The Clever Trick Behind Making Your Own "Lucky Outfit"

When talking about Who What Wear UK's inaugural Wellness Week with a fascinating friend of mine—that's Carolyn Mair, a psychologist who specialises in fashion and never fails to tell me something interesting—she brought up the idea of the lucky outfit. We've probably all held onto those items that feel special to us and have worked some mysterious magic in interviews or dates over the years, but what if you could make an outfit that fortuitous before it has even done any tangible good?

Well, that's Carolyn's current research obsession—just how can we empower our clothes and up our luck without waiting for it to happen? Keep reading to get the lowdown.

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(Image credit: Darja Barranik)

"We've all heard of the lucky outfit—the item of clothing that gets us what we wish for," Mair tells me. "But there's no such thing in a mystical sense. The 'luck' we have is a result of many factors, including our behaviour, in the specific situation. We then view the coincidence of wearing a specific item with a positive outcome and call the item 'lucky.'

"We can do this with any item, but more interestingly, we can turn any item into a lucky item and use its symbolic power to help us feel confident (or whatever we want to feel). When we wear an item of clothing that we believe has power, we can associate the power to influence our behaviour. Consider that jacket you wore when you got your job. Did it make you feel good at the time? If you can bring that symbolic meaning out next time you wear the jacket, it should help you feel that same way again."

Not only could you benefit from the confidence a "lucky" outfit will bring, but owning one could save you time and money. It might help you establish a daily uniform of sorts, and valuing or caring for your existing clothing more may curb a voracious buy-buy-buy appetite. So do you have a lucky outfit? Would you like one? It seems like a good idea to us.

Here are a few shoppable pieces that we have particularly strong feelings about.

Related: It's My Job to Find Amazing Shopping Picks—These 9 New Buys Are Too Good to Miss

Next up, our edit of the best winter coats.

Hannah Almassi
Editor in Chief

Hannah Almassi is the Editor in Chief of Who What Wear UK. Hannah has been part of the the Who What Wear brand since 2015, when she was headhunted to launch the UK sister site and social channels, implement a localised content strategy and build out the editorial team. She joined following a seven-year tenure at Grazia magazine, where she led front-of-book news, fashion features and shopping specials as fashion news and features editor. With experience in both print and digital across fashion and beauty, Hannah has over 16 years in the field as a journalist, editor, content strategist and brand consultant. Hannah has interviewed industry heavyweights such as designers including Marc Jacobs and Jonathan Anderson through to arbiters of taste including Katie Grand and Anna Dello Russo. A skilled moderator and lecturer specialising in the shift to digital media and e-commerce, Hannah’s opinion and work has been sought by the likes of CNBC, BBC, The Sunday Times Style, The Times, The Telegraph and MatchesFashion.com, among many others. Hannah is often called upon for her take on trends, becoming known as a person with their finger of the pulse of what’s happening in the fashion space for stylish Brits. Hannah currently resides in Eastbourne with her photographer husband, incredibly busy son and highly Instagrammable cat.