Yesterday 15,225 participants rose up out of their beds, dressed in their most outlandish green outfits and made their way to Seattle Center for the 26th Annual Henry Weinhard’s St. Patrick’s Day Dash. The race, covering approximately 3.6 miles, is open to all runners, joggers, walkers and even children. Over the years, the race has become a sort of novelty around Seattle with enthusiastic participants continually showing up despite the rain or early morning start (8:30 a.m. to be exact).

I thought I was a morning person until last year when I had the opportunity to witness the St. Patrick’s Day event myself. People came in swarms- laughing, chatting it up with strangers and giving each other high-fives as if to say, “Well done on your costume, well done!” I’m sure the costume contest encourages people to dress up, but is that really what gets people motivated? It was like these green costumes were giving people a new sense of energy and vibrancy that they never knew existed, until now.

I have always been interested in why certain clothes make you feel a certain way. For instance, you wear an oversized tall green stripped hat with emerald color spandex on a Sunday morning and you start to feel a little giddy. It doesn’t stop there, for every man has to have his “power suit” and every woman has to have her “little black dress.” The power of clothes isn’t just some marketing scheme, but hits something far more internal: it’s self expression. Clothes communicate what you want. Clothes can get you to do things that you never thought possible. For some, it may be running 3.7 miles without any breaks and for others it could be landing your dream job. Regardless of goal the fact remains, when it comes to clothes, choose wisely.

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