The Emotional Architecture of “Borrowed” Clothing

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.

This is why a woman often reaches for a man’s hoodie not just because it is large or warm, but because it feels like stepping into a memory, or a person, clothing becomes emotional proximity and especially in moments of uncertainty, loneliness, or even tenderness, this proximity matters.