code (OTP), or passwords out of the blue.
Here's an email received in late 2024. Using this as an example, here's a few tips and tricks to help you find out whether an email or text may be a scam:
Email in spam inbox.
What is it about? An order confirmation.
Was I expecting it? No. Red flag.
Where did I find this message? In the spam inbox... Red flag.
What's the email address? The sender is a random Gmail account. Real legit businesses are likely to have professional email addresses under their own domain. Copying and pasting this email into a search engine shows no results. Red flag.
If you're still not sure what to do, you may view the file attached - However don't download it nor click any hyperlinks on it. You may hover over hyperlinks to see the URL address (which may be a load of waffle anyway).
If in doubt, you may contact businesses directly if you have an account with them and would like to verify the email/message.
Upon viewing the file attached, it seems to be a PayPal invoice for a product bought on eBay. In this case, the receiver of this email did not have an eBay account nor a PayPal account. This email can definitely be determined as spam.
Fake PayPal invoice.
If you'd like to do some further inspection:
Take a look at the logos. Are they low quality? Both logos do not look correct in this case.
Search the phone number online. This phone number has been copied and pasted into this document - the text is larger.
The font is not uniform throughout the document.
The text uses language that's quite demanding - "call us immediately".
Look up the shipping address online.
NO CONTACT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE...
Legitimate businesses offer clear and accessible contact information. If you struggle to find a way to reach customer service or the provided details seem off, it's best to look elsewhere.
If a phone number or email address is available, you can search them online.
HOW ARE THE REVIEWS?
Customer feedback is crucial for online retailers. If a website lacks reviews or testimonials, it could indicate that they aren't genuine. However this is not always the case. Look for reviews on external platforms (such as Trustpilot) to gauge a retailer's overall credibility.
Unfortunately, reviews can also be fake, either written by a bot or a person. Here are some things to keep in mind when reading reviews:
Are there lots of oddly similar reviews?
Are the reviewers all very new?
Are the reviews complete nonsense or overly factual?
Does the retailer have social media? You can check comments under posts this way as well.
Although this is not a comprehensive list of red flags to look out for, it's important to trust your instincts. Just remember that if something feels off or too good to be true, it's better to be safe than sorry. Do your research before you buy.
If you do happen to find yourself caught in a scam, try not to think of the worst case scenario straight away. Rather, the first thing you should do is contact your bank who will be able to help you step by step. You can call your bank, walk into a branch, or use your bank's official banking app.
If you live in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, you can report scams by visiting Action Fraud, a national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
Thank you for reading.
Stay safe!
You may want to take a look at...
Koning, L., Junger, M., & Veldkamp, B. (2024). Risk factors for fraud victimization: The role of socio-demographics, personality, mental, general, and cognitive health, activities, and fraud knowledge. International Review of Victimology, 30(3), 443-479. https://doi.org/10.1177/02697580231215839
Norris, G., Brookes, A. & Dowell, D. (2019). The Psychology of Internet Fraud Victimisation: a Systematic Review. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 34, 231–245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-019-09334-5
The Psychology of Rings
MA’AM THE RING STACK IS GIVING
Hailey Bieber’s ring stack
Lately, Psychology, But Make It Fashion's Instagram explore page has been covered in rings (not the doorbell...). I'm talking about engagement ring posts, wedding bands, fashion rings, jewellery ads where the models gaze at each other rather unnaturally, high-end luxury rings, manicure posts, those flower DIY rings with the beads... Lovely stuff.
I thought I'd make a little post taking a little look into the psychology of rings. When we think of rings, we think of the accessory that people wear on their fingers. (Yes, people can wear rings on their toes too). Rings can express our style, inform people of our relationship status, status in society, culture, values, where we like to shop, and how we'd like to be seen. Above all other jewellery, rings are most commonly associated with sentimental value - eternity, marriage, a promise to the self, can be passed down through generations, solidify our relationships, be one-of-a-kind, and hold (happy) memories. Here are a few academic journal articles that you might find interesting.
WHAT TYPE OF ENGAGEMENT RING DO YOU PREFER?
It's possible that women's preferences for engagement rings might be influenced by their perception of potential partners. Research carried out by Locke et al. (2020) suggests that when women believe they have a wider range of romantic options (mate abundance: many people that they'd think they can date), they tend to value larger and more expensive engagement rings. Why might this be the case though? This finding aligns with evolutionary psychology ideas about mate selection, where cues like ring size and cost might signal a man's commitment and ability to provide. This finding also highlights competition. Commonly seen in the animal kingdom, the potential mate who wins the fight, has the nicest feathers, nicest horn, is the tallest, has the sparkliest eyes, etc., usually wins. It's important to note that this is a single study, and factors like personal taste and cultural background obviously play a role in shaping these preferences. However, the findings offer a glimpse into how our perception of choice can influence personal decisions like engagement rings.
On the same note, many years ago, Griskevicius and colleagues (2012) explored how the ratio of men to women (called sex ratio) in a population influenced how men approached their finances. The researchers suggest that when men outweigh women, men tend to prioritise spending over saving. The evolutionary explanation for this behaviour is that when in situations where men face tougher competition for mates, they might be more inclined to spend on things that they think could enhance their attractiveness – Clothes, dinner, holidays, gifts... This focus on short-term gains (and maybe reckless decisions) comes at the expense of long-term financial planning. Our subconscious desires, like the drive to find a partner, can play a significant role in how we handle money.
RINGS MAY BOOST OUR SELF-ESTEEM.
Researchers in Japan, Yokoi et al. (2017) conducted a study to see if wearing rings could improve behavioural and psychological symptoms experienced by female dementia patients. Dementia is a a group of related symptoms associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning.
The researchers observed how the patients responded to wearing rings and the compliments they received from caregivers about the rings. The researchers thought that the rings would give the patients a self-esteem boost by reminding them of their femininity and attractiveness, leading to a decrease in negative emotions (i.e., irritability and anxiety). The researchers observed some positive changes in mood associated with wearing rings and receiving compliments.
DO WEDDING RINGS MAKE MEN MORE ATTRACTIVE?
Many men (on Reddit) these days have shared that when they wear their wedding ring, they feel that they get a lot more interest from women than when they don't. When a man wears a wedding ring, it can suggest that he has desirable qualities. It must be said that many people who are married may choose to not wear a ring, and wearing a ring on your ring finger does not necessarily mean it's a wedding/an engagement ring. Back in 2003, researchers Uller and Johansson studied the interactions between women and men, with some men wearing wedding rings and others not. It was found that the presence or absence of a ring didn't influence the women's perception of the men's attractiveness or their potential as a partner. This study highlights the multifaceted nature of human mate selection, where factors beyond marital status and jewellery wearing exist. Considering that this study is 20+ years old, these findings may not be the case today.
DOES RING COST HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH HOW LONG A MARRIAGE LASTS?
Francis-Tan and Mialon (2015) investigated the relationship between wedding expenses and how long marriages last. The researchers found that spending a lot on weddings and engagement rings was linked to marriages that didn't last as long. There was no link between a less expensive wedding and a short marriage, but spending less than $1000 ≈ £745-760 on a ring was associated with an increase in divorces among women. The study suggests that focusing on the ceremony itself less and building a strong foundation for a marriage might be more important for long-term success.
Francis-Tan, A. & Mialon, H.M. (2015). A DIAMOND IS FOREVER AND OTHER FAIRY TALES: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WEDDING EXPENSES AND MARRIAGE DURATION. Econ Inq, 53, 1919-1930. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12206
Griskevicius, V., Tybur, J. M., Ackerman, J. M., Delton, A. W., Robertson, T. E., & White, A. E. (2012). The financial consequences of too many men: Sex ratio effects on saving, borrowing, and spending. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(1), 69–80. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024761
Locke, A., Desrochers, J., & Arnocky, S. (2020). Induced Mate Abundance Increases Women’s Expectations for Engagement Ring Size and Cost. Evolutionary Psychological Science 6, 188–194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-019-00214-z
Uller, T. & Johansson, L. C. (2003). Human mate choice and the wedding ring effect : Are married men more attractive? Human nature, 14(3), 267–276. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-003-1006-0
Yokoi, T., Okamura, H., Yamamoto, T., Watanabe, K., Yokoi, S., Atae, H., Ueda, M., Kuwayama, T., Sakamoto, S., Tomino, S., Fujii, H., Honda, T., Morita, T., Yukawa, T., & Harada, N. (2017). Effect of wearing fingers rings on the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia: An exploratory study. SAGE open medicine, 5. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050312117726196
How To Deal With Stress As A Fashion Buyer
Being a fashion buyer at one of the UK’s largest retailers means that things can get a little stressful for me at times. On that matter, any job in the fashion industry can be stressful… Any job can be stressful. I love my role because every day is different, and I’m glad to say that most days go by smoothly. But once in a while not so much. I have made a list of four ways that I personally cope with work stress. The advice is quite general so it can hopefully be of use to you too.
This is a tissue.
First, you probably want to know what a fashion buyer does. It’s not as simple as just buying fashion! My job is varied, and may be very different to another fashion buyer’s role in the south for instance. In a nutshell, I help to determine what the retailer should sell for the next season, this includes what we already sell, with the addition of new product lines. I travel up and down the UK (and sometimes abroad) to look for what competitors are designing and manufacturing for consumers. I also attend regular meetings with my team to share ideas on developing new merchandise.
My role is demanding because I have to be at the right place at the right time; there’s a lot of organisation involved. If you have an interest in becoming a fashion buyer, I would say that you need to have a lot of enthusiasm because without it you’ll lose interest in what you’re doing. Communication is also essential because it ensures that everyone on the team knows what’s going on. As you may be able to tell, if I don’t provide my team with the right information, then profits will fall because the merchandise is not what customers are looking for.
Know what the cause of your stress is.
If you’re getting stressed out at work, it’s not an ideal situation. Long term stress is not good for the body, mind, and soul. Try to find out what the cause of your stress is so that you can deal with it from there instead of ignoring it and letting it get worse for yourself. If you don’t know what it is, then most likely it won’t be dealt with appropriately. How we react to stress-inducing situations and events is an individual thing. Some people may feel pressure and get angry, others may feel worried, and some may get a rush of adrenaline, helping them perform better. The point I’m getting at is, how do YOU deal with stressful situations?
The next time you get stressed out, keep a note somewhere of the situation (you can keep a diary or use the notes app on your mobile to help you keep track of stressors), who else was involved (if any), how you felt at the time, and what you did at the time. Did you get filled with rage? Did you raise your voice? If your reaction is not ideal, instead try to make changes towards how you deal and react to stressful situations. You can do things such as going for a walk to cool down, explaining to others about how you feel, and taking efficient breaks. If you cannot cope with stress, it is worthwhile to talk to your employer or manager to voice any concerns that you have. It is essential that an employer is non-judgmental and attentive to concerns and someone you should be able to discuss issues openly with (Toniolo-Barrios & Pitt, 2021).
If your reaction is not ideal, instead try to make changes towards how you deal and react to stressful situations.
Don't take others' opinions and actions to heart.
After the pandemic, I’ve found that people are different, meaning, they’re more direct and stern. I’d like you to think about certain situations you’ve maybe been in, in the past couple of months. If you drive, when was the last time you found the driver behind you eager to sit in your backseat? Or when you politely told someone in the supermarket that you wanted an item on the shelf behind them, were you met with the look of disgust? How about when someone deliberately rushed to the cashier that you had your sights on? Or how about when you thanked the bus driver and they didn’t acknowledge your existence? These situations and actions may be so small and not worth fussing over, but when you’re consistently annoyed or frustrated with other people’s actions, it can leave you feeling like you live in a cruel and unkind world.
I think that people have forgotten how to act in public after not having to socialise as much with others. Rather than letting yourself get negatively affected by other people’s actions, you should instead acknowledge that, that person may not realise how their behaving or they may have things going on in their life that you may not necessarily know about. As annoying as this quote is, everything happens for a reason, and you may not be the reason of other people’s actions and opinions. Don’t take it personally. If one of your colleagues didn’t like a certain input of yours shared in a meeting, so what? Let it pass. You’ll know when enough is enough. Sometimes we may read into things a little too much. We mustn't let a couple of seconds or minutes ruin our entire day, week, or our entire existence for that matter. If you feed it, it grows.
As annoying as this quote is, everything happens for a reason, and you may not be the reason of other people’s actions and opinions.
Planning is important.
Please, try and plan your week in advance. You can’t just rock up to work not knowing what you’re doing for the day otherwise things are just not going to go well for yourself or your team. When we make a plan, we have guidance of what to do instead of winging it. Plans also minimise the risk of mishaps from occurring. I find that this is the most important factor for me in maintaining a healthy stress level. Let me cut to the chase, I need to organise and prepare everything that’s in my control. This helps me out because if any surprises come up at work, I know where to slot them in my diary. I prioritise the most important tasks. I also make sure that I give myself periods of rest and relaxation, and time to not be thinking about work, which I cover in my last tip. Have you got one task that takes up a lot of your time? Make a note of this and move it up your priority list. You don’t have to plan what goes on minute by minute, just make note of a couple of things that you wish or need to do for each day, such as what time you’ll leave, meal planning, upcoming meetings, exercise, grocery shopping, and leisure time. It really does help when you know what’s going on. I tried to use a 6 ring agenda at the start of the year, but it wasn’t my thing. I generally use my iCloud calendar so that I can access it in many places!
You are not just your job.
So, you’ve got a job, well done, it’s a lot of hard work to acquire one these days. When we have a job, sometimes we find ourselves under pressure to perform and be the best. If you live and breathe work 24/7, then who are you as a person? Consistently trying to impress others increases the risk of burnout. Just recently, I’ve come to appreciate having a life outside of work and not taking work home with me, especially if I’m on holiday. The ability to switch off from work (and everything work-related) is referred to as "psychological detachment" (Firoozabadi et al., 2018).
I have also realised one thing that all my friends have in common, they have hobbies and make time for them accordingly. My friends don’t ever complain about work like I used to do (a lot). Having a hobby is quite useful when dealing with stress. One of my favourite hobbies at the moment is taking pretty pictures to upload on Instagram. It gives me something to do, gives me inspiration, and the chance to interact with others. I can’t explain it, but looking at my posts make me feel relaxed. If you find it hard to find a hobby, just ask yourself, what would you like to do if you won the lottery tomorrow and didn’t have to work? Try and turn that into a hobby, or at least a reasonable and alternative version of it that satisfies you.
If you find it hard to find a hobby, just ask yourself, what would you like to do if you won the lottery tomorrow and didn’t have to work?
Another point to add is that during your lunch break, try to step away from your desk, or at least where you work. Humans were not made to sit at desks for long periods of time! When it’s my break, I usually go for walk in the courtyard, especially now that it’s great weather to do so. It’s refreshing and helps me to separate myself from work for a little bit. A lot of people tend to continue working throughout their breaks but that doesn’t work for me. Since the weather is great now, I’ll take a short walk outside.
Lastly, home time is home time. When I get home after a long day, I like to just chill. I don’t like to think about what could’ve gone better or what I should’ve done because the time for that has passed. If you make a mistake, you can learn from it and try not to repeat it! Home should be a place for you to relax and switch-off from work, even if you work from home. Responding to emails can wait, unless you know that it’s important to respond.
Firoozabadi, A., Uitdewilligen, S., & Zijlstra, F. R. H. (2018). Solving problems or seeing troubles? A day-level study on the consequences of thinking about work on recovery and well-being, and the moderating role of self-regulation. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 27(5), 629-641. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2018.1505720
Toniolo-Barrios, M. & Pitt, L. (2021). Mindfulness and the challenges of working from home in times of crisis. Business Horizons, 64(2), 189-197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2020.09.004
Does Hair Make Us Attractive?
The hair care market in 2023 is massive... indeed. But we're not here today to give you statistics about the hair care market. We're here to tell you about a couple of (recent) psychology studies that can give us an insight as to how a woman's perceived attractiveness (in Western culture) is influenced by her hair (according to research conducted in the West).
Been hair, done that.
Diameter, density, and style of hair.
In three experiments, Fink et al. (2016) explored how diameter, density, and style of hair influenced women's perceptions of age, health, and attractiveness.
Female participants from a university in central Germany looked at computer generated images of Caucasian women with different hair (only their hair from behind and one shoulder were visible), and rated the images on age, health, and attractiveness.
The results suggested that straight hair and copper coloured hair were seen as younger, and blonde hair was seen as older.
Thick hair was seen as less healthy, and less attractive than thin hair.
Straight hair was seen as healthier, and more attractive than wavy hair.
Copper and brown hair were seen as healthier, and more attractive than blonde hair.
The original density (defined as 100% hair fibre counts in Caucasians) image, was seen as the youngest, healthiest, and most attractive.
Long hair was seen as the most attractive.
Hair style had the strongest effect on visual perception.
Hair colour (and length).
Matz and Hinsz (2018) investigated how women's hair colour and length influenced males' judgements about women's age, health, attractiveness, relationship, and parenting capability.
Male participants from a university in the USA were asked to look at computer generated images of Caucasian women with different hair colours and lengths (only their hair from behind and one shoulder were visible), and were then asked to answer questions about the women's age, health, attractiveness, relationship, and parenting capability.
Lighter hair was found to be associated with youth, health, playfulness, and attractiveness, (and therefore positive relationship and parenting potential).
Longer hair was found to be associated with youth, but reduced parenting potential.
It is suggested that young women change their hair colour to meet stereotypical Westernised conceptions of beauty.
Location, location, location.
Wortham et al. (2018) decided to study men and women on their preference of hair colour on women in line with the interest of evolutionary psychology theories predicting that individuals are attracted to hair colours both familiar to them, and rare for their culture.
The study, based in Florida, USA, asked participants to report their own, their parents', and their significant other's hair colour, along with their geographic region. Their hair colour preferences were surveyed.
Due to familiarity with hair colours present in different populations, geographic location was predicted to influence participants' preferences.
It was found that male and female participants both preferred brown hair, then blonde hair, and lastly red hair.
Male participants' choice of hair colour was consistent across geographic regions, however female participants varied their choice dependent on which geographic region they originated.
Red hair was preferred more frequently than expected based on the prevalence of redheads in the studied population (both men and women preferred red hair 6% of the time, while only 3% of the female population were redheads).
Take the results of these studies with a pinch of salt because they're ethnocentric and based on small sample sizes; their findings shouldn't really be generalised to other cultures. Also, not only hair plays a role in how we are perceived by others, and of course, attraction is subjective.
Fink, B., Hufschmidt, C., Hirn, T., Will, S., McKelvey, G., & Lankhof, J. (2016). Age, Health and Attractiveness Perception of Virtual (Rendered) Human Hair. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1893. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01893
Matz, D. C. & Hinsz, V. B. (2018). Women's hair as a cue to desired relationship and parenting characteristics. The Journal of Social Psychology, 158(5), 558-573. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2017.1395791
Wortham, J., Miller, A., & Delvescovo, D. (2018). Male and female hair colour preferences: Influences of familiarity, geographic region of origin, and environment on mate attraction in University of Tampa students. Florida Scientist, 81(1), 33-54. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26477962
How Do You Feel About Face Filters?
GUYS, SHE’S NOT REAL.
"I feel so bad for girls growing up in this generation, they barely have a chance for good mental health or a positive body image."
—Online forum comment
"Just want to throw in that this is not only affecting young girls . . . I survived the 2000s fashion/body trends with my self esteem and self-love fully intact. How come I'm so susceptible to it now?! It's crazy."
—Another online forum comment
"How do I still look bad with the filter on?"
—TikTok user
What's this about then? Of course, it's something to do with TikTok (as usual). TikTok has introduced a new face filter named 'Bold Glamour' and it attempts to make your face look... computer generated. Face filters edit our appearance by using augmented reality. While face filters aren't something new, they're still used quite often today. But what does this mean for us? Let's take a deep dive into the psychology of 'face filters' and what they can do to our mental health.
You're exposed to face filters more than ever.
As soon as you unlock your mobile phone, turn on your TV, or log in to your laptop, it's constant bombardment from there on... We're exposed to filters more than ever before. Everything you see on the internet is edited to some point.
Face filters are more advanced than ever. They don't even glitch when you move any more. These days, people can't even tell the difference between what's reality and what's not... And it is a cause for concern. What does it mean for our mental health? Additionally, what does it mean for our privacy (i.e., Cowan et al., 2021)?
Unfortunately, it's really only the beginning for AI and augmented reality, and we'll be confronted with more and more that's yet to come. We spend a lot of time on screens leading us to become absorbed in self-beautification and seeking approval from others; failure to gain approval can have a negative impact on our self-esteem (Musarrat et al., 2022).
Brands are developing their own unique face filters to rather successfully engage consumers (Flavián et al., 2021), people on social media use filters on their picture and video posts such as makeup tutorials and endorsements, adverts use filter, television shows use filters, and YouTube videos use filters. In a Canadian study, Lavrence and Cambre (2020), found that people assume what they see on social media to be filtered, because it's the norm. The researchers also found that we use different filters for different social media platforms (Lavrence & Cambre, 2020).
We are motivated to use face filters for: ideal self-presentation, affiliation, enjoyment, convenience, social interaction, and creative content curation (Javornik et al., 2022).
Children these days grow up with these technological advancements, and it's all they know. Children as young as eight years of age are exposed to face filters despite of age restrictions to be able to access them. Pescott (2020) explored the views of primary school students (aged 10 and 11 years) in Wales on the use of face filters on social media platforms. In focus groups, the students were asked a set of questions such as:
"What are these filters for?"
"How do they make people look?"
"How are these different from how they look in real life?"
"Why do people use these filters?"
The students were engaged on the topic of filters and discussed two main reasons filters are used: 1) for entertainment; and 2) to look 'prettier'. A majority of male students used filters for entertainment. On the other hand, a majority of female students used filters to enhance and alter their appearance, also suggesting that people use filters because they want to look, prettier, unrecognisable, better, cover perceived flaws such as pores, scars, and acne, make certain changes to their facial features (i.e., contouring), and be perceived favourably by others. One student even wished to wear a filter in real life. 🥺 It is suggested that face filters can affect young children's body image, self-esteem, self-perception, and encourage them to engage in social comparison.
We're catching glimpses of our faces more often.
From the reflection on our phones or laptop screens, even our own mirror phone cases, to the sudden uptake of video meetings, and online lessons, we're paying even more attention than ever towards the way we look. When we interact with others in real life, we're not confronted to look at ourselves compared to when we're behind a screen.
In the United States, Ratan et al. (2022) carried out a study on 'virtual meeting (VM) fatigue', which is a result of negative self-focused attention when we're using video meeting platforms online. The study suggests that VM fatigue is related to facial dissatisfaction. Meetings are boring, and if you're bored you're going to focus on other things, especially if you're online and there's no one to stop you. Your eyes glance for something interesting and oh... What's that in the box at the corner of your screen right in front of your face? It's you of course. You start asking yourself questions like, "Do I look like this in real?" or "My face isn't symmetrical?". Faces aren't symmetrical by the way. In a sample of 609 adults, VM fatigue was higher for women than for men across the ethnicities studied. Using face filters and beauty 'enhancers' during VMs are not likely to reduce negative self-focused attention and is only likely to exacerbate it.
Interestingly, Hong et al. (2020) found that using filters on selfies on social media (e.g., Instagram) was associated with fewer likes received from other social media users.
We're encouraged to believe that something is wrong with our appearance.
As a society, we're driven to do what others do. It's how we make decisions about what we should and shouldn't do. Unfortunately that means taking part in trends. Trends come and go. It's all about FOMO. You see a new filter being used on TikTok so you've got to use it too (just to give it a try).
How we're 'supposed' to look is getting a little too confusing. There's been an increase in YouTube channels including actual plastic surgeons that constructively discuss cosmetic surgeries and procedures of celebrities and influencers, catfishing, self-love, useful techniques and advice, and unrealistic beauty standards. However, there's also been an increase in 'aesthetic' channels that tell you that you need to change your appearance ('looksmaxing') in order to be successful in life (or you straight up, have no hope).
Filters are based on (a) society's 'idealised and unrealistic beauty standards' (Tremblay et al., 2021). Face filters have the ability to filter our skin, whiten our teeth, reshape our jawline, and enlarge/lessen our features. It's the norm to use a filter now, whether it's stated explicitly or not. The use of face filters and photo editing is not only for magazines and celebrities any more. It's accessible for nearly everyone. With these filters we feel that we don't look good enough or we don't fit in, so getting cosmetic surgery seems like a good option to explore. What is ridiculous is that beauty standards change quite often, and different cultures have different beauty standards. We're all different, and what you think might look good on someone, might not look good on someone else.
The use of face filters has been shown to be positively linked to social motivations of cosmetic surgery acceptance (e.g., perceived social benefits) and consideration of cosmetic surgery amongst teens (Maes & de Lenne, 2022).
“You are never going to meet this culture’s beauty standard. If we all started meeting the standard, the standard would just be changed.”
—Engeln cited in Brucculieri (2018)
According to a study by Hjetland et al. (2021), teens from high schools in Norway shared that social media allows people to compare themselves to others, triggering negative emotions, and also that people only portray themselves in a positive, one-sided way. We use filters to manage our self-presentation and we only see the positive, not the negative. What is more, female participants mentioned that the use of filters affects the way men think women should look. Filters made the teens more aware of their appearance, perceived flaws, and gave them thoughts towards what they could look like instead. Similarly, guilt and insecurity have been found in relation to face filters too (Barker, 2020).
In another study by Abbas and Dodeen (2022), it was found that Arab females who used Snapchat beauty filters had a high tendency towards body dysmorphic features. The relationship between body dysmorphic features and quality of life changes with age, education, and social status. Face filters foster new forms of body dysmorphia (Rodner et al., 2022).
Habib et al. (2022) comment that face filters are changing young women's attitudes. When deciding to edit photos, young women compare themselves to their previous photos to explore perceived imperfections they want to alter, which in turn causes them aggravation, unhappiness, and negative self-esteem. What is more, the stress of not being able to meet unreasonable expectations of one's appearance (due to filters), leads to low mood and appearance dissatisfaction.
If you're feeling negative about face filters, here are some things you can do.
1. Filters have become the norm, so assume that what you see in the media is filtered, because most likely it is.
2. Ask yourself who cares? No, really. Who really cares? Why do you care? What benefit do you get consuming or posting this certain content? Does it make you question yourself? Could you be doing something better with your time? Do you seek validation? You realise that there's a lot of things to explore in life when you separate yourself from social media trends.
3. Educate yourself and spread awareness (politely). Have discussions with others, learn their points of view, be the change you want to see.
4. Remember that there's more to life than how you and others perceive your looks. Attraction is subjective! Beauty standards are ridiculous!
5. Next time you post face filter content on social media, remember that companies use your data to further design their face filters.
6. Limit your time on social media. If you don't post on or use social media constantly, you don't have to constantly think about how you look, how others look, what other people might think, whether you'll get comments, etc. Bliss. Take up a new hobby, listen to some music, or go and take a walk.
7. Tell the algorithm to suck it (Don't watch content that makes you unhappy). Algorithms are designed to keep us engaged on social media. Repeatedly watching certain types of content will only let the algorithm know what keeps you hooked, no matter what it is. So, if you keep watching videos that make you unhappy, it will only suggest more of these videos. You can clear your search or watch history, clear the app's cache, delete your account and start a new one only watching content that doesn't make you feel upset, or dislike content to prevent and limit similar posts from showing up.
So there you have it.
Abbas, L. & Dodeen, H. (2022). Body dysmorphic features among Snapchat users of “Beauty-Retouching of Selfies” and its relationship with quality of life. Media Asia, 49(3), 196-212. https://doi.org/10.1080/01296612.2021.2013065
Barker, J. (2020). Making-up on mobile: The pretty filters and ugly implications of Snapchat. Fashion, Style & Popular Culture, 7, 207-221.
Brucculieri, J. (2018, Feb 22). 'Snapchat Dysmorphia' Points To A Troubling New Trend In Plastic Surgery. Huffington Post. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/snapchat-dysmorphia_n_5a8d8168e4b0273053a680f6
Cowan, K., Javornik, A., & Jiang, P. (2021). Privacy concerns when using augmented reality face filters? explaining why and when use avoidance occurs. Psychology and Marketing, 38, 1799-1813. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21576
Flavián, C., Ibáñez-Sánchez, S. & Orús, C. (2021). User Responses Towards Augmented Reality Face Filters: Implications for Social Media and Brands. Progress in IS, in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, 29-42. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68086-2_3
Habib, A., Ali, T., Nazir, Z., & Mahfooz, A. (2022). Snapchat filters changing young women's attitudes. Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2022.104668
Hjetland, G.J., Schønning, V., Hella, R.T., Veseth, M., & Skogen, J. C. (2021). How do Norwegian adolescents experience the role of social media in relation to mental health and well-being: a qualitative study. BMC Psychology, 9(78). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00582-x
Hong, S., Jahng, M. R., Lee, N., & Wise, K. R. (2020). Do you filter who you are?: Excessive self-presentation, social cues, and user evaluations of Instagram selfies. Computers in Human Behaviour, 104, 106159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.106159
Javornik, A., Marder, B., Barhorst, J. B., McLean, G., Rogers, Y., Marshall, P., & Warlop, L. (2022). ‘What lies behind the filter?’ Uncovering the motivations for using augmented reality (AR) face filters on social media and their effect on well-being. Computers in Human Behaviour, 128, 107126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107126
Lavrence, C. & Cambre, C. (2020). “Do I Look Like My Selfie?”: Filters and the Digital-Forensic Gaze. Social Media + Society, 6(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120955182
Maes, C. & de Lenne, O. (2022). Filters and fillers: Belgian adolescents’ filter use on social media and the acceptance of cosmetic surgery. Journal of Children and Media, 16(4), 587-605. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2022.2079696
Musarrat, R., Ahmed S., Munir, F., Riaz, S., & Hayat, N. (2022). Digital Narcissism, Self-Esteem And Self-Objectification Among Snapchat Vs. Facebook Users. Journal of Positive School Psychology, 6(9), 3128-3141.
Pescott, C. K. (2020). “I Wish I was Wearing a Filter Right Now”: An Exploration of Identity Formation and Subjectivity of 10 and 11 Year Olds’ Social Media Use. Social Media + Society, 6(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120965155
Ratan, R., Miller, D. B. & Jeremy N. Bailenson, J. N. (2022). Facial Appearance Dissatisfaction Explains Differences in Zoom Fatigue. Cyberpsychology, Behaviour, and Social Networking, 124-129. http://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2021.0112
Rodner, V., Goode, A. & Burns, Z. (2022). “Is it all just lip service?”: on Instagram and the normalisation of the cosmetic servicescape. Journal of Services Marketing, 36(1), 44-58. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-12-2020-0506
Tremblay, S. C., Tremblay, S. E., & Poirier, P. (2021). From filters to fillers: an active inference approach to body image distortion in the selfie era. AI & Society, 36, 33-48. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-020-01015-w
Why Do People Love Apple So Much?
On some days I like to eat Heinz baked beans and on other days I like to eat Branston baked beans. Yeah, they're both basically haricot beans drenched in tomato sauce at the end of the day, right? But they both taste different.
If you had a choice between a brand new pair of Bose headphones and the AirPods Max, which would you choose and why?
Apple introduced a pair of headphones to their accessories range in 2020. However, they've only just gained a lot of popularity in 2022 thanks to Instagram and TikTok.
AirPods Max.
The AirPods Max.
Surely you've seen them on social media lately - on the likes of influencers, celebrities, and maybe even your mates. It's a fashion statement. A fashion accessory contributes to a wearer's outfit to complement their whole look (Rani & Rani, 2018).
According to Currys, a tech retailer, a pair of these headphones will cost you around £469 (08 October 2022) because they're currently on 'sale' from an eye watering £549. The AirPods Max comes in a variety of colours including green, silver, red, black, and blue. They look cute... like two little flying saucers sucking your brains out.
When you decide to purchase a product, an Apple product that is - do you truly care about the product's functionality or... Do you feel that you need to fit in and surrender to a, dare I say, narcissistic society?
Oooooooooo.
Here are six reasons why people are drawn to Apple products. Yes, just six reasons.
1. You're loyal to Apple whether you like it or not.
Bow down to Apple.
All brands have a goal, and that is to make you loyal to them. They should be your one and only. Once they've established your trust and loyalty, there's less chance of you sneaking off to a rival and losing your support (aka ££££)! You belong to Apple. There's no escape.
"Alexa." Oh ****, I meant "Hey Google." **** did it again. "Hey Siri."
The Apple ecosystem plays a large role in brand loyalty - Everything is connected together in Apple land. According to Shi et al. (2016), 'cognitive lock-in' is an important determinant of brand loyalty. It's a habit developed by the repetitive use of products and services which we become skilful in and knowledgeable about. Think of all those accounts and services that you have with Apple - you're comfortable with using them - adding an outsider device will only be a pain the butt, right? Could you be bothered to sort out all those accounts, passwords, and media, or should you just stick to one ecosystem and keep things in one place as they are already? You feel this need to continue as you do - because it works and you don't need to put in any effort to learn a new or different ecosystem. You're essentially 'locked-in'.
Apple wants to make you, the customer, feel valued. Apple customers trust Apple. Not only do customers trust Apple's expertise and quality, but also their ability to deliver customers innovative products every couple of months. Apple offer (some) device updates, accessories, and customer support to keep you feeling satisfied and looked after. Their image is consistent.
2. You want to associate yourself with Apple's 'brand personality' and identity.
What comes to mind when you hear Apple?
Honest? Innovative? Good quality? Above average?
Overpriced? Pompous? Tired?
Brands have their own personality traits believe it or not. These traits include sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness.
Brands can communicate their personality through their products, advertisements, and copy.
Apple is known for being intuitive, stylish, young, 'free thinking', and simple.
According to an online survey, respondents were strongly favourable towards Apple's attractiveness, favourability, and distinctiveness (Pinson & Brosdahl, 2014).
You want to associate yourself with the traits and values that YOU think that Apple adopts.
3. You (want to) do what everyone else is doing.
If you see your favourite celebrity posing in Apple headphones - is this the right thing for you to do as well?
There's this concept called 'social proof' where humans like to be one with the crowd and not stand out. We usually don't like to stick out like sore thumbs - it makes us feel out of place and unlikeable. We like to conform and be like others in order to fit in. First, to understand how we should conform, we search for answers. We do this by reading reviews from others and listening to others' experiences with products on social media. This is how TikTok and Instagram trends and products go 'viral'. Also, we're drawn to celebrity and influencer endorsements, and we unfortunately like to succumb to authority figures.
Eastman et al. (2018) carried out a three‐study examination on young adults. It is suggested that young people's motivation for status in terms of luxury fashion purchase intentions is impacted by the 'bandwagon effect'. We do things simply because other people are doing it.
Surprisingly you could also be motivated to purchase Apple products due to envy (Loureiro et al., 2018). Hmm...
4. You're stuck in the Apple in-group.
You belong in the Apple in-group now.
Social identity is the concept of defining ourselves through the groups we belong to (in-group) as opposed to those we don't (outgroup). The presence of groups can lead to competition. Boo. Once you've established being in a group, you're gonna love your group members, you're gonna support them, you're gonna empathise with them, you're gonna understand what and who they are, they can do nothing wrong. You're an advocate for Apple.
Dare to mock Apple? You're TOAST!
If you're an Apple owner, most likely your attitudes towards other Apple owners are positive. On the contrary, you may hold less positive attitudes towards, lets say for instance, Android owners.
Ooooooo.
5. You want to build and maintain your personal identity to show who you are to others.
As individuals we like to manage our self identity. Similar to social identity, we can define ourselves by the services we use, the products we use, the clothes we wear, and how we carry ourselves. We want to express ourselves in different ways.
Akdemir (2018) nicely asserts that what we wear is "the basic and simple way of representing our identity and social class. . . Fashion is one of the most important ways of expressing the identity because it's full of signs, codes, and meanings inside them".
In the context of wearing Apple products, what we wear can influence us a lot - this is called 'enclothed cognition' (Adam & Galinsky, 2012). What we wear can impact our physical, cognitive, and emotional processes. It makes sense. Powerful stuff. Two factors are involved in enclothed cognition: the physical experience of wearing an item, and the symbolic meaning of said item. Think of the last time you went on a date (or any other occasion), what did you wear? Did it make you feel confident?
When an individual wears or uses an Apple product, their sense of self is going to be elevated, they will feel like they are adhering to Apple's brand personality.
Once you place a pair of Apple headphones on your head, you're going to feel confident, productive, relaxed, Instagram ready, hip... ready for action... and maybe even a little 'premium'.
Be careful if you're inclined to show off your material wealth, you can seem less co-operative to others (Srna et al., 2022).
6. You perceive Apple's products to be valuable.
Apple's products look and feel premium, they're easy to use within the Apple ecosystem, they're what some may call 'customisable', and they can last a long time depending on how you look after them. They're meant to be an investment - and if you want to let your Apple products go, they should have an alright resale value. Unfortunately, like every piece of technology, it will eventually tumble out of trend and may be found in lost property bins in 30 years time. Who knows?
If you chuck your devices on your bed for it to bounce off and face plant the floor - it's entirely your fault if any breakage happens.
A lot goes on behind the design of Apple products themselves, their packaging, and even how they are displayed in-store.
If you've ever been to an Apple store, the layout is pretty simple and spacious. You feel as though you're in an exclusive members club. You feel special to be there. Their high quality products are displayed ready and waiting for you to interact with them. There's nothing stopping you or getting in the way of this planned meeting (unbeknownst to you). You're encouraged to interact with products in Apple's stores to build a sense of familiarity with them - which then hopefully leads to a sense of ownership. You can envision yourself living with these products easier because they're right in front of you. You can feel their quality, see their quality, hear their quality, taste their quality... smell their quality. You'll be thinking, damn, I need one of these.
And now I need this Apple Pencil... and this EXACT sleeve that folds in 3 places... and this Air Tag... and this Apple Watch.
Moreover, wearable tech is becoming increasingly popular; it can benefit our wellbeing and make our lives easier. It can be valuable for our health. However, there's not much research that digs deep into wearable tech (Ferreira et al., 2021).
Adam, H. & Galinsky, A.D. (2012). Enclothed cognition. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(4), 918-925.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.02.008.
Akdemir, N. (2018). Visible Expression of Social Identity: the Clothing and Fashion, Gaziantep University Journal of Social Sciences, 17(4), 1389-1397. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/543644
Eastman, J.K., Iyer, R., Shepherd C.D., Heugel, A., & Faulk, D. (2018). Do they shop to stand out or fit in? The luxury fashion purchase intentions of young adults. Psychology & Marketing, 35(3), 220-236. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21082
Ferreira, J.J., Fernandes, C.I., Rammal, H.G., & Veiga, P.M. (2021). Wearable technology and consumer interaction: A systematic review and research agenda. Computers in Human Behaviour, 118, 106710. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106710
Loureiro, S.M.C., de Plaza, M.A.P., & Taghian, M. (2018). The effect of benign and malicious envies on desire to buy luxury fashion items. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 52(2).
http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.10.005
Pinson, C. & Brosdahl, D. J. C. (2014). The Church of Mac: exploratory examination on the loyalty of Apple customers. Journal of Management and Marketing Research. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283714797_The_Church_of_Mac_exploratory_examination_on_the_loyalty_of_Apple_customers
Rani, S. & Rani, B. (2018). Preference of Fashion Accessories among College Going Girls. Annals of Agri-Bio Research, 23(1), 122-125. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332710302_Preference_of_fashion_accessories_among_college_going_girls
Shi, X., Liu, J.T.L., Sirkeci, I. (2016, July). Psychological Determinants of Brand Loyalty: The case of Apple and Samsung. [Conference paper]. Academy of Marketing Annual Conference, Northumbria University Business School, Newcastle, England, UK. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341434372_Psychological_Determinants_of_Brand_Loyalty_The_case_of_Apple_and_Samsung
Srna, S., Barasch, A. & Small, D.A. (2022). On the value of modesty: How signals of status undermine cooperation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 123(4), 676-692. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000303
2024 Digital Journal
Let me tell you a secret. Well... It's not really a secret, but if there's one thing that you should consider starting in 2024, *whispers* it's a journal.
WHAT A LOVELY DAY TO START JOURNALLING…
Whether in digital or paper form, journalling has been shown to have many benefits, but of course instead of just saying so, we'll back it up with research. Overall, journalling is an accessible and effective way to improve your wellbeing, no matter who you are.
Here is PBMIF's 2024 journal/calendar/diary/activity book/scrapbook. It's based on theories and concepts in positive psychology and similar disciplines. Martin Seligman, a leading figure in positive psychology, devised what is known as the 'PERMA' model, which is comprised of five elements that contribute to wellbeing; positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement. This journal aims to include these five elements.
Positive emotions - What makes you feel positive emotions?
Engagement - What activities do you really enjoy doing to a point where time goes by without you realising?
Relationships - What relationships bring you support and joy?
Meaning - What do you feel drawn to these days? What does having a sense of meaning mean to you? What do you find worthwhile?
Accomplishment - How do you feel when you accomplish something? What drives you to persevere?
VISION BOARD
This journal asks you to create your own vision board. Set your vision.
Waalkes et al. (2019) comment that vision boards can be a valuable tool for promoting career development and self-awareness. Creating vision boards can help individuals (in this case, students) to identify their strengths and interests, develop career goals, visualise their future, increase self-efficacy and motivation, and feel more connected to culture and community.
Benedict (2021) suggests that creating and presenting vision boards can help individuals (in this case, students) to reflect on their experiences, again, identify their strengths and weaknesses, set future goals, visualise success, gain inspiration, and learn from their own and others' experiences.
GRATITUDE
Expressing gratitude is an awesome experience.
Deichert et al. (2019) suggest that gratitude is an effective way to improve wellbeing. Gratitude can help people to focus on the positive aspects of their lives, build better relationships, get more out of their social networks (after experiencing stress), build resilience, and live healthier lives.
Zhang et al. (2022) suggest that gratitude is good for your wellbeing; it makes you happier and more satisfied with your life. Being grateful for specific things helps the most.
Chui and Diehl (2021) found that that people who were more grateful were less likely to feel lonely in a study. The association between gratitude and loneliness was significant across all age groups, but it was strongest in younger adults.
Maybe you could write a letter to someone expressing your gratitude for them (and show it to them if you want? Might be cringe, but what can you do? 💁♀️).
WISHLIST
Here, you can add your material and experiential wants and must-haves. Even what you wish for others.
Although it's great to have goals to work towards, this wishlist gives you the opportunity to evaluate whether or not you actually want something. Impulse purchasing is very easy to do these days, and we have more possessions than we actually need (overconsumption...). You have the opportunity to ask yourself questions such as, "Do I really need this?", "Am I going to use this more than once?", "Is this just a phase...?", "How is this going to make me feel in the long term?", "Can this wait?", or "Am I doing this to fit in?". A wishlist can help you to understand the motivations behind your buying habits.
Life is not all about material possessions, but is also about your experiences and the memories you make too. Gilovich and Gallo (2020) suggest that experiential purchases (e.g., travel, concerts, events) tend to make people happier than material purchases (e.g., clothes, electronics, furniture) in the long run. Experiences are more memorable, shareable, and can lead to personal growth and development. Experiences are often associated with strong emotions and vivid memories, which can make them more meaningful and satisfying than possessions. Experiences can provide opportunities for learning and self-discovery.
Is there somewhere you want to go? Who with? What do you want to do? What do you want to see? What do you want to feel? What do you want to discover? Do you want to learn something new? Do you want to improve on something that you find enjoyable?
Life is not all about material possessions, but is also about your experiences and the memories you make too. Experiences are more memorable, shareable, and can lead to personal growth and development.
REFLECTIVE JOURNALLING
This journal prompts you to reflect.
Portman (2020) suggests that reflective journalling is a great tool for self-awareness and self-confidence because it can help individuals (in this case, the participants were students) develop a deeper understanding of their thoughts, process experiences, develop a better understanding of themselves, identify their strengths and weaknesses, improve their writing skills, organise their thoughts and feelings, and express themselves with clarity.
Write about your experiences with different scenarios, what are your thoughts about a topic of your choosing? Visited a new restaurant lately? Be a food critique. Watched a movie lately? Be a movie critique. Listened to a great recommended song on your Spotify? Be a music critique. Purchased a new item recently? Talk about the why. Is something or someone bothering you? Vent it out - How does this thing/person make you feel? What have they/it done to you? Had a positive interaction with someone? Note it down.
According to Voci et al. (2019), journalling can help individuals (in this case, medical students) improve their psychological wellbeing and academic performance. Journalling can also help to reduce stress and anxiety, and improve self-esteem.
Self-reflection, specifically, can help people to identify their strengths and weaknesses, develop goals for their lives, help people to cope with stress and challenges, build resilience, and develop a better understanding of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. MacIsaac et al. (2022) suggest that people who are naturally inclined to self-reflect are more likely to benefit from journalling than those who aren't.
LIFE CRAFTING
Schippers and Ziegler (2019) introduce the term, 'life crafting', a process of intentionally shaping your life to align with your values, passions, and goals. It's been shown to have a number of benefits, including increased happiness and wellbeing, greater life satisfaction, higher levels of self-actualisation, reduced stress, and increased resilience.
The seven-step life crafting process is as follows:
Discover your passions.
What do you like to do?
What kind of relationships would you like to have, both in your private life and your work life?
What kind of career would you like?
What lifestyle choices would you like?
Reflect on your current and desired competencies and habits.
What qualities do you admire in others?
What competencies would you like to have?
What are some habits you like or dislike in a person and yourself?
Reflect on your present and future social life.
What relationships energise you and what relationships don't do you any good?
Who are the kinds of friends and acquaintances that are good for you?
Who are the kinds of friends and acquaintances that you would like to have in the future?
How would you like your ideal family life and broader social life to look like?
Reflect on a possible future career.
What is important in a job?
What do you like to do?
What kind of colleagues do you want?
Who do you want to meet through your work?
Write about your ideal future.
Write about your best possible self in the future.
Write down specific goal attainment and “if-then” plans.
Formulate goals.
Identify and describe ways to overcome any possible obstacles.
How would you monitor your progress?
Make public commitments to your goals.
Communicate your goals to others, such as your friends, family, and co-workers.
SCRAPBOOK
The journal has a sticker collection because number one, it's cute, and number two, I found a sense of accomplishment in completing Hello Kitty and Groovy Chick sticker activity books growing up (thank you mum).
FioRito et al. (2021) suggest that scrapbooking can have a number of social and psychological benefits, including increased nostalgia proneness (ability to recall memories), social connection, and psychological comfort.
Karwowski et al. (2021) suggests that creativity can be a positive coping mechanism during difficult times. This suggests that creativity can help people to cope with stress, anxiety, and other challenges. Creativity can also be a way to connect with others. By sharing our creative work with others, we can build relationships.
WRITE A LETTER TO YOUR FUTURE SELF (OR FROM YOUR FUTURE SELF TO NOW)
Take the opportunity to write to your future self.
Chishima at al. (2021) have found that both letter writing to your future self and in the perspective of the future self to the present self have a positive impact on wellbeing in times of stress. The communication with your future self serves as a means to distance yourself from the state you are presently in and to take a broader perspective in a larger time frame.
WELLBEING WHEEL
This journal includes a wellbeing wheel.
Spain et al. (2021) express their admiration for the wellbeing wheel or (wellness wheel), a popular tool in therapy which can give you a better understanding of your wellbeing, strengths, and weaknesses. It can help you identify and pinpoint areas of your life that you are satisfied with (or not quite so), and feeds you crumbs on how to improve them or maintain them. From understanding any barriers, it can help you to create strategies, find the right support, and set relevant goals. You can adapt the wheel to make it more relevant to you; you can take away and add your very own dimensions. However, the most common dimensions are pies and foes:
Physical - physical health, activity, exercise, diet, sleep
Intellectual - learning, knowledge, skills, creativity, new interests
Emotional - acknowledging and managing feelings, gratitude, growth
Social - relationships, connections with others, communication
Financial - management, savings, spending
Occupational - career satisfaction, achievements, work-life balance
Environmental - comfort, safety, surroundings, care for the environment
Spiritual - meaning, beliefs, values
2024 Digital Journal (Free PDF Download)
Download the free PDF files here.
Single page
Two page
References
Benedict, B. C. (2021). Using Vision Boards to Reflect on Relevant Experiences and Envision Ideal Futures. College Teaching, 69(4), 231-232. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2020.1850411
Chishima, Y., Liu, I-T. H-C., & Wilson, A. E. (2021). Temporal distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic: Letter writing with future self can mitigate negative affect. Applied Psychology: Health & Well-Being, 13(2), 406-418. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12256
Chui, H. & Diehl, M. (2021). Gratitude and loneliness in daily life across the adult lifespan. Current Psychology: A Journal for Diverse Perspectives on Diverse Psychological Issues. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02488-8
Crawford, A., Sellman, E., & Joseph, S. (2021). Journaling: A More Mindful Approach to Researching a Mindfulness-Based Intervention in a Junior School. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 20. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211014771
Deichert, N. T., Fekete, E. M., & Craven, M. (2019). Gratitude enhances the beneficial effects of social support on psychological well-being, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 16(2), 168-177. https:.//doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2019.1689425
FioRito, T. A., Geiger, A. R., & Routledge, C. (2021). Creative Nostalgia: Social and Psychological Benefits of Scrapbooking. Art Therapy, 38(2), 98-103. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2020.1748986
Gilovich, T & Gallo, I. (2020). Consumers’ pursuit of material and experiential purchases: A review. Consumer Psychology Review, 3(1), 20-33. https://doi.org/10.1002/arcp.1053
Karwowski, M., Zielińska, A., Jankowska, D. M., Strutyńska, E., Omelańczuk, I., & Lebuda, I. (2021). Creative Lockdown? A Daily Diary Study of Creative Activity During Pandemics. Frontiers in psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.600076
MacIsaac, A., Mushquash, A., & Wekerle, C. (2022). Writing Yourself Well: Dispositional Self-Reflection Moderates the Effect of a Smartphone App-Based Journaling Intervention on Psychological Wellbeing across Time. Behaviour Change, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1017/bec.2022.24
Portman, S. (2020). Reflective Journaling: A Portal Into the Virtues of Daily Writing. The Reading Teacher, 73(5), 597-602. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1877
Spain, D., Stewart, V., Betts, H., & Wheeler, A. (2021). Wheel of Wellbeing (WoW) health promotion program: Australian participants report on their experiences and impacts. BMC Public Health, 21, 2037. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12076-x
Voci, A., Veneziani, C. A. & Fuochi, G. (2019). Relating Mindfulness, Heartfulness, and Psychological Well-Being: the Role of Self-Compassion and Gratitude. Mindfulness 10, 339-351. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-0978-0
Waalkes, P. L., Gonzalez, L. M., & Brunson, C. N. (2019). Vision Boards and Adolescent Career Counseling: A Culturally Responsive Approach, Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 14(2), 205-216. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2019.1602092
Zhang, L., Li, W., Ye, Y., Yang, K., Jia, N. & Kong, F. (2022). Being grateful every day will pay off: a daily diary investigation on relationships between gratitude and well-being in Chinese young adults. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 18(6), 853-865. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2022.2131606
How To Be Attractive According To Psychology?
Hello, if you're reading this post, the chances are that you want to increase your attractiveness. But ask yourself why: Why do you want to? Is it for yourself or for someone else? Attractiveness is complex and is influenced by many, many, many factors, such as physical appearance, personality, individual differences, age, and culture. What one person might find attractive, another might not, and that's the truth.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to how to look or be more attractive, and there never will be. What is most important is that you're healthy, authentic, and comfortable with yourself. Most likely you're fine as you are right now, but society and trends are making you feel otherwise.
This article was highly requested and it's of no surprise seeing that some societies place a lot of importance on 'attractiveness' these days as seen in work culture and social media. Take the findings of these studies with a pinch of salt because they're all flawed in one way or another and are just ideas to be further explored. The studies are pretty interesting.
Probably not the recommended way to get exercise.
Contents
Being in groups can apparently make you seem more attractive.
Being successful can apparently make you seem more attractive.
Sharing similarities with others apparently makes you seem more attractive.
Being honest apparently makes you seem more attractive.
Being desired by others apparently make you seem more attractive.
Exercising apparently makes you seem more attractive.
Doing good things apparently makes you seem more attractive.
Smelling pleasant apparently makes you seem more attractive.
Wearing heels apparently makes you seem more attractive.
Wearing makeup in specific ways apparently makes you seem more attractive.
Being seen as extroverted and agreeable apparently makes you seem more attractive.
Not seeing someone's complete face can apparently make them seem more attractive.
Being in groups can apparently make you seem more attractive.
According to a study in China, Peng et al. (2020) found that:
Individuals were rated as more attractive when they were part of a group, regardless of their individual attractiveness. This effect was stronger for larger groups than for smaller groups.
This suggests that people tend to perceive individuals as more attractive when they're part of a group.
Being successful can apparently make you seem more attractive.
According to research on German football players by Meier and Mutz (2020):
The relationship between attractiveness and professional success is complex and likely bi-directional.
Attractiveness is not a prerequisite for success, but it can be a consequence of success.
Successful individuals may invest more into their appearance over time, which can further enhance their attractiveness.
Sharing similarities with others apparently makes you seem more attractive.
This one seems a bit complicated, okay? In a study by Chu and Lowery (2023), it is suggested that:
People who believe that their core attributes are caused by an underlying essence (self-essentialist reasoning) are more likely to be attracted to people who share their attributes. They believe that these shared attributes indicates a deeper shared 'essence'.
In much simpler terms , people who think that their attributes are what make them who they are, are more likely to be attracted to people who have the same attributes. They believe that shared attributes are a sign that they have a deeper connection with these people.
Being honest apparently makes you seem more attractive.
In a study by Paunonen (2006):
Individuals who were described as being honest were rated as more attractive than those who were described as being dishonest.
This suggests that honesty is a highly valued trait that can significantly influence perceptions of physical attractiveness.
More recently, in a study by Niimi and Goto (2023):
People who were perceived as honest were rated as more attractive than people who were perceived as dishonest.
An aggressive personality was suggested to decrease the facial attractiveness of men.
Being desired by others apparently makes you seem more attractive.
According to research by Rodeheffer et al. (2016):
'Female mate choice copying' is influenced by women's judgment of a man's quality based on the attractiveness of his partner.
When men were pictured with an attractive partner, compared to when alone, women rated these men more positively on unobservable qualities (i.e., trustworthiness, wealth).
When women see a male with an attractive mate, they suggest that he is more likely to have many unobservable positive qualities that women look for when selecting romantic partners.
Women find men more attractive when they are desired by other women as well, this is because women believe that these men desired by other women are more likely to have good qualities.
Female mate choice copying is a way for women to reduce their risk of making poor mating decisions.
In simpler terms, women use their opinions of other women to help them choose a good partner.
Exercising apparently makes you seem more attractive.
According to research by Dobersek et al. (2020):
Physical attractiveness is an important factor in choosing a partner.
Exercise has many health benefits.
Exercise may make people more attractive by increasing their self-confidence and vitality.
People who exercise frequently are more likely to have higher self-perceived mate value (how they rate their own attractiveness).
People with higher self-perceived mate value are more likely to desire partners with a higher mate value.
These findings suggest that exercise may make people more attractive by increasing their self-perceived mate value.
Other factors such as personality and socioeconomic status, could also explain the relationship between exercise and mate value.
This study suggests that exercise may be a beneficial way to improve your self-perception and attract partners.
According to research by Li et al. (2023):
The researchers investigated the relationship between athletic performance and facial attractiveness.
There is a positive correlation between athletic performance and facial attractiveness.
They found that athletes with better performance were considered more attractive.
Different skill-related physical fitness requirements have different performance patterns in face attractiveness.
Correlation does not equal causation.
Athletic performance may be a signal of physical fitness and reproductive potential, which are both important factors in selecting a potential partner.
These findings suggest that athletic performance may be a way to increase attractiveness.
Doing good things apparently makes you seem more attractive.
According to research by Konrath and Handy (2021):
There is a positive correlation between physical attractiveness and giving behaviours, suggesting that people who are physically attractive are more likely to engage in giving behaviours.
The "good-looking giver effect" is stronger for women than for men, suggesting that physical attractiveness may be more important for women when it comes to giving behaviours.
In simpler terms, there is a positive correlation between physical attractiveness and giving behaviours. Correlation does not equal causation.
Engaging in giving behaviours could be a way to boost your attractiveness.
Smelling pleasant apparently makes you seem more attractive.
According to research by Feng and Lei (2022):
Odour valence (how pleasant we find an odour) can influence how attractive we find faces.
Faces presented with pleasant and neutral odours were judged as significantly more attractive than those with unpleasant odours, suggesting that pleasant odours can enhance facial attractiveness, while unpleasant odours do the opposite.
Pleasant odours make faces seem more attractive, while unpleasant odours make faces seem less attractive.
People find faces more attractive when they smell pleasant. The more pleasant, the more attractive the face seems.
Wearing heels apparently makes you seem more attractive.
According to research by Prokop (2022):
The effect of high heels on perceived sexual attractiveness, leg length, and women's 'mate-guarding' was studied.
High heels made women appear more attractive and longer-legged to both men and women.
High heels promoted women's mate-guarding of their own partners.
High heels make legs more attractive by visually prolonging leg length.
Other factors, such as personality or socioeconomic status, could also explain the relationship between high heels and attractiveness or mate-guarding.
Wearing makeup in specific ways apparently makes you seem more attractive.
According to research by Batres et al. (2022), makeup can make you look more attractive by:
Making your face look symmetrical.
Making your face look average.
Making your face look feminine.
Making your face look younger.
Making your face look healthier.
In simpler terms, makeup can make you look more attractive by making your face look more like what people 'typically' find attractive.
Jones et al. (2015) suggest that:
Cosmetics can make people look more attractive by changing the contrast between different parts of their face, such as the eyes, eyebrows, skin and lips. This contrast is a cue to sexual dimorphism and youth, which are both considered attractive. Sexual dimorphism is the presence of physical differences between males and females.
According to Aguinaldo and Peissig (2021):
Faces with light makeup were rated as more attractive.
Faces with heavy makeup were rated as more attractive than faces with no makeup, but less attractive than faces with light makeup.
Faces with 'extreme' makeup were rated as least attractive.
Light makeup is the most effective level of cosmetics application for enhancing facial attractiveness, competence, and sociosexuality.
In simpler terms, the study found that people are perceived as most attractive and competent when they wear little makeup.
Being seen as extroverted and agreeable apparently makes you seem more attractive.
In a study by Meier et al. (2010):
Participants who were high in agreeableness or extroversion were rated as more attractive than participants who were low in these traits.
This suggests that sociable people are generally perceived as more attractive than unsociable people.
People who are sociable (agreeable and extroverted) are generally perceived as more attractive than people who are unsociable. This may be because sociable people are more likely to take care of their appearance.
Not seeing someone's complete face can apparently make them seem more attractive.
In a study by Orghian and Hidalgo (2019):
It was found that humans judge faces in incomplete photographs as physically more attractive than complete photos.
Why? It may be because we tend to fill in missing information with positive inferences.
Thank you for reading. :)
Aguinaldo, E.R. & Peissig, J.J. (2021). Who’s Behind the Makeup? The Effects of Varying Levels of Cosmetics Application on Perceptions of Facial Attractiveness, Competence, and Sociosexuality. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661006
Batres, C., Jones, A. L., Barlett, C. P., Porcheron, A., Morizot, F., & Russell, R. (2022). Makeup works by modifying factors of facial beauty. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000505
Chu, C. & Lowery, B. S. (2023). Self-essentialist reasoning underlies the similarity-attraction effect. Journal of personality and social psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000425
Dobersek, U., Stallings, B., Wy, G.C., Case, C.R., & Maner, J.K. (2021). Does Exercise Make Me More Attractive? Exploring the Relations Between Exercise and Mate Value. Evol. Psychol. Sci., 7, 124-133. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-020-00270-w
Feng, G. & Lei, J. (2022). The Effect of Odor Valence on Facial Attractiveness Judgment: A Preliminary Experiment. Brain Sciences, 12(5), 665. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12050665
Holtzman, N. S. & Strube, M. J. (2013). People With Dark Personalities Tend to Create a Physically Attractive Veneer. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4(4), 461-467. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550612461284
Jones, A. L., Russell, R., & Ward, R. (2015). Cosmetics Alter Biologically-Based Factors of Beauty: Evidence from Facial Contrast. Evolutionary Psychology, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/147470491501300113
Konrath, S. & Handy, F. (2021). The Good-looking Giver Effect: The Relationship Between Doing Good and Looking Good. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 50(2), 283-311. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764020950835
Li, W., Zhu, H., Zhao, K., Zhu, H., Wang, X., & He, X. (2023). Good performance-high attractiveness effect: an empirical study on the association between athletes’ rankings and their facial attractiveness. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2023.2181846
Meier, H. E. & Mutz, M. (2020). Does Attractiveness Lead to or Follow From Occupational Success? Findings From German Associational Football. SAGE Open, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020903413
Meier, B. P., Robinson, M. D., Carter, M. S., & Hinsz, V. B. (2010). Are sociable people more beautiful? A zero-acquaintance analysis of agreeableness, extraversion, and attractiveness. Journal of Research in Personality, 44(2), 293–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2010.02.002
Niimi, R. & Goto, M. (2023). Good conduct makes your face attractive: The effect of personality perception on facial attractiveness judgments. PLoS ONE, 18(2). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281758
Orghian, D. & Hidalgo, C.A. (2020). Humans judge faces in incomplete photographs as physically more attractive. Sci Reports, 10, 110. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-56437-4
Peng, C., Mao, Y., Pagliaro, S., Roberts, S., & Livi, S. (2020). Are Individuals Perceived as More Attractive within a Group? A Confirmative Study of Group Attractiveness Effect and the Cheerleader Effect in China. Healthcare (Basel), 8(3), 344. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8030344
Prokop, P. (2022). High heels enhance perceived sexual attractiveness, leg length and women’s mate-guarding. Curr Psychol, 41, 3282-3292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00832-y
Paunonen, S.V. (2006). "You are honest, therefore I like you and find you attractive". Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 237-249.
Rodeheffer, C. D., Proffitt Leyva, R. P., & Hill, S. E. (2016). Attractive Female Romantic Partners Provide a Proxy for Unobservable Male Qualities: The When and Why Behind Human Female Mate Choice Copying. Evolutionary Psychology, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704916652144
How To Stop Spending Money on Clothes
But mum, I love him. Oops, sorry, I meant shopping.
At the end of the day, clothing retailers, both online and offline, want you to spend as much money as possible. They use a variety of tactics to keep you shopping, just like social media companies use tactics to keep you scrolling. But don't worry, we have some helpful tips to help you spend your money on clothes more wisely.
Contents
Don't shop if you're hungry, stressed, or bored.
Unsubscribe from email lists.
Don't create accounts.
Don't save your card details.
Budget.
Think about the environmental impact of your purchase.
Ask yourself this important question.
Carry a smaller tote/shopping bag with you.
Go easy on the caffeine.
Wait on it.
Have a look through second-hand online marketplaces.
Beware of exclusivity.
Free next day delivery?
Is this really a bargain though?
Look around for alternatives.
Clear cookies.
Read product reviews.
Discounts.
1. Don't shop if you're hungry, stressed, or bored.
When you go shopping on an empty stomach, or if you're bored or stressed, this can trigger what is known as impulse buying.
Clothing retailers love playing on your emotions.
When hungry, bored, or stressed, you might make decisions without thinking them through first. You could be so hungry that you feel rushed to make a purchase in order to get something to eat as soon as possible.
Research has shown that hunger has the potential to impact us significantly when we shop (see Cazzato et al. 2022; Xu et al., 2015).
Before you go shopping, consider eating first. And, if you're feeling stressed or bored on the other hand, probably do some window shopping instead.
2. Unsubscribe from email lists.
The whole point in an email subscription is so that brands can keep you updated on their latest drops, sales, offers, and discounts.
You may be prompted to agree to receiving marketing emails via welcome pop-ups and when completing an order.
Sometimes you may only sign up to an email list to get access to a discount code, but afterwards, you have the option to unsubscribe if you don't want any further communications in your inbox. You can find this option right at the end of emails in the small print.
Out of sight, out of mind?
3. Don't create accounts.
If you don't make an account with your favourite stores you won't:
1) Feel obligated to purchase from them;
2) Feel pressured into earning loyalty points that expire quickly; and
3) Be able to save your card and address details as easily.
Make use of the 'guest account' options when purchasing items online.
Unfortunately, not all stores give you the option to do this such as ASOS.
4. Don't save your card details.
If you save (auto-fill) your card details on your web browser or shopping app then it makes it a whole lot easier to make a purchase compared to having to pull out your card and enter its details manually every time. The same goes for your shipping and billing address details.
Sometimes when we feel that something is just too much effort, we don't bother with it.
Not saving your information could also be considered more secure than leaving your information easily accessible.
This one is as simple as is.
5. Budget.
If you want to save money on clothes, it's important to set a budget.
Setting a budget will help you to stay on track and avoid overspending. When you know how much money you can spend, you can be more confident about making purchases.
Example: "I'm only going to spend £40 on clothes today."
6. Think about the environmental impact of your purchase.
Many people don't care or know about where their clothes come from and the process to produce them.
Although fast fashion is tempting to buy, convenient, generally cheaper, and easily accessible, fast fashion is not very good for the environment (and a list of many other things such as inappropriate working conditions and the poor treatment of employees).
Fast fashion is a major contributor to climate change and environmental pollution. It takes a lot of water, energy, and chemicals to produce fast fashion clothing and accessories, and many of these harmful substances end up in our water supply and oceans.
Whilst it's easy to blame the consumer, fast fashion retailers are the ones providing the products and services to consumers, and should therefore be more responsible and transparent as to where their products are sourced, honestly. Have you ever heard of greenwashing?
The next time you place an item in your basket, don't just take it for what it is at face value. Take a look at its description and what material it's made from.
Take a little moment to think about where the item supposedly came from.
It's also wise to be grateful for the clothing you own, take care of them appropriately and treat them with respect. We take our possessions for granted.
7. Ask yourself this important question.
Ask yourself this important question before making a purchase:
Will I see myself wearing/using this piece of clothing next year (or at another time)?
If not, then maybe it's not worth it.
Think about a time where you bought a trendy item that is no longer in trend. Where is it now? Somewhere at the back of your closet maybe? It was maybe in at the time, but probably not so much now. On a similar note, if you don't like keeping up with trends, you might want to start a capsule wardrobe.
Clothes that you don't necessarily wear or want anymore need not end up at the back of your wardrobe. There are many things you can do with your unused clothing items such as selling them on an online clothing marketplace such as Depop or Vinted, recycling them, or repurposing them.
If you have a special occasion and aren't particularly keen on wearing the same piece of clothing again, then consider renting items instead of purchasing them. Some retailers such as Selfridges and John Lewis can provide rental services.
Other questions you could consider are:
Does this item go with my current wardrobe?
Do I feel good in this item?
Is this item of good quality?
Is this item durable?
Can I resell this item?
Can I give this item to someone who will love it more than I ever did/will?
Am I able to maintain this item?
8. Carry a smaller tote/shopping bag with you.
In the UK, a majority of stores should now charge at least 5p for carrier bags. This is to prevent customers from littering, contributing to unnecessary waste, and to encourage customers to carry their own carrier bags. In the UK and Europe, customers generally pack their own bags compared to the USA and some other countries where employees can, oddly, do this for you. (Don't get me started on full service fuel stations.)
Consider getting a tote bag to go shopping with. You can find many cute tote bags online, at stores, and from independent sellers on sites such as Etsy. You can keep your bag folded and placed in your handbag or pocket.
The bigger the bag you have, the more chill you'll feel about buying more. The smaller your bag, the less items you can walk away with.
Trolleys work the same way. The larger your trolley, the more space you'll feel obligated to fill, and the more you'll spend.
Also, maybe don't walk around with a basket during your shopping trip. A basket can encourage you to pick up items.
9. Go easy on the caffeine.
Your iced vanilla lattes could be costing you more than you think.
Intaking caffeine before you go shopping can lead to impulse buying according to a study by Biswas et al. (2023).
If you're going on a shopping spree, maybe think about skipping that trip to Costa beforehand?
10. Wait on it.
If you set your sights on a clothing item you really like then it can be tempting to feel the need to purchase it straight away before it gets sold out.
FOMO (the fear of missing out) drives us to impulse buy.
Sometimes you might see limited time offers in stores and online such as:
"Free ____ ends in x hours."
"Only x items left in stock."
"Selling out fast!"
Wait for sale periods. Don't rush to make a purchase. Sometimes something that you think you wanted might not be as important as you thought it was in the end. Better yet, something better might catch your eye.
11. Have a look through second-hand online marketplaces.
There's nothing to be embarrassed about when shopping for second-hand items, ever heard of thrifting?
Second-hand shopping is a great way to save money and find unique pieces. Sellers can list items for cheaper than you can find them in store. There are many great online marketplaces where you can find second-hand items, including:
eBay: eBay is a large online auction site where you can find a wide variety of second-hand items, including clothes, shoes, and accessories.
Vinted: Vinted is an online marketplace for second-hand clothes and accessories. It's a good option if you're looking for gently used items at a discount.
Depop: Depop is similar to Vinted and is a good option if you're looking for unique and vintage pieces.
Vestiaire Collective: Vestiaire Collective is a luxury consignment marketplace. It's a good option if you're looking for high-quality (and mostly luxury) second-hand items.
When shopping second-hand, it's important to be aware of the condition of the items. Read the descriptions carefully and ask questions if you have any concerns. You can also take advantage of the return policies offered by many online marketplaces. Moreover, some sites allow you to make offers.
With a little bit of effort, you can find great deals on second-hand items that are both unique and stylish.
12. Beware of exclusivity.
Exclusive? Yeah, right.
Can you find this item or similar items on other websites? Probably you can if you look.
Ever heard of FOMO? Exclusive items play on our fears of missing out.
Are you really missing out on anything though?
13. Free next day delivery?
Chances are, you've probably seen an offer to get free next day delivery, but only when you've spent a certain amount.
Ask yourself whether it's worth just getting the item you want alone with it's delivery fee or whether it's worth spending way more due to adding items to your basket that you don't want nor need just to get free delivery.
14. Is this really a bargain though?
Some retailers may list an RRP alongside an item's current sale price. This is known as price anchoring which highlights a price difference. It may seem like a bargain to know that you're getting an item for much cheaper.
For example, a shirt may be priced at £125 with an RRP of £250. This makes the sale price seem like a 50% discount, even though the RRP is not always an accurate reflection of the true value of the item. After all, RRP means recommended retail price... Recommended by who exactly though? RRP might be intentionally inflated by manufacturers to make items seem more valuable than they really are.
Many clothing retailers use price anchoring such as TK Maxx (TJ Maxx).
It is important to be critical of price anchoring when making purchases. Ask yourself:
Is the RRP a fair reflection of the value of the item?
Is the sale price actually a bargain?
Are there other retailers selling the same item for a lower price?
15. Look around.
You have the option to look around different websites, so do a search online and compare prices across different websites.
If you're looking for a specific item, type its features into your preferred search engine and you will most certainly find alternatives within your budget.
Similarly, you can do a reverse search, use 'search within image' features, or 'view similar items'.
16. Clear cookies (no biscuits here).
Once in a while, clear your browser or social media cookies/advertising preferences settings.
If you're shown clothing that you might be interested in, you'll be tempted to buy them.
If you're in Europe or the UK, you should have the opportunity to disagree to targeted advertisements, which are personalised to you according to your browsing habits on the websites that you have visited before.
If you're using Google, you have an option to turn off your advertising ID in order to show you generic and less relevant advertisements compared to personalised ones that you will most likely be intrigued by and want to explore further.
If you use social media sites such as Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, you should have the option to turn off personalised/targeted advertisements.
Websites can use your date of birth, gender, and location to show you advertisements that may be more relevant to you. Consider whether it's worth providing this information when you sign up to accounts.
You may want to use incognito mode.
17. Read product reviews.
Reading product reviews gives you the chance to evaluate whether or not to consider purchasing an item. People may describe their likes and dislikes of the item, specifications, the purchasing process, flaws, and condition of items.
You can find reviews on product pages themselves and review sites like Trustpilot.
These days, it can be very hard to spot a fake review on websites, so maybe be aware of:
If the most recent reviews are weirdly all highly rated and includes detail (Would you leave a lengthy and detailed review about your backstory and how you came to purchasing the item you did? Probably not...);
If the item is sponsored;
If the profile pictures or names of reviewers look strange or if their accounts are new;
Whether the review page is officially verified by the owner.
18. Search for those discounts.
The internet is a very helpful place where you can find anything that you want as long as you know where to look.
You can find discounts, vouchers, and promotional codes on a variety of websites just with a quick Google search. Some websites post a list of codes which you can copy and paste for free. However, sometimes you may need to try all of the codes to find a few successful (valid) ones. Some news websites offer discount codes.
Check if you're entitled to discounts through education or employment:
If you're a student, most likely you'll be entitled to receive student discounts on apps such as UNiDAYS and Student Beans.
If you're a healthcare worker, you may be entitled to 'key worker' discounts.
If you work for a company, you may be entitled to a range of employee benefits/incentives.
You may also find codes on clothing retailers' social media pages including Pinterest and Instagram.
Additionally, TV adverts may display promotional codes from time to time.
Thank you for reading. :)
References
Biswas, D., Hartmann, P., Eisend, M., Szocs, C., Jochims, B., Apaolaza, V., Hermann, E., López, C. M., & Borges, A. (2023). Caffeine’s Effects on Consumer Spending. Journal of Marketing, 87(2), 149-167. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429221109247
Cazzato, V., Vicario, C. M., & Urgesi, C. (2022). 'When hunger makes everything better looking!': The effect of hunger on the aesthetic appreciation of human bodies, faces and objects. BMC psychology, 10(1), 98. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00807-7
Xu, A. J., Schwarz, N., & Wyer, R. S. (2015). Hunger promotes acquisition of nonfood objects. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(9), 2688-2692. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1417712112
Why Do People Wear Fake Designer?
Every now and then I like to take a walk around my city shopping centre for mainly two reasons: a) to avoid lunchtime interaction with my crush at the office; and b) to avoid lunchtime interaction with my crush at the office. Anyway, that’s beside the point. Today I passed by a mannequin wearing a dress with “Ye Saint Lo” printed on it. I guess this dress was paying homage to Kanye ‘Ye’ West, Yves Saint Laurent, and Saint-Lô (a commune in France)… maybe? This dress can be termed as a knockoff… But what is a knockoff?
This is a knockoff logo, clearly not Yves Saint Laurent though so no one gets in trouble for producing such a monstrosity. You know what...? The longer I look at it, it... Hmm...
Simply put, knockoffs typically refer to goods or products intended to resemble those that are well-known and recognisable, but have obvious differences whether it be the name, logo, or the design (e.g., see photo attached). Think 'inspired by'. I personally don't like the term knockoff but, it is what it is. Knockoffs may even be referred to as 'dupes' or 'copycats'. Knockoffs and dupes look similar to the real deal, but aren't exact; consumers should be able to distinguish that the product is different from the original without batting an eyelid. Moreover, knockoffs are legal because they're designed to be distinct enough to avoid trademark and copyright infringement, unlike counterfeit goods. Knockoffs can be of the same quality as the original product, just with a vastly different price tag (maybe, it depends on what we're looking at).
If you've ever wondered why brands, large corporations, supermarkets, and businesses don't get in trouble for creating knockoff products, this is mainly due to the fact that they're not exact copies.
Counterfeit goods are designed to be 100% identical to and perceived as an original and authentic product, often misleading consumers. The quality is often noticeably poorer, e.g., the stitching may be different, things may be misspelled. Replicas on the other hand are better quality counterfeit goods - You shouldn't be able to tell the difference.
So, what makes a consumer want to purchase and wear knockoff brands? Why do some people wear knockoff brands and others don't?
Well, according to Basu et al. (2015), there are many factors that influence consumers’ purchase intentions including brand loyalty, personal gratification, perception, ethics, social motivation, and value – where social motivation and value are the most influential factors. Remarkably, the functional value of goods are not so important (Rahimnia & Arian, 2021).
There are many factors that influence consumers’ purchase intentions including brand loyalty, personal gratification, perception, ethics, social motivation, and value.
Brand loyalty
Brand loyalty is essentially a consumer’s commitment to a brand. If a consumer is loyal to a brand, it is likely that they will repeat purchases from that brand. But why do we wear the brands we do? Well, consumers want to be associated with a brand because they appreciate its personality – the values and lifestyle that it uniquely conveys. Believe it or not, brands have their own personality characteristics just like humans. There are five types of brand personality: sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness. Can you think of brands that fit under any of these? Furthermore, many consumers buy brands because of their implied ‘genuine quality’ (Basu et al., 2015).
Personal gratification
Personal gratification is the need for a sense of accomplishment, recognition, and the desire to enjoy the best and greatest things in life. It would make sense that a consumer with a high level of personal gratification would be more conscious of their fashion choices because they are inclined to wear genuine goods. These consumers are likely to have negative attitudes towards knockoffs and counterfeits.
Ethics
Ethics are principles and involves the action of questioning, discovering and defending what is moral – this involves our values, principles and purpose. It can help us separate what is right from what is wrong. If a consumer makes an ethical judgement that counterfeit goods are bad, they would be unlikely to purchase counterfeit goods.
Social motivation
Fashion plays a big role in how we’re perceived and want to be perceived by others. Consumers’ preferences for luxury brands are based on the satisfaction of at least one social goal (Zhang et al., 2019). We can use fashion to express our unique selves to others, but we also dress to fit into the society we live in. Consumers wear brands because brands are perceptible, admirable, and can possibly indicate the wearer’s social status. According to Wang (2021), because luxury fashion is associated with a high price tag and can somewhat be rare, it can be implied that its wearer is maybe of a high status, wealthy, and/or successful. Of course, this may not always be the case. Some consumers wear counterfeit fashion simply for pleasure and assume that other people don’t take notice (Purwanto et al., 2019).
Value
Value refers to the degree of financial or pleasurable service a good can offer a consumer. Why bother to pay a large amount for an item you really like when you could buy a similar one of good quality as well, but for a better price? If a consumer already purchases knockoffs and counterfeit luxury goods, because of the economic and hedonic benefits involved, it is likely that they will purchase more in the future (Yoo & Lee, 2009).
Personality
What is more, our personalities can have a large influence towards how we feel about buying counterfeit goods. Babamiri et al. (2020) investigated the relationship between the Big Five personality characteristics (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), and attitudes towards the purchasing of counterfeit goods. The researchers found that extraversion and agreeableness were associated with a positive attitude towards purchasing counterfeit goods. Extraversion is a trait associated with standing out in a crowd, thriving in social situations, outgoingness, and being the centre of attention. Whereas agreeableness is associated with prosocial behaviours such as helping others, being truthful, empathic, and cooperating. Openness on the other hand, was instead associated with a negative attitude towards purchasing counterfeit goods. Openness is associated with curiosity, an eagerness to learn and explore new experiences, independence, and creativity. Make of that what you will.
Are there consequences?
Research has shown the consequences of wearing counterfeit fashion. Pretending to be luxury owners to maintain social identities can lead to anxiety and risks (Wang et al., 2019). For instance, Gino et al. (2010) found that when a consumer believes that a product they are wearing is not genuine, it can make the consumer feel inauthentic, and increases their likelihood to behave dishonestly! Not only that, those wearing counterfeits saw other people as dishonest! Imagine that.
At the end of the day, what we wear is a personal choice and knockoffs and dupes offers an affordable alternative to expensive or exclusive items.
Babamiri, M., Heidari Moghadam, R., Saeidnia, H., & Zemestani, M. (2020). Relationship between personality characteristics and attitude toward purchase of counterfeit goods in the Iranian population. Cogent Psychology, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2020.1779000
Basu, M., Basu, S. & Lee, J. (2015). Factors Influencing Consumer's Intention to Buy Counterfeit Products. Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 15(6), 23-35.
Gino, F., Norton, M. I., & Ariely, D. (2010). The Counterfeit Self: The Deceptive Costs of Faking It. Psychological Science, 21(5), 712-720. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41062274
Purwanto, P., Margiati, L., Kuswandi, K., & Prasetyo, B. (2019). Consumer motives for purchasing counterfeit luxury products: behind the status signalling behaviour using brand prominence. Business: Theory and Practice, 20, 208-215. https://doi.org/10.3846/btp.2019.20
Rahimnia, F. & Arian, N. H. (2021). Luxury consumption and the moderating role of attitude toward counterfeits: The case of an emerging market. Journal of General Management, 47(1), 41-55. https://doi.org/10.1177/03063070211013335
Wang, Y., Stoner, J. L., & John, D. R. (2019). Counterfeit Luxury Consumption in a Social Context: The Effects on Females’ Moral Disengagement and Behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 29(2), 207-225. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1071
Wang, Y. (2021). A conceptual framework of contemporary luxury consumption. International Journal of Research in Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2021.10.010
Yoo, B. & Lee. S. (2009). Buy Genuine Luxury Fashion Products Or Counterfeits? Advances in Consumer Research, 36(7), 280-286.
Zhang, W., Jin, J., Wang, A., Ma, Q., & Yu, H. (2019). Consumers' Implicit Motivation Of Purchasing Luxury Brands: An EEG Study. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 12, 913-929. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S215751
The Psychology Of Impulse Buying
A Converse shoe box I will never see again.
Dear my Converse Something... Something... Something (whatever your name was, it was long, I can't remember it), I am writing to let you know that I don’t miss you at all. I'm sat in Greggs, reflecting on why I sent you to the Post Office a week ago. I remember it so well like it was yesterday. I put you back in your box and stuck the return label on. When the cashier handed me my proof of postage, the sun disappeared behind the clouds. You were meant to be my shoe for the summer – but instead you are no more. Now you can be with someone else who deserves you. You broke my heart-
Just kidding. I recently purchased a sick pair of Chuck 70s from the Converse online store. As the proud owner of 16 pairs of Converse, I was in no need to purchase a new pair, yet that didn't stop me from accidentally ending up on the Converse website during a convenient midseason sale. They were beautiful, they were calling me... Psssst. I got them in the post a week later and was bummed. They didn't fit me well so I sent them back. I was debating whether to keep them because, you know? Why not? Buying on impulse... What’s the deal with it?
What is impulse buying?
Impulse buying is a term used to describe unplanned immediate purchases upon exposure to impulse stimuli (Bandyopadhyay et al., 2021). The causes of impulsive behaviour are “triggered by an irresistible force to buy and an inability to evaluate its consequences. Despite being aware of the negative effects of buying, there is an enormous desire to immediately satisfy your most pressing needs” (Meena, 2018).
"...An enormous desire to immediately satisfy your most pressing needs."
Impulse buying is profitable
Because impulse buying is profitable, marketers want to induce impulse buying. In a study, Bandyopadhyay et al. (2021) found that immediate promotions, financial (e.g., price discounts) or not (e.g., bonus pack) resulted in consumers having higher urges to buy impulsively.
Impulse buying is linked to immediate gratification
The tendency to buy thoughtlessly, and without reflection, can be explained by the immediate gratification it provides consumers (Pradhan et al., 2018).
Impulse buying triggers
Impulse buying can be triggered by the store environment, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and the emotional state of the consumer at the time before purchase (Gogoi & Shillong, 2020). According to Iyer et al. (2019), traits (e.g., sensation-seeking), motives (e.g., hedonic), resources (e.g., time, money), and marketing stimuli are key triggers of impulse buying. Positive emotions increase impulse buying. In a study by Park et al. (2006), it was found that fashion involvement and positive emotion had positive effects on consumers' fashion-oriented impulse buying behaviour with fashion involvement having the greatest effect. Hedonic consumption tendency is an important mediator in determining fashion-oriented impulse buying.
Online impulse buying
Have you ever seen, “ONLY ONE LEFT IN STOCK!” or a countdown (e.g., “SALE ENDS IN X HOURS X MINUTES”) on online clothing websites? Online promotional activities with restrictive conditions (i.e., time-limits) pressure consumers to make decisions in a short amount of time. It creates a sense of urgency in which consumers should act on buying a product or service as soon as possible, or they’ll miss out. According to Luo et al. (2021), this causes psychological oppression, where consumers are the victim. Time-limited promotional activities increase consumers’ perceived risk of opportunity loss. It is suggested that the longer time-limited promotional activities last, consumers’ impulse purchase intentions decrease.
Have you ever seen, “ONLY ONE LEFT IN STOCK!” or a countdown (e.g., “SALE ENDS IN X HOURS X MINUTES”) on online retail websites?
Experiences of impulse buying
Sundström et al. (2019) interviewed young consumers to explore their impulse fashion buying behaviours when shopping online. Participants’ impulse purchases are motivated by boredom; bored participants were likely to be enticed by price and free delivery. The researchers suggest that impulse buying acts like a coping mechanism to overcome boredom. Boredom is replaced by feelings of pleasure when participants click on ‘buy now’. Low price was a key trigger for all participants, they like to browse through offers and sales. Participants made note that scarcity was a factor in making an impulse purchase (as mentioned above). Scarcity is one of the six principles of persuasion according to Cialdini (2015), who wrote a book called, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”. People value things more when they are scarce. What is more, participants stated that they were influenced to shop online because of advertisements. Interestingly, many participants had little or no intentions to return items that they weren’t keen on. In addition, participants preferred to shop in the evening, perhaps not to get distracted.
Hopefully you’ve learned a little (at least one thing) about impulse buying?
Bandyopadhyay, N., Sivakumaran, B., Patro, S. K., & Kumar, R. S. (2021). Immediate or delayed! Whether various types of consumer sales promotions drive impulse buying?: An empirical investigation. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102532
Cialdini, R. (2015). Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Harper Collins.
Gogoi, B. & Shillong, I. (2020). Do impulsive buying influence compulsive buying? Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 24(4), 1-15.
Iyer, G. R., Blut, M., Xiao, S. H. & Grewal, D. (2019). Impulse buying: a meta-analytic review. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48, 384-404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00670-w
Luo, H., Cheng, S., Zhou, W., Song, W., Yu, S., & Lin, X. (2021). Research on the Impact of Online Promotions on Consumers’ Impulsive Online Shopping Intentions. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(6), 2386-2404. https://doi.org/10.3390/jtaer16060131
Meena, S. (2018). Consumer psychology and marketing. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, 218-222. https://www.ijrar.org/papers/IJRAR190A044.pdf
Park, J. E., Kim, Y. E., & Forney, C. J. (2006). A structural model of fashion‐oriented impulse buying behavior. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 10(4), 433-446. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612020610701965
Pradhan, D., Israel, D., & Jena, A. (2018). Materialism and compulsive buying behaviour: the role of consumer credit card use and impulse buying. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 30, 1355-5855. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-08-2017-0164
Sundström, M., Hjelm-Lidholm, S., & Radón, A. (2019). Clicking the boredom away – Exploring impulse fashion buying behavior online. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 47, 150-156. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JRETCONSER.2018.11.006
Does Underwear Matter?
WHAT DID YOU SEARCH TO END UP HERE?
Hmm…
With i-D declaring that frumpy underwear is officially in according to SS23 runway collections, let us delve into the world of sorting our underwear drawers out for 2023, yeah?
Undies, panties, intimates, pants, garments, bloomers, knickers... whatever you call them, you're surely wearing a pair right now? Imagine this: When was the last time you decided to assess and throw out your old underwear? Not sure?
According to TikTok, you should be throwing out your underwear every 6 months. 6 months? I've got underwear in my drawer from 10+ years ago. Now I'm being pressured to purchase underwear every 6 months?! When you're looking for sound information, TikTok is certainly not the place to go. What were times like before TikTok misinformed the masses?
Gynaecologists advise there's no reason to be getting rid of your underwear so often.
One of my new year's goals is to sort my life out - and within that is sorting out my (dreaded) underwear drawer. The act of organising and sorting out this specific drawer is a process that I tend to ignore for as long as possible. I've been holding on to 30 odd pieces of underwear for a veeeeeery long time now. I have a go-to pile, a period pile, and a lone, forgotten pile that sits at the back of my drawer in their very own clique.
There are mainly five reasons why I keep my (old and tatty) underwear, these include:
I don't know what to do with them;
I keep worn out underwear for specific days of my cycle so that I don't care if they get stained;
It is wise to have back-ups. I saw this meme a while ago that people pack an extra five pair of underwear on holiday in case something unfortunate happens... Although I abide by this rule, I haven't experienced the need for an extra pair;
Buying new and good quality underwear can be expensive! And they're going to get stained at some point as well; and
They still function as they're meant to. So it doesn't make any sense to buy new underwear when it's not necessary to do so.
I'm a big advocate for using my clothing until it's no longer appropriate to wear and/or repair, but I question what benefits it can bring if I update my underwear drawer. My dream underwear drawer (yes), would look like this:
It would make me look and feel good for myself;
It would consist of 14-20 pairs of good quality, comfortable, and reliable underwear that will last me a long time. With my clothes, I've been into less is more lately; and
It would provide me with stress-free periods where I'm not worried about whether or not pads adhere to my underwear, uncomfortableness, or leaks when carrying out my day-to-day business.
After deciding to finally deal with said drawer, I'm going to let you in on the benefits of doing this:
I Feel More Confident In Myself
Lingerie is a tool to help us express how we want to be seen by others (i.e., social identity), and also how we want to feel internally (i.e., satisfaction and comfort) (Jantzen et al., 2006).
Although your underwear is one of those clothing items that are usually not seen by other people, they are in fact seen and felt by you as their wearer. I've recognised that I definitely feel a lot more confident knowing that I'm wearing gorgeous underwear that is comfortable and suits my body. Go ahead, rock those marvellous Marvel underwear during your big presentation if you like them.
Wearing underwear that suits you will make you feel more confident. Underwear that has lost its elasticity loses its purpose because it no longer supports or fits you correctly. Because my underwear now are a better fit, I feel more comfortable in my clothes and no longer worry about panty lines. One thing I cannot stand is underwear that is too tight causing bulges.
One thing to keep in mind is that comfort goes a long way past looks. Underwear serves us for practical reasons mostly... Don't feel pressured to look like someone else or expect to look like someone else because you bought into advertised underwear. Wedgies certainly don't make me feel confident, don't feel cool and are not something you want to be thinking about when you're going about your business. Dress you, for you.
A recent study has shown that women wear underwear to feel 'sexy', 'desired', and 'aroused', especially when in a romantic relationship (Craig & Gray, 2020).
Less Clutter Means More Space
What is this? I can finally close my drawers? Sorting out my underwear drawer has given me more space. There is no more messy, crammed, unfolded pile of underwear looming in the dark of the drawer obstructing me from fully opening them out.
I Feel Less Embarrassment
I get embarrassed hanging my underwear to dry inside/outside because of stains (i.e., blood and discharge) and holes. You'll only understand this when you live with other people. No matter how well you care for and wash your underwear, there will always be stains and holes at some point. That's life and there's nothing to be ashamed about! The reality is, this happens to all of us although we don't necessarily have the opportunity to admit it.
Holes are a sign that you've worn your underwear very well and it's time for you to get a new pair. Say bye, bye. They are no longer serving you purpose (think of wearing a slice of Swiss cheese).
I now feel proud to hang my underwear outside and let them harness the sun's energy to dry (on the odd occasion where the weather is good though).
I've Learned to Appreciate My Clothes More
Knowing that I've bought good quality underwear, I tend to take better care of them. I now fold them neatly and arrange them in neat piles. Some people find putting clothes away to be relaxing. Also, I don't stick them in the dryer anymore where they always tend to shrink. I used to chuck my underwear in their designated drawer and call it a day.
Purchasing clothes has never been easier than it is today with just one click of a button. Unfortunately our clothes today take a long process to get to our doorsteps. We don't necessarily think about or see this process for ourselves. Our underwear usually goes through such a process where it gets manufactured in other countries by underpaid and overworked labourers, gets packaged in plastic, takes a couple of trips in a cargo airplane, gets transported via lorry to a distribution centre or a warehouse, then from there gets distributed to stores or to our homes. When we're done with our clothes, we just chuck them in the bin where they are then once again transported via lorry to landfill and left to cause pollution. And this is just a simplified version of events.
With this, I no longer purchase cheap, poor quality clothing that has no chance of surviving the next 5-10 years. In the literature, it appears that when products are of greater quality, consumers develop greater attachments to them; which means that products aren't disposed of as often (Niinimäkia & Hassi, 2011). Having high levels of clothing sustainability knowledge has an influence on our clothing disposal behaviours (Yan et al., 2021).
Taking the time to appreciate what you have goes a long way and makes you more conscious of how you treat your belongings in the long term.
The Stress of Choosing Which Underwear To Wear Is Gone
One of my least favourite parts of the day is choosing what outfit to wear the next day. After reorganising my underwear drawer, choosing underwear is now a breeze as I don't have to think about whether panty lines will show or if colours will come through. I don't have to think hard about choosing which underwear to wear anymore! Less time is wasted on something that isn't really important.
I Have No Guilt Getting Rid of Them
Because underwear is something seen as so intimate - I didn't know what to do with my unwanted underwear at all. If you're not sure what to do with underwear you're not keen on, there are a handful of things you can do with them which doesn't include just throwing them in the bin. Surprisingly, it has been shown that how involved you are with 'fashion' influences how you deal with your unwanted clothing. It has been shown that those more involved with fashion are more likely to resell, swap, or take back their unwanted clothes with the majority of us either just donating or disposing of them (Weber et al., 2017).
If you have bought underwear and not used them - Consider listing them on a second-hand clothing site (read their terms and conditions before on intimates), donating them to a charity, giving them to a relative or friend (this one can be weird if you view it that way), and using them as materials in arts and crafts. You can also repurpose them to make pet toys, hair accessories, and anti-chafing bands if they are lace.
If your underwear is used, see below, or reuse unsoiled parts of them in arts and crafts (washed of course).
If your underwear is ready to be disposed of, don't just throw them in the bin. Instead, take them to a textiles recycling centre. Textile recycling has come a long way.
If none of these options appeal to you then there's maybe a Facebook Group out there that will kindly accept your underwear (in whatever form).
The Take-Home
When you have the time, sit down and sort out your underwear drawer. Pull out your drawer, rest it on your bed, take all of your undies out. Then one by one, fold your underwear and arrange them nicely. As you go through each piece of underwear you own, keep in mind whether or not it serves you purpose.
Craig, L. K., & Gray, P. B. (2020). Women's use of intimate apparel as subtle sexual signals in committed, heterosexual relationships. PloS one, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230112
Jantzen, C., Østergaard, P. & Vieira, C. M. S. (2006). Becoming a ‘woman to the backbone’: Lingerie consumption and the experience of feminine identity. Journal of Consumer Culture, 6(2), 177-202. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469540506064743
Niinimäkia, K. & Hassi, L. (2011). Emerging design strategies in sustainable production and consumption of textiles and clothing. Journal of Cleaner Production, 19(16), 1876-1883. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.04.020
Weber, S., Lynes, J. and Young, S. B. (2017). Fashion interest as a driver for consumer textile waste management: reuse, recycle or disposal. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 41, 207-215. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12328
Yan, R., Diddi, S., & Bloodhart, B. (2021). Predicting clothing disposal: The moderating roles of clothing sustainability knowledge and self-enhancement values. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption, 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2021.100029
Use Psychology to Make a Successful Clothing Brand in 2026
Ditto.
With everyone creating their own clothing brands these days, standing out can be extremely tough. How does what you have to offer differ to any other clothing brand that you can find easily on Instagram. Worry not, with the right strategies you can grow a successful clothing brand, make sales, and attract loyal customers in no time. Consumer psychology and fashion psychology can help you understand your target customer and create a brand that appeals to them. By understanding these two branches of psychology, you can create a fashion brand that speaks to your target customer's needs, wants, and values.
In this article, Psychology, But Make It Fashion will discuss five tips for growing a successful fashion brand using psychology, these tips include:
Show your customers that you have a genuine and trustworthy brand.
Play on fear(s) of missing out.
You know when people say less is more?
Appeal to the needs of your target audience.
Treat your customers with gratitude and maybe, just maybe, they'll come back for more.
SHOW YOUR CUSTOMERS THAT YOU HAVE A GENUINE AND TRUSTWORTHY BRAND.
Social proof is the principle that people are more likely to do something if they see that other people are doing it. This is because we are inclined to follow the crowd and to conform to social norms.
How to use social proof to create a successful clothing brand:
Use customer testimonials and reviews. When people see that other people are happy with your products, they are more likely to be interested in buying them. Make sure that your reviews are genuine and authentic.
Feature your products on social media. When people see that other people are wearing your clothes, they are more likely to want to wear them too.
Work with influencers that match well with your brand. When influencers promote your brand, they are essentially giving your brand their seal of approval. This can be a very effective way to reach a large audience and build trust.
Get recognition. When your brand is recognised by industry experts, it shows that you are doing something right. This can help to build credibility and attract new customers.
Be consistent. Use social proof consistently across all your marketing channels. This will help to build trust and credibility.
By understanding and using social proof, you can increase your sales and build a loyal customer base.
PLAY ON FEAR(S) OF MISSING OUT.
The scarcity principle is the idea that people are more likely to want something if they believe it is scarce or in limited supply. This is because we are drawn to things that are rare or exclusive. A good example of a brand that successfully uses the scarcity principle is Supreme. It's intriguing, it creates mystery.
How to use scarcity to create a successful clothing brand:
Create a sense of urgency. Ever heard about the fear of missing out (FOMO)? FOMO drives urgency. Let your customers know that your products are only available for a limited time or in limited quantities without misleading your customers.
Use exclusive products or collaborations. Partnering with other brands or designers can create a sense of exclusivity around your products. This will make people more likely to want to buy them.
Create limited-edition collections. Releasing limited-edition collections is a great way to create a sense of scarcity around your products. This will make people more likely to want to buy them before they sell out.
Use high-quality materials. Using high-quality materials can make your products seem more exclusive and valuable.
Be creative with your scarcity tactics. There are many different ways to create a sense of scarcity around your products. Get creative and find what works best for your brand.
Don't be annoying with it. Misleading your customers is wrong.
By understanding and using the scarcity principle, you can increase your sales and build a loyal customer base.
YOU KNOW WHEN PEOPLE SAY LESS IS MORE?
Think back to a time when you browsed clothing online on any website at all. What did you think about the amount of products displayed? How many colour options could you get of the same item? Were there many popups that you had to close offering you supposed discounts? Have you ever visited the online fast fashion retailers SHEIN or Temu? How do these sites make you feel? Are they overwhelming with the vast amount of products offered?
Having a lot of choice can overwhelm consumers, therefore you need to choose an appropriate amount of items to showcase.
How to use the psychology of choice to create a successful clothing brand:
Limit the number of choices/display less products. When people are faced with too many choices, they can become overwhelmed and indecisive. This can lead to them not making a choice at all. Give your customers the option to change product display pages (3-4 columns).
Make the choices clear and easy to understand. People should be able to easily understand the different choices that you are offering. This will make it more likely that they will make a decision. Highlight the benefits of your products. People are more likely to choose products that they believe will benefit them.
By understanding the psychology of choice, you can find out what layout your customers prefer.
APPEAL TO THE NEEDS OF YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE. AFTER ALL, THEY ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS.
If you are planning to sell products or already do, then you should ideally have an idea about your perfect customer. Understanding your target audience is necessary to create a successful clothing brand. If you do not understand your customers' wants and needs then you are going to find it difficult to sell your brand. You will not know how to advertise your brand or communicate your brand with customers effectively.
Understanding your target audience requires research about their:
Demographics. The objective characteristics of your target audience, such as their age, gender, income, and location.
Psychographics. The subjective characteristics of your target audience, such as their values, beliefs, and lifestyle.
Buying behaviour. The way your target audience makes decisions about buying clothes.
Once you know the characteristics of your target audience, it will be much easier to create marketing messages, campaigns, and items that will appeal to them. For example, if your target audience are Gen Z (born in 1997-2012), this audience is concerned about sustainable and well-made fashion, therefore you would build your brand identity on these values.
Here are some of the consumer psychology principles that you can use to understand your target audience and create a successful clothing brand:
Talk to your customers. The best way to understand your target audience is to talk to them directly. Ask them about their needs, wants, and preferences. What are they looking for in their dream clothing product?
Use surveys, polls, and focus groups. These are great ways to get feedback from your target audience.
Monitor your results. Once you start marketing to your target audience, track your results to see what is working and what is not.
By understanding your target audience, you can create marketing messages and campaigns that will be more persuasive and effective.
TREAT YOUR CUSTOMERS WITH GRATITUDE AND MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, THEY'LL COME BACK FOR MORE.
The reciprocity principle is one of the most powerful principles of persuasion. It states that people are more likely to be persuaded by someone who has done something nice for them. This is because we feel obligated to return favours.
The reciprocity principle: People are more likely to do something for you if you have done something for them first.
How to use the reciprocity principle to create a successful clothing brand:
Offer free samples or gifts with a purchase. When you give someone a 'free' gift, they will likely feel obligated to buy something from you in return.
Offer a first-time purchase discount for your customers when they sign up to email subscription.
Provide high quality customer service. When you go out of your way to help a customer, they are more likely to feel grateful and would want to purchase with you again.
Focus on personalised touches. People are more likely to be interested in products that are relevant to them. Personalise your marketing materials to show people why your products are right for them. Leave a thank you note for customers with their name. Personalise your offerings, your emails, and remember, to use the customer's name. Make sure that your gestures of goodwill are genuine and sincere.
Run competitions and giveaways. This is a great way to get people excited about your brand and to encourage them to participate.
Give back to the community. When you support a good cause, it shows that you care about more than just making sales.
The reciprocity principle is a powerful tool that can be used to create a successful clothing brand. By understanding and using this principle, you can increase your sales and build a loyal customer base.
Thank you for reading.
References
Bläse, R., Filser, M., Kraus, S., Puumalainen, K., & Moog, P. (2023). Non-sustainable buying behavior: How the fear of missing out drives purchase intentions in the fast fashion industry. Business Strategy and the Environment, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3509
Chernev, A., Böckenholt, U., & Goodman, J. (2015). Choice overload: A conceptual review and meta-analysis. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 25(2), 333-358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2014.08.002
Online Dating First Impressions
He may be holding one fish, but I’m holding TEN.
Swipe left please xxx
What about a person’s clothing makes us swipe left… right? Wait, which one is it? Left? Getting to the point, does what we wear affect people’s impression of us? And how can we possibly boost our matches on online dating apps?
First impressions can be heavily influenced by the messages conveyed by clothing (Howlett et al., 2013). People use clothing to make inferences about happiness, intelligence, confidence, trustworthiness, and sexual interest (Rosenbusch et al., 2021).
The introduction of mobile dating apps in the 21st century has meant that with the flick of a thumb, finding potential partners has never been more convenient for us. We can decide in a split second whether we want to pursue a person or not based on their name, a profile description, and a finite number of pictures of the profile owner’s choice. Cues in both pictures and texts on online dating profiles can affect the impressions people form of the owner of the profile. A profile picture functions as the profile’s gatekeeper (van der Zanden et al., 2022).
A profile picture functions as the profile’s gatekeeper (van der Zanden et al., 2022).
Ward (2017) conducted interviews with men and women, aged 19-52 years, on their experiences of self-presentation practices, profile construction, and evaluating potential matches on Tinder. A majority of the participants used Tinder in order to boost their ego, find a partner, and simply for casual entertainment. When it came to impression construction, how people manage the impression they want to give, participants expressed that they cautiously considered how they could be seen by others because they did not want to be seen as something they were not. Participants constructed their profiles to avoid certain appearances such as appearing too sexual. According to one male participant he had experimented with his profile picture to see if a shirtless picture would garner more attention from women than a picture with a shirt on. Whether or not it worked for him was not mentioned unfortunately. One study has shown that sexualised profile owners are evaluated lower on social attractiveness, perceived to have an increased likelihood of experiencing cyber dating abuse, and perceived as less likely to seek long-term relationships (Yan et al., 2022). Overall, participants of Ward (2017) wanted to display their authentic self and chose pictures that they liked or their friends recommended.
Participants expressed that they cautiously considered how they could be seen by others because they did not want to be seen as something they were not.
When participants evaluated others’ Tinder profiles, they regarded appearance as being the most important factor in making the decision to swipe left or right (Ward, 2017). Selecting partners on Tinder is driven by physical attraction. Attraction is subjective. Remember that. Participants stated that they paid attention to superficial characteristics present in pictures, regarding it as not so different to real life. Superficial characteristics referring to age, height, assumed ethnicity, hair, etc. Besides appearance, many participants expressed specific things that they disliked seeing in pictures. This included men with fish, men with cars that aren’t their own, men with alcohol, animals, pets, landscapes instead of a person, pouting, and more than one person in the photos where it’s hard to determine who the profile owner is.
Attraction is subjective. Remember that.
On to clothing specifically now, it has been found that people make rapid judgements of others based on their clothing alone (Howlett et al., 2013). Howlett and colleagues examined whether minor modifications to clothing style made a huge impact towards how we are perceived. Participants rated images of a man in two suits of different cuts (bespoke vs. ready to wear) on five dimensions (i.e., confidence, success, trustworthiness, salary, and flexibility). Both suits were formal, the same colour, and the same fabric. The model’s face was blurred so that facial features did not influence ratings. In the bespoke suit, the man was rated more positively on confidence, success, salary, and flexibility, but not for trustworthiness. Therefore, it is suggested that clothing that is well-fitted and well-tailored, can positively enhance one’s image. Wear clothes that fit you well in your profile pictures.
Studies have suggested in the past that wearing red can increase the attractiveness of women in person, but Hong and Kim (2022) were interested to find out whether this was true for digital photos. The results suggest that different shades of red may enhance female attractiveness to men on a digital photo. What is interesting is that both men and women wear more red clothing during a first date in comparison to non-date contexts (Kramer & Mulgrew, 2018). Wearing red or black during meeting someone for the first time implies that the wearer is seeking to increase their attractiveness.
One study has examined the perceptions of women on women in different coloured clothing (i.e., Sidhu et al., 2021). Sidhu et al. (2021) found that women reported higher body attractiveness and slimmer body size ratings for women in black and red clothing. Green and grey clothing however were associated with the lowest body attractiveness and overestimated body size judgements. Race also influenced body perception where 'African' avatars were rated as more attractive in white, blue and green than for 'Caucasian' avatars.
We even use shoes to infer others’ characteristics. Gilliath et al. (2012) asked a group of participants to take pictures of their most used shoes, and to self-report aspects of their personality and demographic factors. Another group of participants were then asked to look at the images of the shoes in order to make judgements about the owners. The shoe owners’ age, gender, and income could be accurately determined based on the images of their shoes.
What is the takeaway message from these studies? Well, the message is to wear what suits you. Try to wear well-fitting clothes, wear a smile, and have confidence in yourself if you want to appear attractive. Be your authentic self and the rest will fall into place.
Gillath, O., Bahns, A. J., Ge, F., & Crandall, C. S. (2012). Shoes as a source of first impressions. Journal of Research in Personality, 46(4), 423-430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2012.04.003
Hong, H. R. & Kim, Y. I. (2022). How different shades of red T-shirts enhance the perceived attractiveness of Asian women in digital photographs. Fashion & Textiles, 9(5). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40691-021-00279-0
Howlett, N., Pine, K.J., Orakçıoğlu, I., & Fletcher, B.C. (2013). The influence of clothing on first impressions: Rapid and positive responses to minor changes in male attire. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, 17, 38-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612021311305128
Kramer, R. S. S. & Mulgrew, J. (2018). Displaying Red and Black on a First Date: A Field Study Using the “First Dates” Television Series. Evolutionary Psychology, 16(2), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474704918769417
Rosenbusch, H., Aghaei, M., Evans, A. M., & Zeelenberg, M. (2021). Psychological trait inferences from women’s clothing: human and machine prediction. Journal of Computational Social Science, 4, 479–501 https://doi.org/10.1007/s42001-020-00085-6
Sidhu, N., Qualter, C., Higgs, E., & Guo, K. (2021). What colour should I wear? How clothing colour affects women's judgement of other women's body attractiveness and body size. Acta Psychologica, 218, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103338
van der Zanden, T., Mos, M. B. J., Schouten, A. P., & Krahmer, E. J. (2022). What People Look at in Multimodal Online Dating Profiles: How Pictorial and Textual Cues Affect Impression Formation. Communication Research, 49(6), 863-890. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650221995316
Ward, J. (2017). What are you doing on Tinder? Impression management on a matchmaking mobile app. Information, Communication & Society, 20(11), 1644-1659. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2016.1252412
Yan, K., Terán, L., Gahler, H., Salmon, J., Dajches, L., & Stevens Aubrey, J. (2022). The costs of sexualization: Examining viewers’ perceptions of sexualized profile owners in online dating. Psychology of Popular Media. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000391