Dress to Impress: How Can Your Clothes Speak Volumes on Your Behalf

Strike a Pose — Vogue!

Whether we’d like to admit it or not, what we wear every day speaks volumes about our personalities and how we’d like to be perceived by others, whether consciously or subconsciously. People have been dressing-up in certain ways for millennia in order for them to convey things about themselves without uttering a single word.

Whether we’d like to admit it or not, we tend to make snap judgments about other people based on what they wear. It’s human nature to judge other people’s personalities based on their outfits, so in what ways can we resist the urge to judge others? Is it even possible to avoid judging people or should we focus more on trying to restrain ourselves from acting on our judgment?

Now, I’m not claiming to be a fashion guru, nor am I educated in the field, but I’m passionately curious about the power of nonverbal communication and how to leverage it in business settings. I’d like to believe that I’ve gotten to develop my own unique sense of style through trial-and-error. That’s why I’ve come to believe that clothing is a great way to make a statement, communicate your ideas with others, or display your interests, even if you don’t realize it.

Every time you get dressed, you’re crafting an image of yourself and radiating-it outwards through the ether about who you are, so why not use that power to your advantage? It’s there, so why not use it? In what ways can you project to the world your seriousness and dedication to what you’ve set your mind to, while being compassionate and empathetic at the same time? Can your clothes really do all that communication for you?

Fashion isn’t about making yourself look better than everyone else, instead, it’s about finding articles of clothing and accessories that suit your personality best! Sometimes, it’s useful to use personal style as an instrument to let people know what you’re all about without even talking. The right outfits and accessories can make bold and fearless statements about yourself, and even demonstrate an aspirational sense of where you want to be, even if you’re not quite there yet! For example, a stunning head-turning outfit can tell people around you that you’re fearless and willing to stand-out from the crowd.

Connection between Your Inner World and the Outer World

It’s widely believed that clothing is simply a means to cover our bodies and dress a certain way when leaving our houses, but I see clothing as an effective median for communication between our inner world and external one! Sometimes, clothes help us figure-out where we are in life and where we aspire to be in the future. Other times, clothes allow people to peak into our psyche to extrapolate what we value, our interests, and our mood, which might serve as a low-barrier to strike a conversation with us.

Clothing has the dule effect of making us appear either approachable or intimidating. We need to figure-out what we want to say to others through our clothing, and what our clothes say to us more than what it says about us! I’m a firm believer that our clothes influence the way we work and do things daily. That’s why it’s important for us to know what our clothes say about us, so that we can understand how people may perceive us.

So, what does your sense of clothing say about you? Does your inner world match what you’re reflecting through your choices of clothes? In what ways can you reflect your message that you want others to pick-up on using your clothes as a nonverbal communication medium?

The Psychology of Clothes

When someone wears repetitive style of clothing everyday might indicate the person’s unwillingness to open-up to new experiences and feels threatened by any form of change. This particularly strikes a chord because mavericks like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg cultivated the trend of similar dressing every day.

However, the hard pill to swallow is that while these business moguls are super successful, they’ve gone through serious mental trauma! Walter Isaacson wrote about Steve Jobs’s emotional pain, while both Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg were diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.

Here are 10 things that you can tell about other people based on the clothes they wear and the colors they choose:

Whether the person is fashionable or stylish
The type of profession the person has
Whether the person is conservative or bold
Whether the person is an introvert or an extrovert
Whether the person is careful or careless
Whether the person is a conformist or a trendsetter
You can tell a person’s religion, culture, or nationality based on their outfits
The person’s current mood
The person’s interests
What the person holds dear to their hearts

It can be argued that what we wear regularly is linked to our state of mind. Our clothes amplify our emotional and mental energy, which allows the observer to peak into our inner world. We need to become more aware about how clothes affect our mood and about how our mood is affected by our outfits! Fashion allows you to express yourself and your unique personality in ways that you might not even expect, so how you dress tells people a lot about you.

Here is something interesting that I’ve come to learn about how some people try to emulate wealth but miss the mark by a long shot! Clothing is often seen as a status symbol, where designer brands and high-end fashion are associated with wealth and success. As I’ve come to learn, this isn’t always the case! Many real rich people prefer affordable clothing with good quality instead of expensive designer brands. This approach to clothing allows them to prioritize practicality and value for money over the superficial appearance of wealth.

In contrast, poor people often overspend on clothes in an effort to give the illusion of wealth, but in reality, wasting their hard-earned money on trying to impress others. It’s important to remember that you can build a good wardrobe that serves you well by avoiding overspending and prioritizing quality over quantity. Most self-made millionaires prioritize using money as investment capital instead of spending too much on expensive clothes. Here is another interesting piece of information that I’ve come to learn about wearing expensive brand-name clothes, rich people don’t have a dress code for work as they have no boss, and most of the best-dressed people are high-income employees, not rich people!

You are What You Wear!

While we may not be aware of it, the different articles of clothing and accessories that we wear do have something to say about our personalities, mood, and interests. Wearing the right clothes and coupling it with colors and style make a cumulative assumption based on your personality. So, in what ways can the clothes you wear reflect your personality?

Below is my personal assessment about what 10 different articles of clothing say about us:

1. Cultural Clothing

Wearing traditional cultural clothes represent national identity, and many people wearing the same traditional clothing together gives them a sense of patriotism as well as connectivity to the culture. Most, if not all, traditional cultures are very concerned about keeping themselves covered in a modest way. That’s why every culture provides the most modest clothes to wear according to their norms and values. Traditional clothing shows conformity and offers the wearer a strong sense of belonging. Traditional clothes are usually the best clothing you can wear for comfort; especially during family occasions and national festivals.

2. Suits & Formal Attire

When you suit-up, you’re conveying your professionalism and the way you want to be perceived by leaving a lasting impression in people’s minds. Showing-up in an immaculate tailor-fitted suit that flatters your body while accenting it with the right accessories is a nice way of demonstrating your ability to pay close attention to details. People wearing formal clothing regularly are more confident in life, where they don’t feel drawn back from displaying their dressing sense; especially if they choose unconventional colors that show personality more than conformity. In fact, wearing suits or formal dresses signifies that you are taking the other person seriously and you’re striving to live-up to their expectations. It’s not surprising that suits and business-casual dresses portray power, respect, discipline, and sophistication.

3. T-Shirts

If you’re a big fan of wearing plain old t-shirts, that shows that you want to be as comfortable as you can ever be. However, if you choose to wear vintage t-shirts with characters or logos, that shows to others what your interests. It’s a way for others to evaluate if they could strike-up a conversation with you because they have at least one area of common interest with you. This type of clothing conveys an easy-going person, who doesn’t give two cents about what other people may think of them and doesn’t take themselves too seriously. People whose comfort zone is t-shirts are easy to approach, very hands-on in life, and are the least judgmental about how other people dress.

4. Abstract Prints

For bold and outspoken people, abstract prints make them stand-out and look confident; just like a unicorn in the middle of a herd of horses. They are never afraid to try something new, no matter how bizarre it may seem, and they like to make statements without uttering a single word. If you’re a person who enjoys sporting abstract prints, you’re definitely bold and don’t fear to voice your opinion and speak your mind in a crowd. You’re a creative thinker and an explorer, who projects their approach by their bold fashion choices.

5. Brand Names

There are those who enjoy tastefully wearing brand name products, and there is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes, brands are just the fashion flavor of the year, and that’s OK. Wearing brand name clothing can help you fit-in with a crowd you want to make friends with, which might sound shallow, but it gives you common ground to strike-up a conversation with a new group. However, when wearing a certain brand that it seems that the brand has thrown-up on them that you start questioning what they’re really trying to say. People who’re image-conscious that want to demonstrate their social class are more into wearing high-end clothes. These people usually label the price of their clothes to others and want to shine through their outfits beyond fashion. They’re unknowingly competing with people in higher status than with regular people like you and me. In business, when you choose the right brand name, your customers immediately identify with your values and what matters to you.

6. Black or Gray All The Way

While wearing bold colored outfits shows personality, wearing all black and gray outfits also show personality, just a different type of personality. You can almost never go wrong with basic black because black is a classy color that matches everything! Although black and gray outfits are safe to play with, it speaks about the person’s preference to conformity instead of standing-out. When you wear black, you don’t want to make waves and that’s because dark colors are always traditional, elegant, and sophisticated.

7. Hoodies

Nothing projects comfort over beauty than wearing hoodies! Hoodies are the go-to outfit for most teenagers and adults alike, where it shows that the person might want to hide some kind of physical insecurity; especially when worn in public.

8. Loose Fit

Those who are big fans of loose-fitting clothes are considered carefree people who always prefer comfort over beauty. They enjoy comfort and believe that fashion is a complete waste of time; not knowing that what they’re doing is actually a fashion statement! Any item of clothing or accessory that stands-out and draws attention (good or bad) qualifies as a statement piece.

9. Tight Fit

These people love showing-off their figure and want others to appreciate how they’re able to accentuate their beauty. However, these people are also considered as overthinkers and in some weird way; conservatives who’re trying to fit in. This type of clothing is usually worn by those who like showing-off their physique, extenuate their curves, and not ashamed to show some skin.

10. Tacky

Nothing says, “Here I am, and I don’t care about what you think!” like tacky neon-colored outfits! Tacky clothing is the choice of bold and persuasive people who’re brave, but not necessarily keeping-up with fashion, style, or trends. It takes lots of guts to pull-off bright and eye-catching clothing and carry-out a conversation with a straight face. These people like to grab attention to themselves and don’t fear harsh judgments by others, no matter how hurtful. Surprisingly, such people are approachable and friendly, where they might be even considered as trendsetters.

The clothing choices that we make are heavily influenced by our culture, personality, past trauma, and values. Sometimes we even wear clothes that we don’t even like, and that also says something about us! Every little detail of our outfits says something about us, whether it’s our favorite color, character, brand, or how lazy we feel when we rolled out of bed that morning.

Judging a Book by its Cover

We all know that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but we do it anyways because we cannot deny the first impression that is bestowed upon us when we see people for the first time! After all, judging people is the only way for us to learn about someone without talking to them, which is a survival mechanism that allows us to protect ourselves from those who might transgress against us!

When meeting people for the first time, the other person is assessing 90% of your personality based on your clothing and 10% with what comes out of your mouth, and its only human nature to do that. All of us subconsciously know this, and that’s why we put extra effort in our outfits on our special occasions, regardless of whether we think of ourselves as a fashionable people or not.

Our fashion choices determine how we think and feel about ourselves! You can always change and evolve your fashion choices as you experience different things in life, and it’s better to look to the future instead of clinging to the past if you want to remain relevant. The most important thing is that you feel comfortable and confident in your own clothing. Fashion allows you to be unique, where you can express yourself in whatever way you see fit day-to-day. Whether you’re feeling vibrant, blue, classy, or even casual, there’s a clothing style and color that can help you express it to the world without uttering a single word.

Just because you don’t feel like yourself this morning doesn’t mean you have changed your personality! You always have your personality with you even if you don’t use your traits all the time. Clothing doesn’t just help us express ourselves; it also helps us find connections with like-minded people! These connections can lead to friendships, romances, families, and even entire communities or tribes. Now, I’m not saying that clothes are what governs your actions, but they certainly play a huge role in how we communicate with each other.

We can always interpret things about people based on their choice of clothing, but be careful about acting on snap judgments because you could be wrong! This is not an exact science by no stretch of the imagination because you might see someone wearing athletic cloths and think to yourself: “Oh, this person must be really athletic!”, but in reality, that person may just like to wear comfortable clothes and is too lazy to wear proper clothes. In fact, sometimes we may feel miserable and don’t really care how we look that day. I think it’s safe to assume that people who’re depressed often don’t have the energy to dress well or presentably, and their clothes does all the talking for them.

Our personalities are made-up of our thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Every person has a distinct set of characteristics that are developed within themselves, which makes them unique individuals, and the clothes that we wear; radiate that image to the outside world.