Fashion Psychology For Kids – What Your Kids’ Choices Will Say About Them

How your kids’ dress will help them express who they are. Now, this won’t matter so much when they are little. But as they grow older, the impression they make on teachers, peers, friends, and others will start to matter. That’s when fashion psychology will begin to become more critical in your child’s life. 

Fashion Psychology For Kids - What Your Kids' Choices Will Say About Them

Right from when they’re too young to make their own choices, your choice of clothes will help lay the ground for how they will navigate fashion in the future. For that reason, it’s essential to pay attention to how you dress your infant.

Even when you’re getting your nursery and baby clothes ready, you’ll want to think about the clothes you’re getting for your baby. (You can also download our Newborn Baby Checklist below to help you prepare for the new arrival.)

Fashion Psychology For Kids: What Your Kids' Choices Say About Them

Fashion Psychology for Kids – How to Help Your Child Communicate with Clothes

There are a few different ways clothes make a statement and help your child to communicate. Color say a lot about what personality type your child is. So does the fit, styling, and even brands. But rather than your child seen as an extension of you in their fashion choices, you want your child to develop their own. 

Kids start by imitating adults. But if you can get them to express their interests more in their clothing choices, you’ve helped them win brownie points for their self-esteem. There are many new kids’ clothing brands these days like Smartygirlbrand that help to break stereotypes about gender in clothing for kids.

Instead of skirts with unicorns, you can find dresses with dragons. Feminist shirts for boys offer exciting alternatives to classical T-shirt graphics that say unhelpful things like “boys will be boys.” Instead, get your son a t-shirt that says “boys will be kind people” or “little feminist,” and you’re likely to set an excellent example for your child growing up. 

All About the Fashion Psychology of Colour

Colour helps to make a great first impression. The color your kids choose also says a lot about them. If you’ve ever wondered why one of your kids loves green and the other one red, knowing a little about the psychology of colors will help you understand more about your two kids’ choices. Once you know how to read color choices, you’ll be able to see clear correlations with their personalities. 

Red

Kids who love red are passionate and full of life. They are bold and adventurous. You can probably see why your high-energy daughter prefers to run around in red overalls and get her hands dirty while her quieter sister likes the muted blue colors of her denim dress.

Reds in nature are associated with fire and passion, and the same translates into personalities when you think about it. There’s nothing that says look at me more than red. If your child loves red, encourage that confidence, it will come in handy in life. 

Pink

Pink is a color linked with girls, but it’s also connected with compassion and kindness. You’ll find many prison uniforms these days in shades of pink, as the color is believed to have a calming effect.

Both girls and boys can enjoy pink. It’s a symbol of innocence and affection. A child who loves pink may be sensitive and kind. These are qualities worth nurturing. 

Fashion Psychology For Kids - What Your Kids' Choices Will Say About Them

Blue

The child that loves blue is likely to be calm and hard-working. They may not shy away from working hard to get to where they want to go. It’s great that your child loves blue! They can wear classic, hard-wearing denim to their heart’s content!

Yellow

It’s easy to see why sunny yellow is linked to a strong imagination. Your child who loves yellow is likely to be quite creative. They may also be consistent and logical in the way they approach things. 

Black

Black may seem an unusual color for kids to love. But if your child does show an affinity for this elegant color, don’t discourage it. Black-loving kids may be charming and strong-willed. They know what they want and have strong ambitions towards what they want to achieve in life. 

Orange

Kids that love orange are friendly and vibrant. They are likely to be easy to get along with, and others may find them well-mannered and the loveliest kids in a group. 

Green

Kids that love green have chosen the colors of nature. Like the lovers of yellow, the green-loving kids may also be charismatic and are highly likely to be confident kids. They may also have leadership qualities, so green makes an excellent color to encourage your ambitious kids to wear. 

Brown

What if your kid draws himself to the color brown? There’s nothing wrong with brown, no matter what some people think! If your child likes brown, they will likely grow up into people who enjoy a simple life with good friends and having close relationships with people they want. 

White

Lovers of white like simplicity and honesty. They are also likely to be confident kids. If your child likes white, don’t worry about their clothes getting dirty. Look for a good stain remover and let them get their hands dirty! 

It’s a good idea to start teaching your kids about the meaning of colors from a young age. A good exercise will be to sit with a color wheel – something you can get at a craft store – or make your color wheel a fun weekend project.

Point at a color on the wheel and ask your child what feelings the color invokes. Do this with all the colors and arrive at a list of emotions you can turn to when dressing up. 

Now there’s no need to go overboard with the “color rules” every time your child is dressing to go somewhere. But it’s a handy set of guidelines you can have on you when you’re outfitting your child for a vital piano recital, for instance, or an interview. 

However, your child should wear what they want to wear. As long as it’s appropriate for the occasion, it’s better not to lay down too many attire rules when they’re young. There will be enough of those when they’re older to constrain them. 

Fashion Psychology For Kids - What Your Kids' Choices Will Say About Them

Fashion Psychology for the Occasion 

While your child is most likely to be in loose and colorful casuals most of the day, there are times they may need to dress for an occasion. Here’s an application of fashion psychology to help you and your child pick out appropriate clothing for the event. 

Dressing for formal occasions

Black is seen as a color that is suitable for formal occasions such as piano recitals and weddings. But if your child doesn’t feel inspired by black, they can also wear gray. Your daughter should also wear simple accessories on a formal occasion such as a wedding, instead of chunky bracelets and lots of accessories. 

Dressing for creative self-expression 

If you’ve signed up for an experimental art class with your pre-teen daughter and she wants to dress up edgy, you can help her pick a great outfit applying fashion psychology (and earn brownie points with her.) 

Edgy and creative self-expression in clothes come by getting creative with color. How about wearing blue shoes instead of the usual brown?

How about changing from blue jeans to black jeans or even a lovely khaki green? You could look for handmade items on Etsy and elsewhere for unique accessories and shoes that your kids will love to try on. 

Contrast also makes for exciting and fun play with outfits. A pair of denim jeans and a lace top or leather shorts and a jersey t-shirt are all fun ways to add style and polish to a young girl’s wardrobe. New materials that could help save the planet will also add edge to an outfit. 

Boys can play with colors and textures too. If your boy likes lace and you can find boys’ clothing in that material, you could break gender stereotypes with a bang. At the very least, it’s good to encourage your son to explore different fashion materials if he wants to. 

The Bottomline

No matter how old your child is, you can prepare to indoctrinate them in fashion psychology’s valuable lessons. Even the clothes a newborn baby wears will send a message to those around them and how they grow up eventually.

Giving kids a choice to wear what they want to wear while also keeping in mind that clothes send a message will teach them a valuable lesson. Cute Rascal is a brand that wants to empower kids with clothes that use positive messaging and encourage kids to be empathetic and strong. 

Fashion Psychology For Kids - What Your Kids' Choices Will Say About Them

Looking for some baby clothing? Check out our collection of baby clothes!

Liliana
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