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FASHION PSYCHOLOGY 

In 2011 I became Professor of the psychology of fashion at Bilgi University, Istanbul and gave an inaugural public lecture on The Psychology of Fashion.

As humans we communicate a great deal about ourselves via the medium of personal style and dress. I try to pay a lot of attention to this, personally and professionally. Because, if we’re not careful, personal style can also become a straightjacket, in the way that behavioural habits can. So the Do Something Different philosophy extends to the wardrobe as well as the mind. We should use more than just 10% of it. Recent research on enclothed cognition demonstrates a powerful link between a person’s attire and the way they behave, and evolutionary and cognitive psychology can help us to understand the inner drivers for people’s clothing choices, and the effect upon others.

I am currently researching a number of topics related to the psychology of fashion. In 2012 we published a paper in the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management about the effects of subtle manipulations in clothing upon first impressions. My current research interests concern how dress can affect the wearer’s mood or affective state and serve to regulate emotions.

You can download a summary of the results of the study into The Effects of Clothing on First Impressions here.

Or watch a video created for the Wall Street Journal, featuring my reesearch, about How to Dress for Business Success.

I have developed the Fashion Literacy Test, download here and am continuing to research image, fashion and personal style in my work in the UK and in Istanbul.

There are a number of articles on my blog about the psychology of fashion including reports about my 2012 research showing how clothing exerts an influence on our psychological and emotional processes - Happiness: It’s not in the jeans.

Future projects include a new book on The Psychology of Fashion, participation with Istanbul Bilgi University fashion students at the 2012 Istanbul Design Biennale and a Laureate University Webinar on the Psychology of Fashion on 21st Feb. 2013.