Students at American explain how wearing different styles of clothing affects their mood and productivity at home
Neha Zope
Staff Writer
In the times of quarantine and social distance learning in high school, one would expect everyone to stay in their pajamas all day and relax. However, that may not be the case all the time. For some, dressing up at home seems to be a thing that not only makes them feel productive, but allows them to feel more confident.
Typically, a lot of high school students tend to attend online classes in sweatshirts and sweatpants or pajamas. For senior Shreya Patil, wearing comfy clothes is a must. As a senior, she wants to relax with all the work she has, so she wants to feel as cozy as she can.
“It’s so much more comfortable and I just have clothes lying around everywhere so I do not have to go and choose what to wear” she explains. “When I dress up for regular school, it takes me so long to pick an outfit, but at home, I just go to my night dress pile and wear that.”
In addition to the comfiness Shreya feels in her outfits, she also describes that “I feel more productive actually in these clothes because I feel more comfortable so I’m in my zone when I work. I feel homely.”
However, unlike Shreya, others find that dressing up with a bit more effort is what tends to make them more productive. Simran Sakhawalkar, a freshman, discusses how her getting ready in the morning depends on her mood.
“My mood depends mainly in terms of productivity. If I wake up and I feel I want to get stuff done today, then I will dress up and it starts the whole day” she states.
Similarly, another senior at American, Ananya Kartha, expands on the idea of productivity and getting ready. “I feel in school, it’s different because there are a lot more distractions in school with friends and stuff, so it is easy to not be productive [when dressing up] but over here, since it’s just you and if you are dressed up, you feel more productive” she explains.
In addition to how getting ready affects one’s work schedule and productivity throughout the day, different outfits also affect moods and how one tends to feel about themselves.
Even though people may not see each others’ outfits, it still affects the mood of the person themselves and also plays a role in confidence. For Simran, regardless of whether she is at home or outside, dressing up can impact how she feels. “When I dress up, I dress up for myself and not for others, so it does not affect anything” she states. However, she further describes that despite no one seeing you, the outfits and “the confidence, it makes you feel better about yourself.”
For both seniors as well, wearing different outfits and styles makes them feel confident not only outside, but at home as well. Shreya explains “When I wear good clothing, I feel confident at school, but even when I’m at home, I still feel comfortable and homely.” In addition, Ananya describes her experience of how clothing affected her. “Definitely I think that after I started dressing up in tenth grade, I started to feel a lot more confident because I think dressing up, if it makes you look good, you feel a little bit better about yourself” she states. Even though no one sees Ananya’s outfits in quarantine, and she wants to be comfortable, she still tends to “pick out better looking pajamas.”
In terms of mood, Shreya shines light on how colors show the mood she is feeling. When she feels happy or wants to brighten up, she “choose[s] to wear yellow because [she] likes yellow” which in turn reflects her personality. In contrast, Ananya states that “If I’m in a crappy mood, I would wear black because it does not draw much attention to me.” Everyone has different styles and ideas of their ideal clothes for home, whether it be pajamas, or fully decked outfits. Quarantine during this time and online courses does not add much fun to a high school student’s life, but dressing up seems to be something that affects them in terms of productivity and mood.
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