Dressing for success leads to a more positive attitude

Image by Robert Couse-Baker via Flickr

Amid Bennaim | Staff Writer

opinion@fiusm.com

As social creatures, grooming is an important part of our biology. Keeping clean and looking good changes the way that we look at ourselves. This leads many to suggest that there is a correlation between dressing for success and achieving that success. As a matter of fact, psychologists have done more than just suggest, they have studied the link between dressing well and being well groomed and being successful. As it turns out, the link is very strong.

According to independent studies quoted by Forbes Magazine, clothing can even help determine how some people are paid. While these numbers are hard to generalize because of different work environments and dress codes in different fields, it is clear that people who dress for success are more likely to have higher wages. With that information I decided to try dressing more professionally before my exams.

I tried it out the week before finals week of last semester. I was really surprised at how much it really changed my confidence for the exams. I found out that by dressing nicely and putting more effort into looking good, I had more confidence when I walked through the door for a test. Since I am not a person who usually loses their cool during exams, I was shocked that it worked for me. Needless to say, dressing well isn’t going to make up for studying hard, but it is another form of preparation.

The boost of confidence that comes from looking good is very familiar to most students. Putting on a button-down shirt or wearing a fancy dress before going out feels different than throwing on some old sweatpants. As a matter of fact, I would be genuinely surprised to learn that there is a person reading this article that has never had someone tell them to dress for success.

So what exactly constitutes dressing ‘well’? For starters, it is important to know that the term is very contextual. Dressing well for a student at FIU might mean putting on nice jeans and a button-down shirt, but for a Wall Street banker it means wearing a designer suit. In the broadest terms it means dressing in a manner that makes one feel good about what they wear and makes them feel self-assured. The key is to feel beautiful and confident in whatever you wear.

For anyone that has any doubts as to the reality of this link between dressing well and success, I suggest that you try it. Most people already own some clothes that make them look good, so there is pretty much nothing to lose. While dressing for success won’t get you a job or substitute studying, the fact that something so simple can have a positive impact on our lives makes it feel pretty logical to give it a shot.