Unless you work in the fashion industry or are very passionate about the art of fashion and clothing, you probably are confused by the title of this article. Let me first tell you what a mood board is; a mood board is something we as creators and designers use in fashion to inspire us and give us a general sense of direction. To be more exact, it is typically a poster board with collaged images that have a general theme or idea unifying them. Urban dictionary defines a mood board to be, “A collage or collation of images and text expressing a certain topic or subject, often used to generate ideas or for project work” (Urbandictionary.com).
So why would a mood board be useful to anyone but fashion designers or artists? Well as I stated before, when you are in doubt, you should mood board it out. What I mean by this is, when you are feeling uninspired, unenthusiastic about your wardrobe, or overall lacking a sense of confidence, creating a mood board can give a renewed sense of life to the collection of clothing and accessories that you already own. Hanging up all over my closet are mood boards that I have created over the years. Every time I open up my closest to put together an outfit, I have a plentiful amount of inspiration, but more importantly a starting point to create my outfit.
When it seems as though you have a closest full of clothes, but nothing to wear, it can be helpful to turn to photo shoots, magazine advice, or really anything that you find aesthically interesting for help.
To better clarify this idea, let me give you an example. Being a broke college student, I do not have the resources to go out and buy an entire new wardrobe to work with for the upcoming winter season. So with the start of a new year and a new season, I thought it was time freshen up my outfits. I was very inspired by the recent ad campaign of the brand Ray-Bans. Their advertisements contain the phrase, “Never Hide”. From this slogan, I collected images that are portrayed this: bright pieces, eye catching textures, shiny bling, and of course a confident and alluring attitude.
When creating your mood board the only rule I have is that there are no rules. Simply gather anything and everything that inspires you and put it together on a board. For a more specific and direct sense, stick to a theme (but I have often found, by accident, a person collects pictures that have unifying elements without the person even realizing it). You cannot do wrong when creating a mood board. So do it up and do it big, and get inspired!
