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Certain figures emerge not because they seek attention, but because they reframe what attention looks like. Rama Duwaji belongs to that category. Her recent public appearances have prompted fascination not simply because of what she wears, but because of how she wears it and what that communicates in spaces historically governed by rigid expectations of women’s appearance. From a fashion psychology perspective, her style functions less as ornament and more as psychological po

Fashion psychology has always mattered but its relevance for women has intensified in the current social and cultural climate. We are living in an era defined by visibility and scrutiny, opportunity and pressure, autonomy and expectation. Women today navigate complex, often contradictory demands: to be competent but agreeable, ambitious but effortless, visible but not “too much,” resilient but endlessly adaptable. Psychological research consistently shows that such role strai

The Psychology of Vision Board Aesthetics, why are we drawn to them and why do they work? As 2026 dawns so do Vision Boards. What makes them so popular and what is the psychology behind them? Vision boards didn’t suddenly become popular because people woke up one day wanting to paste pictures onto cardboard. They became popular because people discovered something psychology has been telling us for decades that the mind responds to images before it responds to words. Cogniti

There is a certain softness in the way a woman reaches for a man’s shirt, not the softness of fabric, but the softness of intention, as though she is reaching for something deeper than cotton or linen, something that speaks to comfort, protection, memory, and a quiet kind of belonging that is difficult to articulate yet instantly felt. It begins innocently enough: the way she slips into an oversized white shirt after a long day; the way she finds herself lingering a little to

Women adore men’s clothing because of the psychology of embodied emotion, the way clothing absorbs and expresses emotional states. Research shows that garments carry symbolic weight, influencing how we feel, think, and behave the moment we put them on. Adam & Galinsky’s (2012) seminal work on enclothed cognition revealed that clothing imbued with meaning changes our psychological state: a lab coat evokes authority, a uniform evokes discipline, a men’s shirt can evoke safety.

Attachment theory provides the explanation for the phenomenon of finding comfort and safety in men’s clothing. We form deep emotional bonds with objects that symbolise connection and security. For many women, men’s clothing, especially when belonging to a romantic partner, becomes an extension of that attachment. It functions like what psychologists call a “transitional object” (Winnicott, 1953); a source of emotional regulation carried through texture and scent. The oversize

There is another quieter, but powerful layer rooted in gender expression and identity alignment, which is of particular interest to me. Studies in social cognition show that clothing carries behavioural scripts associated with the identity of the wearer. When a woman wears men’s tailoring, she may unconsciously adopt psychological attributes socially coded as masculine: confidence, authority, assertiveness and ease. This also aligns with Eicher’s (2000) research on how clothi

When a woman wears men’s clothing, she is often, consciously, or unconsciously, stepping outside of the performative demands of femininity, think of Billie Eilish. Men’s clothing frees her from the tightness, the tailoring, the beauty expectations that often go with womenswear - this is not about rejecting femininity; it is about choosing comfort over performance. Research by Fredrickson and Roberts (1997) shows that highly sexualised or restrictive clothing increases self-ob

The sensory experience of menswear also plays a significant role. Research in tactile comfort (Kaiser, 2012) shows that heavier, looser fabrics reduce physiological arousal and create a sense of calm. Men’s clothing tends to be heavier, looser, warmer and more durable all qualities that soothe the nervous system. Weighted blankets have been used for years for calming the nervous system. Additionally, the mere exposure effect (Zajonc, 1968) tells us we are attracted to familia

Fashion psychology also highlights the aesthetic satisfaction women experience when their softness contrasts with the angularity of men’s tailoring. This juxtaposition is deeply primal, echoing the psychological pleasure we derive from visual contrast and balance. The oversized shirt falling off one shoulder, the long sleeves covering the hands, the masculine coat enveloping a feminine frame, these silhouettes create a tension that feels sensual without effort. It is the eleg

Menswear in all its structure, weight, ease, and emotional symbolism does something that womenswear is not always designed to do, nurturing, protecting, grounding, freeing, softens and stabilises, comforting in a way that often transcends logic. For some women, slipping into a man’s jumper is simply a matter of warmth for others, it is an emotional homecoming.  But for most it is a quiet, private moment in which the world becomes just a little softer.