Plaid, Power, And A Little Sweat: Wear What Wear For Sleepy Ladies
FASHIONABLE SCIENCE
WEAR WHAT WHERE
CAPSULE WARDROBE BEYOND THE CLOTHES
By Staff
KAPHA : The Grounded, Steady One
Style Goal: Energizing, vibrant, movement-friendly
Mantra: “Plaid, power, and a little sweat.”
Weekly Rotation + Rituals: Los Angeles Edition
A week for Kapha looks like doing little things to get out of big routines. She likes the same old, old same. We’re not letting that happen. That’s brain and body rot. Experiencing new things and not wearing beige stimulate the action of actually getting up and getting started. Once Ms. In Her Feelings starts, she keeps going.
“Wearing clothing with a lot of pattern helps Kapha stay motivated because visually complex patterns increase cortical arousal, enhance attentional engagement, and stimulate dopaminergic reward pathways. These counter a sleepy lady’s natural tendency toward low physiological arousal and reduced behavioral activation.”
Mix up the week with low hills and high heels. Short hikes and walks through places like Runyon Canyon and Abbot Kinney lift mindset and clarity. Switching up between low sneakers, kitten heels, and stilettos keeps life interesting with minimal effort. The thing about the latter is that they place Kapha’s best foot forward, applying their exceptional stability to keep them from falling down by midday. Remix bottom layers like DJ AM (RIP). From party length skirts to corporate fit trousers, choose them in bold colors that activate the brain and body to counter Kapha’s natural heaviness.
THE SCIENCE
Monday hit play on Zero by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The rebellious vibe pulls Kapha outward to break up stagnation. That means, increased behavioral activation (increase motivation to initiate action, AKA get up and start doing something), faster cognitive tempo (faster response or mental energy), dopaminergic activation (more drive, energy, and engagement). Tom Ford’s neon blazer in a sharp and asymmetrical structure cancels the most depressing day of the week.
Pop into Beverly Hills Juice Club for a bit of tyrosine and MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides) in their banana manna shake. Tyrosine in bananas support dopamine production that counters that stuck low-activation feeling associated with Kapha. MCTs in coconuts are absorbed and converted into useable energy more quickly than long-chain fats found in fish oils, nuts/seeds, and avocados. That is why it’s more activating than heavy. Also, BHJC revs it up by using a frozen method. That stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, inviting more Vata fight-or-flight energy instead of rest-or-rest-or-rest.
Hike up your skirt, cinch up your boots, and hit up the energy. A visit to the ICA gives Kapha exactly what she needs: novelty, movement, stimulation, color, and push into the world. Walking through the space shifts perspectives, thus increases proprioceptive stimulation. It also disrupts routine and mental resistance by offering cognitive challenge. To further break up inertia, add airy galactic notes like star-print tights and Intergalactic (2009). If you decide to do a Taco Tuesday, make it spicy. That’s a simple way to increase heart rate, reduce fluid retention, and release endorphins.
Curiosity did not kill the cat. Lounging did. Do Wednesday lunch at the aptly touted “living museum”, Descanso Gardens. It affords the anticipation of encountering new color unions, new blooms, and shifting light. Novel experiences stir curiosity and dopamine release. It lights up circuits in the brain that remember how good it feels to live in the new and do something. Like natural nail polish, novelty wears off. Take different paths and dedicate weeks to different areas, plants or installations. This is how anticipation instead of reward drives behavior. UV rays are a bonus for Kapha’s low-activation baseline. Sunlight increases serotonin and counters low energy.
Try any juice or smoothie at Main Squeeze that has stimulating and warming ginger and lemon. These mix-ins boost circulation, metabolic activity, and digestive enzymes. Create one with spinach to get microbe-feeding prebiotic fibers, thus improving nutrient absorption and metabolic efficiency.
Most 9-5ers consider Thursday ‘the end’. But high-endurance Kapha is just gaining momentum. Grab a caffeinated juice in an earnest attempt to increase a very slow baseline and stroll through Abbot Kinney with that pep. The plethora of shopping windows and murals stimulates the sensory cortex (see, hear, smell) enough that you’ll think Vata’s in your house. Though not like Monday’s hike, this walk-and-shop still gets blood flowing enough to speed up circulation and metabolic rate.
Keep that orangey punch going with a smooth chocolate mini and tomato heels. A cashmere sweater that is cropped and orange pairs well with under-stimulated types. Cortical arousal and thermoregulatory activation increase from visual and sensory cues. Because cashmere is insulating, a cropped version let’s Kapha breathe. Wearing heels sparks the somatosensory cortex through foot pressure, making the body more active in the long run.
Wrap up this 5-day fest by returning Green-Eyed Monster psyche, and investing in Green Goddess magnetism. Pairing sultry stilettos a la Tom Ford by HA with wooly plaid, silky neon, and fuzzy fur keeps the doorway to the weekend chic and on-point. Quirky additions like one-off accessories from Patricia Field and Bode are most stimulating here because oh, what fun, here’s novelty again!
Activate higher-order cognition from the pre-frontal cortex with abstraction. The Hammer Museum’s mix of bold and subtle, usually political, work adds shape to flat and inward emotions. Sip a light, detoxifying, and fiber-building Green Goddess smoothie at the goddess herself, Erewhon. Come into the weekend with a breeze. Sunday Morning is an upbeat and bouncy reminder to not ruminate about how pathetic you were in your pre-Dosha Dressing era.
And on the 6th day came silk and stilettos. After all, weekends are not for sleeping in and dulling out. A delicate blouse permeates lighter mood, movement and energy. The antithesis of plopping on the couch, this look supports a home feel with velvet bottoms while encouraging momentum (Kapha’s forte) with bright colors, smooth textures, and sleek architecture. In Nerd Girl terms: the low-mass and high-air-permeability texture of a silk lace top increases somatosensory stimulation and cutaneous ventilation. Zero bulk. Complete elan.
Head to Millenium for a lymph-draining solo dance to Mariah’s Heartbreaker. It’s sugary hook hugs Kapha’s sweetness, but its savage theme forces you realize that the only thing that should cling is your tights. Regenerate, not ruminate, with a green juice that mixes buzzy polyphenols, prebiotic fibers, antioxidants, and thermogenic botanicals. These components kick up the microbiome and SCFAs (short‑chain fatty acid) while relaxing inflammatory signaling to support Kapha’s GBA (gut-brain axis). Perfect for a post-dance session to refurbish metabolic activation and dopaminergic motivation, countering tendencies toward low arousal and lifeless gut–brain communication.
Pair a tailored chocolate suede trench with an un-lazy Sunday. This maintains structured mentality on an otherwise free day. You are still engaging in the world and enterprise. Choose warm booties in a bright color like red to keep alertness flowing until Monday. Order or make a spicy dish like a poke bowl with dressing on the side to assist upping metabolism. Combining a walk on El matador beach with Fresno chilis at Great White disrupts fluid retention and poor circulation.
Sunday’s are no day at the beach, though. Walking on sand requires greater muscular activation, which means more lymphatic pumping and metabolic stimulation. Make it a cold day and more energy is expended. Honestly, it’s Just Like Heaven. According to The Cure style, of course. This optimistic tune is not of the toxic variety, but rather, a mixed-tape of nostalgia and reward. That amalgamation puts a little Vata airiness in your system to get off the floor and out the door. Hello Monday!
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