Outfit Anxiety— It does not have to ruin your night.
I have had my fair share of outfit anxiety “attacks”. Mind you I am using the word anxiety in an extremely specific scenario. It is not hot to joke about mental illnesses and that is definitely not what we’re doing here. That being said, Outfit Anxiety is such a real issue and I am sure all of you have felt it at least once in your life. I’m painting a familiar picture for you today hot girls:
You’re getting ready to grab drinks with your friends. You want to dress to impress but suddenly you either A) have no clothes or B) hate every clothing item you own! Everything you try on does not look right or you feel yourself gravitating towards the ultimate girl uniform: jeans and a black top. Long story short this leads to a freakout. Everything is bad, you feel terrible, and the clothing won this battle.
Not anymore!
Outfit or Fashion anxiety is extremely common. We all want to look and feel our best, especially if we’re going to an event that’s important to us. The biggest thing we can do to overcome this and allow ourselves to feel confident is to figure out the root of the anxiety. If we can’t locate the source we can’t solve the problem!
In my experience, outfit anxiety can stem from one of three things:
Feeling insecure about how your body physically looks in clothing
Being afraid to have a different style than your peers
Simply not knowing where to start when shopping for/picking out clothing items for an event
Within the past year I went through a major change in my lifestyle which lead to a major change in my body. I went from playing division one sports and having a grueling schedule to working out maybe once a week if I was feeling up for it. Naturally my body changed and I fell into panic mode. I started having outfit anxiety because my clothes no longer fit me “right” and I had curves in places I hadn’t before. Everything I was putting on didn’t look the same on me as it did in college which sent me into a full on spiral. For the first time in a long time I had to rediscover what items I felt confident in and find the motivation to invest in this new body that felt so foreign to me. This definitely was not easy, but if you’re finding that you have outfit anxiety because of the way clothing fits, then this next bit is for you.
Your body is going to change so much throughout your life and there is only so much you can do about it (as long as you’re treating yourself right and being healthy). This will naturally lead to speed bumps in your wardrobe. However, this does not have to be a negative thing. I pulled myself out of this rut with a closet clean out and a little bit of thrifting. I got rid of the items that made me feel uncomfortable. Never forget that the clothing should fit YOU, not the other way around. I went to some thrift stores to collect some new cost-efficient items that I felt confident in and also reflected my personal style. I now have built up a wardrobe that fits MY body instead of trying to fit my body to my wardrobe.
Some people may feel nervous to leave the house in something considered bold or unconventional by their peers. For example: I grew up in a small town where fashion boundaries were not pushed. Almost everyone had the same “style” and people would give you funny looks if you strayed from the norm. If standing out is the root of your outfit anxiety, the only tip I truly have for you is who f*cking cares (respectfully). Your style is your identity and it should be held to that standard. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with having the same style as other people. I jumped on the Adidas Sambas train because I felt it fit my personal style, and so did everyone else. Thats great!
When you’re picking out your outfit or going shopping, you have to think about WHY you are leaning towards specific items. Ask yourself, “Does this reflect my personality or do I only like this because I think I’m supposed to?”. If you are wearing something because you think someone else will think it’s stylish or cool then you’re doing it all wrong. Fashion is for you and you only. The opinions of strangers are only going to cloud your judgement and potentially cause you more outfit anxiety. Trust me, being uncomfortable in clothing that everyone else likes is much worse than feeling comfortable in something that maybe isn’t everyones’ cup of tea.
If you fall into category three of just not knowing where to even begin, you may just be completely overthinking the situation. I find myself falling into this category a lot because I put so much pressure on my clothing choices, especially if it’s for a big event. Although I still struggle with this very frequently, I have learned how to handle it and not let it ruin everything. The best tip I have for this is to find a “comfort” clothing item. If you know me personally, you know that my comfort item is a black mini skort. If I ever find myself in a rut, I’ll pull out my trusty mini skort and try it with probably everything else I have in my closet. I love this piece because I can dress it up or down and it truly fits almost every occasion I go to. Would I suggest everyone buying a black mini skort? Honestly, probably. But the point of that having one versatile piece of clothing (a skirt, a dress, even a pair of shoes) that you always feel confident in will help you on days you’re feeling too overwhelmed or uninspired to think of something from scratch.
It is important to remember that anxiety generally comes from your own head. If you’re struggling with outfit anxiety, I promise you are not the only one. I also promise that nobody else is going to be judging you as hard as you judge yourself. Pushing your fashion boundaries and experimenting will help you find your personal style and release you from the anxiety surrounding your clothing choices. At the end of the day, fashion is supposed to be fun and it really is not that serious even if it feels like it is. Be yourself and also, just buy a black mini skort.
