Gen Z high society and elite royals are all about donning vibrant colours and clashing patterns to ease their problems. In Tatler’s November issue, which is already available, Gina Hope explores their outfits for elevating mood.
The winter I ended things with my undergraduate lover was chilly in Edinburgh. I had barely finished my midterm examinations when I hurried to London in all black, as if I were in mourning, for dread of running into him in Tesco.
If you’re feeling down, you definitely shouldn’t wear black because it will just make you feel worse, said Ava Howard, an old school friend from St. Mary’s Calne who I was staying with. Also, you appear to be a goth.
Ava was a pioneer of dopamine dressing, or using colourful clothing to elevate one’s mood. She immediately threw open her closet and pulled out a mustard-yellow sweater. I shook it off and, to my surprise, felt better after looking in the mirror. I ultimately made the same purchase and wore the jumper during test season as a charm. I passed each and every one, so it must have worked.
I have been a dopamine dresser ever since, so I’m in excellent company. Just take a look at Gen Z high society individuals like Mia Regan, who is currently single after three years with Romeo Beckham. Her clothing is such a kaleidoscope of chartreuse netted shirts, pink velvet hats, and yellow-tinted sunglasses that her Instagram feed resembles a pop art display.
Then there is Isabella Weatherby’s It-girl gang of Lady Jean Campbell, Emilia Boateng, and Maddie Demaine, who all alternate between bright velvet jumpsuits and pink mesh tops from Peachy Den, as well as French model-fluent Lena Simonne. These women always don bright clashing patterns (think lime and snakeskin).
Not just the A-listers in London dress to improve their mood; my pals in Edinburgh also love to dress to release dopamine. A previous head boy of Charterhouse who spent a year abroad in Paris sported vibrantly coloured ties. His name is Freddie Tidswell. (He said, ‘They’d cheer up the gloomy Parisian winter.’) Jessica Simpson, a graduate of St. Mary’s Ascot who has a fondness for polo players, is almost never photographed without wearing something pink. You’ll be able to identify her if you see someone walking around Edinburgh’s Old Town wearing a stunning pink Gucci belt. Then there’s the stylish poet George Tomsett, who lounges on couches all throughout west London. He donned a silver gown, a fur coat, and a brunette wig at one of his birthday parties and declared: “Why dress drab when you can wear drag?”
Quite. Making a statement is what Team Dopamine is all about. Both Nicola Peltz Beckham and Harry Styles are aware of this: she attended the Met Gala in a block-fuchsia Valentino dress, while he—the King of Gucci—cannot perform without donning a feathered cape or a shockingly edgy jumpsuit. Meanwhile, Princess Delphine of Belgium designs her own “wearable art”—clothing that bears motivational messages. I make the word love more beautiful, she says, “so that I remember to love life, to cherish every moment, and not grow bitter.” “Using these phrases truly protects me from being too scared and [I] maintain cheerful,” the speaker says.
When Serena wants to feel energised, she will grab for something green, and when she wants to celebrate a birthday with friends, she could choose a bright burst of pink. Lola has been spotted dancing about in Ibiza this summer while wearing a neon-pink top, demonstrating that she shares her mother’s outlook on life.
