Is what you wear your identity?

Have you ever wondered, what your clothes say about you?

SOURCE: https://guidedfromabove.files.wordpress.com

 What you wear, in some way, can define you. People sometimes develop ideas of who people are just by what they see them wearing.

 In this article from psychologytoday.com, by Dr. Fletcher, a professor of psychology, we see how what we wear can truly speak for us. This article touches on many studies that have showed how someone may judge one just by what they are wearing in a picture or out and about. This article shows how we might see someone and be able to judge that they are confident or intelligent just by what they are dressed in.

1. My first interesting fact would be a quote from the text. The quote states, "for many people, what they wear is merely a matter of habit, but when we dress in the morning, it might pay us to be a little more careful in the choices we make. Doing something different with your clothes might be a way of changing the impression others have of you." From a personal view I wake up in the morning, and if I am in a bad mood I tend to gravitate to more comfortable clothes, or if I am in a good mood, I tend to dress a little nicer. People sometimes feel they have to think twice when picking out what they will wear.

2. Fashion, I see as being completely about you and what makes you feel comfortable. So, for my second idea I want to touch on the stereotypes made. Sometimes when you shop at a certain store, like Hot Topic, you may be seen as somewhat edgy "sketchy" as some may say. If you shop at J Crew you maybe seen as preppy. Where we shop allows people to believe that you are a certain person by how you dress yourself. There is preppy clothing, goth clothing, stoner clothing, hipster clothing, and a whole multitude of others. We label people by the labels or the look that they maintain throughout their wardrobe.

3. The article points out that there was a study done in the U.K. where they showed participants a 3 second picture of a man in a suit. They were not asked to comment on how well-dressed they thought he was, but purely on what type of person they think the man is by wearing the suit he was. They showed two men, and they were in slightly altered suits, one from the high street and one made-to-measure. The man in the made to measure suit what favored. The people in the study said that they saw this man as being, "more confident, successful, flexible, and a higher earner," just based on his suit and how well it fit him.

4. These preconceived notions are started early. The article suggests that it can start as early as childhood. The article states that "one study found that teachers made assumptions about children's academic ability based on their clothing."

5. The article also points out that depending on what someone maybe wearing in the workplace can also be a big factor in the role of their job. Women dressed in a "provocative" manner were seen as "less favorable," but when dressed more "conservatively" she is seen as more "favorable."

6. While I have focused on the social and psychological side of clothing and how it may affect how you are viewed, I plan on tying in the economics side by seeing how trends work and how you may be viewed when following a trend or not. I also plan to really discover how brand market their clothing to attract buyers.

My next step in my research would be to find out:  How do certain stores market their clothes to attract a certain customer? Do stores like to be stereotyped so they are defined as selling one certain type of style?