Underwear, Fast Fashion and our Mental Health

Monday 10th October marks World Mental Health Day - and this blog is all about shining a light on the relationship between fashion and our mental health and what makes us happy.

How can shopping for underwear impact our Mental Health?

As many of us may be familiar, fashion shopping can have a negative influence on our body image (think unflattering mirrors, dim lighting in tiny fitting rooms!) and throw in a lack of representation of different sizes, ages, skin tones, plus the rigid beauty standards of mainstream fashion and suddenly a shopping trip can be anxiety inducing - when it should absolutely be a happy experience for all.

The way we dress ourselves can have an enormously positive impact on our body confidence and self esteem and that in turn affects how we project ourselves in our relationships, in our workplace and socially, so a bit of self love goes a long way.

Research by the Mental Health Foundation found that 30% of all adults have felt so stressed by body image and appearance that they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope. That’s almost 1 in every 3 people.

Everyone deserves to wear underwear they feel comfortable and confident in!  At Y.O.U, we promote body positivity by ensuring all our photography is diverse and inclusive, showing models of a wide range of ages and sizes, and we promise to never airbrush our images - we don't need to - remember our mantra, look good, feel good and do good! We all have our ups and downs on the journey to self-acceptance. It takes practice and time, and everyone’s paths are different. Read tips for maintaining a positive body image here

The impact of fast fashion 

The relentless pressure of fast fashion to repeatedly buy new clothes only to discard them to follow trends, doesn't help our mental health either. It's not only unaffordable to keep up with but it's also hugely damaging on the environment too - all resulting on a negative strain on our mental health. Yes buying new products can give us a quick fix of dopamine but those dopamine levels will drop back to normal after the purchase, resulting in a cycle of buying new clothes and feeling disappointed with them.

Shopping sustainably instead encourages shopping in a more mindful way, choosing good quality, long lasting products. By shopping from sustainable businesses such as Y.O.U, we help reduce the environmental impact of fashion, as well as ensuring garment workers receive fair pay and helping provide women and children with essential underwear, now that's a great boost to your wellbeing and mental health and happier mindset all around.