①We all take a little extra effort to look nice for special occasions. But most of us have conflicting feelings about dressing up and feel guilty about taking the time to focus on clothes. Science now suggests the right dress may give ourselves the extra edge in our professional and personal lives.
②We hear sayings like “dress for the job you want; not the job you have”. Most people don’t really believe in them, but research into the impact of clothes on behavior now suggests that there may actually be a grain of truth in these sayings. Science says that the clothes we wear affect our behavior, our mood and even the way we interact with others because of the symbolic meaning that we assign to different types of clothing.
③We consider some clothes to be powerful, some to be fun, and so on. We even evaluate people whom we have just met based on their clothes. We also evaluate ourselves based on what we are wearing because of the way they make us feel. This means that the experience of wearing something affects our attitudes and our choice of behavior.
④There’s a reason tailored jackets are associated with being ‘dressed for success’. It seems that wearing formal office wear puts us in the right frame of mind to conduct business. Wearing power clothing makes us feel more confident and even increases hormones needed for displaying dominance. This in turn helps us become better negotiators and abstract thinkers.
⑤While a good suit works wonders for our performance in the boardroom, wearing formal wear isn’t a great idea when we want to socialize. Studies have found that people tend to be less open and less able to relax when they wear formal clothes.
⑥On the other hand, a casual dress helps us become more friendly and creative. These findings support the idea of wearing business casuals on a Friday; since colleagues are most likely to take out time to socialize on the last work day of the week. I mean, who wants to hang out with people in their suits?
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