The Sunday News
Peter Matika
BELIEVE it or not the way you dress is influenced by your surroundings. The people that live with you, the ones you spend most of your days with (co-workers), where you live, the type of job you do and the places you hangout.
Hence the terms such as, Cheese boy for those who live in eastern neighbourhoods and Abafana base kasi — those that live in the hood (western suburbs). The way you dress says a lot about you. One can easily decrypt a lot of information about your personality from your dressing.
Basically the effect of your clothing choices might be much more powerful than you think. Fair or not, people judge us by the way we look and that includes the way we dress. For example, women dressed in a masculine fashion are perceived as better managers. And people dressed more formally are perceived as more intelligent.
When you wear clothing that is perceived high-status, people gain co-operation from others more easily, score job recommendations and high salaries.
Take this for instance; a man wearing a polo shirt featuring a designer logo can be rated as one from a higher status. A female wearing high heels is perceived sophisticated than one who wears flat shoes or pumps.
If you dress sophisticated or wear designer clothes to an interview you will likely score more marks for an interview than one who dresses plainly. The same can be said for women, a woman who wears a short skirt will with no doubt get more attention than one wearing a long dress.
The logo-versus-no-logo design eased drawing conclusions from the experiment, but you can see how these findings might also extend to a well-dressed/well-groomed versus average appearance. The researchers explain that designer labels communicate underlying quality — the subconscious thought pattern is that only the best can afford them so this person must be among the best. It may be obvious that what you wear affects other’s perceptions about you. But one interesting aspect of dressing is that what you wear can affect how you behave.
If you have ever noticed on nights with a strict dress code, there were fewer accidents and less noise. I read an article online about how a group of scientists theorised that exhibiting actions not in line with the expectations of how one would behave when wearing that clothing creates a psychological conflict called cognitive dissonance.
And to relieve the conflict, people will change their behaviour to match their dress.
I have often asked myself, what is it about clothing that has such a profound impact on our behaviour and our perceptions?
While I was reading the same article on the subject it was noted that in a study, researchers ran an experiment and found that students who thought they were wearing a doctor’s coat showed a heightened sense of attention than students who thought they were wearing a painter’s coat.
It was really the same coat. The influence came from the symbolic interpretation of the article of clothing. The clothes we wear specifically, the meaning we have associate with them and the feelings they evoke in us put us in a different mindset, just as we associate pyjamas with lazing around and a suit and tie with hard work and professionalism.
This carries over into our work (for better or for worse). So if you work from home or have a phone interview, dress in line with the image you want to portray. Even though your outfit will not be seen, its impact on your performance is worth the effort.
One might say that men have it easier in terms of dressing for the office. There is a standard uniform of sorts for formal wear and business casual attire, while women have almost endless options.
Women have options such as; Skirted suit, dress/skirt with blazer, dress with matching jacket, tailored trouser suit, simple dress, skirt and blouse, slacks and blouse, skirt and sweater, slacks and sweater.
This is not to say that formal is always better. Dressing more casually can reduce stress and increase collaborative activity.
Whatever you choose to wear, consider how it might impact what you do, how you perform and how others interact with you.
So next time you decide to buy a new outfit consider the people you work, live and spend your days with. Also go for subtle outfits that will exhume or portray a positive output of your personality.
Till next week let’s keep styling. Link up with me via whatsapp or sms me ONLY on 0772 337 433. You can also drop your comments on [email protected]
