Back in the beginning of January, when we were all just emerging from our holiday cocoons, I decided to do a 30 day dopamine dressing challenge. For no one other than myself, in the hopes that intentionally dressing with color every day would motivate me to feel more energized through the notoriously dreary month, and bring that energy into both my work and my personal life. I decided I’d post to Instagram stories each day, as a way of maintaining momentum and also as a way of keeping myself accountable to the challenge. I took each photo from the same spot and tried to not look utterly ridiculous.
You can see the full round up of the 30 days right here.
So, after the full 30 days, here’s what I learned:
1. I didn’t enjoy putting together outfits each day.
If anything, I found it quite restrictive, a challenge you might say. Go figure. I dress somewhat colorfully anyway, and I don’t really wear much black, so it didn’t actually feel like I was changing much from my usual getting-dressed-each-day approach. More so, I felt conscious that I needed to come up with an outfit that was jazzy and interesting to post on Instagram, rather than something that felt comfortable and enjoyable to wear. Especially on those weekend days where I really didn’t want to change out of my pjs! I mean, I did end up only wearing things that I would actually wear, I couldn’t quite bring myself to put something together for the sake of Instagram, but I was aware that my outfits were really quite, how do I put it? Oh yeh, boring. Especially after (what felt like) day 16 of wearing the same jeans. Eek! My closet was definitely laid bare… I really do wear the same few pairs of jeans on repeat!
2. I didn’t like being on Instagram that much.
Don’t get me wrong, I do love Instagram, well, most of the time :) but I do have to have boundaries with it. I often completely log out on the weekends, because for me, Instagram is very much tied to work. But I felt chained to it for those 30 days and personally, I didn’t love that. Also, as much as I’m comfortable in my own skin and don’t have a problem appearing on Instagram, I didn’t love having a physical presence on there every day. It also made me feel as though I couldn’t turn up on Instagram in other ways, as in, posting about my actual work, because I felt as though I’d filled the instagram box for the day, if that makes sense.
3. Even Instagram didn’t like me being on Instagram that much!
I don’t know much, but I do know that for me, the more I post on Instagram, the less engagement I get. Instagram is successful for me when I post less frequently. Posting everyday decreased my visibility… and seeing as I use Instagram for my work, that’s obviously not great! :) I also didn’t want to put the time into making a snazzy reel for the algorithm to promote my account more. And that’s ok, I understand that that’s how it works, and it was a conscious decision on part not to invest more time than I knew I had. Plus, the posting to Instagram bit was only part of the challenge.
4. For those of you who followed along, for the most part, you enjoyed it!
The likes and dms were evidence enough for me that it wasn’t completely torturous! I really appreciated the positive communication and felt encouraged to keep going each day. That alone made it feel worth it and perhaps that’s actually where the real value of this challenge was. So, thank youuuu!
5. I felt bored of my clothes very quickly
…and therefore didn’t feel particularly excited about putting together outfits each day. I wanted it to feel real, as though these were outfits I would genuinely wear, but I don’t suppose that was particularly interesting. Had I given it more thought ahead of time, I might have signed up to Rent the Runway or similar to have made it feel more fun and exciting. I did originally think that I could bring some of my summer clothes in the mix but the textures of light and breezy cotton and linen just weren’t working for my always-freezing-in-the-winter body!
So, all that being said, as you can probably tell, I’m glad it’s over. Ha! I definitely don’t think it was a negative experience and I certainly don’t wish I hadn’t embarked on the adventure, but I’m still unsure as to whether it was net positive or net neutral. If you followed along, I’d love to know your thoughts, good and bad!
Onwards and upwards! And perhaps back to our spotlight series next week. Until then!
5 things I learned from my 30 day Dopamine Dressing Challenge
I appreciate your honesty here. I did enjoy seeing your new outfit everyday, and I also realized that, for me, doing that would take a lot of effort. I’m a pjs all day ( sometimes) with a fashion background who loves color but wears mostly grey and white. so I thought I might be inspired....I did buy an orange T shirt...but thats the only change I made. My question: did you find the colorful, bold dressing mood altering in anyway?? All in all, I thought it was fun to watch. 😊♥️🌈