We All Deserve a Dose of "Dopamine Dressing"

The other night, at a dinner at a very chic Parisian woman’s house with strangers, a woman in clashing prints swanned through the door, clutching a patterned handbag. It was part wacky aunt, part fabulous heiress; there was an exuberance to her, an openness that permeated through the dinner party. Gradually, the rest of us loosened up, and we ended the night like old friends, barefoot on the sofa, lingering in hopes we could squeeze a little more out of an evening that none of us wanted to end.

There are two schools of thought on approaching summer dressing. One is the more is more rule, which is basically that if you layer your prints, they will feel less extreme. I subscribe to this, but I will say try to keep a consistent color palette or choose colors that complement each other (this book is a secret weapon and is on Amazon for under $20) to avoid looking too wacky.

The other is to invest in a bench of summer neutrals: a white linen dress from Attersee, a black drop waist from Merlette and an elegant short from Loulou de Saison or Smythe. And then you can have fun with the accessories, via a vintage-inspired silk drawstring bag.

One is full-on dopamine dressing; the other is a shot of it. Both do the trick.

Unlike “quiet luxury” or elegant minimalism à la The Row, which conveys detachment and mystery, dopamine dressing sends a different message. It communicates a childlike curiosity to moving through the world, an energy that, when channeled correctly, can be infectious.

We saw it in Blazy’s Chanel, which offers the unbridled joy more associated with childlike naïveté than one of fashion’s most profitable houses (we barely even saw Karl crack a smile). And at Dior, Jonathan Anderson infused his signature playfulness from his debut, pairing reinvented bar jackets with fisherman sandals for Dior Homme SS26, a reminder that perhaps we shouldn’t take it all so seriously.

In winter, we can channel dopamine dressing with heavy jacquards and velvet mules in rich jewel tones, but summer is when the category hits its peak.

In recent weeks, I’ve ditched my customary all-black for prints, colors, and clothes that inject buoyancy into my attitude. LaDoubleJ, the Milanese label from the warm, vibrant designer J.J. Martin, is perhaps the queen of this art form. The brand, which also has an excellent home collection, is known for their bold, bright textiles, like this jacket, which has the added boost of a tassel trim.

If you walk around Paris for long enough, you’ll spot a number of fashionable girls in La Veste’s striped pants, which come in multiple color ways and do the hard work of being suitable for a day running errands and dinner at night. Its founders Blanca Miró and María de la Orden are also great Instagram follows for the masterclass in mixing prints with aplomb.

If you’re afraid of color, channel the same energy in a monochromatic palette with these pants from Cala de la Cruz. Or invest in Call It By Your Name’s viral bandana bag, which can be personalized and adds a laissez faire to more streamlined outfits.

Antik Batik’s glorious prints, which mix Balinese influence with a Parisian sensibility, are also key contenders for dopamine dressing. And for formalwear, I often turn to Destree for bright colors in silhouettes worthy of Capote’s swans, satin dresses, and separates.

When trying to channel the concept, the most important qualifier is, of course, your own dopamine level. If it makes you happy, others will follow.