Confidence Dressing: How Your Clothes Affect Your Mindset
The decisions that we make when it comes to clothing affect more than just whether we look good or not. There is a body of research showing that our clothing choices have a real impact on how we feel as well.
What we wear can really help to determine how happy, confident and positive we are in our approach to life. Success is important to the average man and high levels of all of those feelings make success more likely.
Read on to learn more about how to dress to achieve good things.
The Right Clothes for Every Occasion
The link between dress and mood has a lot to do with picking the right outfit for the occasion. What will feel good for work is not necessarily the best choice for going on a date. Finding something to suit you in all situations is the key to doing well in all of them.
Here are some standard situations a man will find himself in and the styles of clothing that will enable him to make the most of each one.
Working
When you are at work, you want to feel as calm, powerful and in control as possible. The best way to manage that is to dress in a way that is fairly formal. If you are comfortable in a suit then that will be a very good choice, especially a well tailored, dark colored one. If suits feel unnatural to you, smart casual clothes in dark hues may be better.
Dating
Physical and psychological comfort is crucial on a date, so clothes that prioritize your ease should be chosen. Unless you are going to a very high-class restaurant, smart casual will ensure you feel and look good. That can mean trousers or jeans coupled with a shirt or sweater, as long as everything fits you well.
Exercising
Exercise is a key part of life, and you will get the best results if you feel good while doing it. Opting for a smart track set in vibrant blue or red will help to fill you with positive energy so you can meet fitness goals.
How Clothing Affects Mood
At this point you may be thinking that what you wear has no effect on your inner life, but there really is strong evidence that it does. Scientific research has found that clothing choice can alter your heart rate and hormone levels, as well as making you more or less capable of thinking clearly.
One study saw participants divided into two groups, with one group given formal clothing to wear and the other informal. They were then assigned intelligence tests, with those dressed formally producing much better results.
This suggests that dressing formally for work sharpens mental processes like organization and creativity that are essential to accomplishing goals. The existing research into the effect of clothes on the mind also indicates that dark colored clothes help people to project an aura of authority and seriousness.
In this sort of situation, it is the minds and perceptions of others that are altered by your choice of clothes. However, if they give co-workers a more positive impression of your abilities, that will have an impact on how well you are able to do your job.
Carefully disrupting expectations can be beneficial at times too. One example is of a man who wore a red tie with his suit to a function listed as black-tie. Instead of criticism, this slight breaking of the rules led others to view him as a confident individualist and pay greater attention to him.
The key to using your wardrobe to make a strong statement about yourself is that you should always feel comfortable and at ease in the clothes you have chosen. That will be felt by those around you who will respond to it.
