How Your Clothes Change The Way You Feel

That feeling that comes with putting on a new outfit and feeling confident is a wonderful one. This is not just an intangible feeling either; studies have shown that clothes can have a true psychological effect on us, almost as though we match our personalities to our outfits and not the other way around. Here are some examples that show how clothes can make us feel.

Power Dressing

Although the fashion fad right now for office workers seems to be moving towards more casual attire, those who dress for success really do seem to have a different work ethic to those who arrive at the office in jeans and a t-shirt. Wearing a business suit (for both men and women) or at least more structured, formal clothing changes our mindset and puts us in the right place to do business. It makes us feel powerful, even when there is no one else around, and that self-belief can often be enough to make a business deal go our way, as you will feel and come across confident. This is especially true if the other person isn’t quite so formally dressed.

This isn’t just a feeling either. When doing business in the ‘right’ clothing, hormones are produced that help us to display dominance which ensures a feeling of self-assurance. With confidence comes better negotiating skills and confidence in new ideas. Ensuring you are confident and comfortable in the workplace is vital. One way your confidence can be knocked is if you suffer from underarm sweating, but there are treatments that can help you with this, giving you your confidence back in no time.

The Casual Look

It’s true that a real business suit helps performance at work and in the boardroom hugely. However, it’s not so perfect for socialising after work is finished. In fact, it can harm a person’s social life if they fail to separate work and play. Being comfortable and feeling able to unwind when you are out socializing is vital, even if this means bringing a spare change of clothes to change into so you can really separate work from the situation. This does not mean you shouldn’t feel comfortable in your own clothes, simply that finding the right balance is important to whatever situation you find yourself in. This could be as simple as packing a pair of flats, so you’re comfortable.

Some offices promote a casual dress code, and although a power suit can be perfect for business dealings when it comes to being comfortable with your colleagues, casual clothing can be the best thing for you to wear as it makes us more approachable. Plus, it has even been shown to make us more creative, so if that’s the kind of industry you work in, you might want to save the suit for a special occasion. In particular, if your company is not client facing, a smart casual vibe can ensure you don’t get too comfortable but are also relatively smart.

Doing Well At The Gym

Going to the gym is not everyone’s favourite thing to do, but regular exercise is so important that it’s essential we try at least once a week, if not more. If we can’t make the gym them a brisk walk, a jog, even a home exercise machine can help. It’s not the ability that many people lack; it’s the motivation to get started when it comes to exercise; we just have so many other things to do, and when we don’t have anything else to do, the idea of exercising is a tiring one.

Clothing can make a difference. If you put your gym clothes on you will feel much more inspired to go out there and use them for their intended purpose. Wearing your tracksuit or running shorts actually makes it more likely that you will exercise. It’s not just the workout that your gym clothes help with either; when you’re wearing them, you’ll have a constant subconscious reminder that you should be making healthy choices when it comes to your food and drink during the day too.

Your Uniform

If you have a uniform that is associated with a specific job or role this, studies show, can help us achieve greatness. It boosts our brain power, reminding us of the knowledge we already have that is associated with the role we’re dressing for, making us more conscious of our duties. Other people will also have expectations of us when we’re wearing a uniform, a philosophy that starts at school and goes on to work or our hobbies, depending on what the uniform represents. This can bolster our self-confidence too, ensuring that we give them what they want from us.

In the simplest of cases, it has been shown that slipping a lab coat on over normal everyday clothing has a massive effect on how people perceive you, making them pay more attention because if you’re wearing a lab coat, you must be knowledgeable in your field. At least, that’s how people will think of you. That’s because, in their minds, a lab coat, or uniform, represents who they are. Many workplaces differentiate rank or job title through uniform, such as in hospitals or in the military. Uniforms, therefore, can change the way someone works and thinks for the better.

Designer Labels

It’s not everyone who can afford to wear designer labels every day, but even if we only wear them every once in a while, it can make a difference. If you want to treat yourself to a slightly more expensive label, that shouldn’t be frowned upon. It’s all about confidence again and about feeling good about how we look. Wearing something created by a famous designer, even if those clothes are second hand, can make us feel happy and assertive, and ready to take on the world. Being open to opting to treat yourself once in a while has a number of different benefits, including the fact that we will try new things and feel surer of success.

Images by Sherion Mullings