The Dopamine Edit: Come on, Get Joyful.

One of the latest and greatest trends on social media is dopamine dressing. A dopamine edit, dopamine diary, dopamine days. In a January that was our longest yet, it seemed necessary to spark a little or a lot of joy.

What exactly is dopamine dressing? The idea, I hear, is that it's all about leaning into clothes that spark feelings of joy, happiness and positive options. Dopamine is the happy hormone, inviting us to come on and get happy.

Here’s the thing. Happy is fleeting. Joy is a bit deeper. Joy is more profound. Joy unites what makes us happy with what makes us feel whole. This happens when we root our happiness in intention. How do we want to feel? The key to joy? According to Brene Brown it's all about vulnerability. I find that with our wardrobe, true fashion magic happens when we get vulnerable. When we first get real with ourselves to see what we need on a given day and from a given look. Where are we at (baseline, i.e. feeling depressed, depleted, bloated, etc.) and where we need to be - how we want to feel. Joy is found in this evolution. Instead of letting odds which might not always be in your favor cause you to spiral when faced with your closet in the morning, you choose the other path. You acknowledge you are imperfect, and you lean into some pieces that make you feel more. Any given day, you can decide what that more is- what your vibe needs to be- is that held, whole, empowered, effortless, calm, even divine? And what combination feels like it might just spark a little joy for you?

I did a little dopamine edit on ShopMy, to decode this a bit. Let me know in comments if you think anything is missing and what you might like to see included.

What sparks joy for you in your wardrobe? In a time when many have actually lost their entire closets, it can be good to get a bit basic too. Do you need something soft to feel feminine or calm, or something sparkly to get you out of a rut? It doesn’t even need to be a whole look, it can be one element of your outfit that shifts things. That lifts you. A great silk pajama never fails to inspire me, as does the power of a great piece of jewelry- costume or real, it doesn’t matter.

It’s February, finally. Let’s get real with ourselves and get intentional. What the world needs now is a serious dopamine injection. How will you wear your joy?