You Don’t Go To War With The Pajamas On. Your Clothes Speak.

You have been invited to a fancy dress party.  Everyone is asked to wear clothes of their all-time favourite character.

Before the event you are very excited but get busy with other matters and forget all about it.  The day arrives and you don’t have a costume.  You don’t think too much of it and decide to go in your casual gear.

Upon arrival you are astonished to see everyone dressed in wonderful costumes.  You start to feel a little self-conscious while you kick yourself for not putting this event in your diary.

You hand your invite to security at the door,  but are refused entry as there is a strict dress code.

You’ve been invited by the hosts of the party and demand to speak with them.  When they arrive at the door you immediately notice how disappointed they are by your appearance and this makes you feel even more uncomfortable.

Of course your friends lets you in, but you feel alienated.  You see everyone playing up in their costumes but just can’t get into the swing of things.  Even at costume parties we are dressed to a certain code.

The occasion will dictate the clothes you wear:-

• Going to a formal dinner,
• Backyard party,
• A job interview,
• Going on a first date,
• Meeting your partner’s parents for the first time,
• A function where influencers in your area of expertise will be present for a meet and greet,
• When you’re about to raise an important issue with someone and you don’t know how they will respond,
• A wedding,
• A balaclava – can inform us that it is terribly cold outside or an illegal action may take place.

You don’t go to a formal event wearing jeans or to the gym for a work out, in high heels. But if you want to make a lasting impression, you wear your best outfit that suits the event.  Because you don’t go to war with your pajamas on.

You don’t go to a formal event wearing jeans or to the gym for a work out, in high heels. Share on X

Research highlights clothes are a big part of how we sum each other up.  What we wear sends out a message to the world.  However the results emphasis that our assumption can be wrong.  We make calculations about people within the first three seconds of meeting them.

We’re unconsciously programmed to do this automatically.  Our perceptions are influenced by

• our education,
• what we have seen on television and the internet,
• our personal experiences,
• what our parents do as an occupation and all the people that are in our environment.

Our life experiences form this three second bias.

Should it matter what people think us?  It all depends on the situation.  If you are at meeting and wanting to network, it certainly does.

On the other hand having a disagreement with a stranger whilst waiting to be served at the grocery store shouldn’t hold a lot meaning.

Would you give a priest the same amount of attention if he were delivering his sermon in a pair of jeans rather than his robe?  Our attitudes are determined by some outfits.

Outfits we identify with immediately:

• We know a gym junkie because he/she is generally wearing runners, shorts or a track suit.  We may not know if they work in this industry – but we can certainly see by his/her muscles that this outfit is not regular casual attire but exercise clothing.

• Both men and woman are presumed to work in the office arena when we notice suits and day time office wear.  We may not identify their exact work location, but the outfit gives us some idea.

• We know the difference between a priest, a monk and a nun.

• A judge can be identified for their exact work as they wear a particular type of wig.

• Police, firemen and nurses are all identified by their uniforms.

• We know a construction worker by his clothes, but his rough hands will confirm he is some type or building work.  He could be working as a plasterer, concreter or electrician.

Working from home.

Working from home seems to be on the rise.  But before you quit your job, throw out the work outfits and purchase extra pajamas and track suits.  A word of warning.

Shifting from one outfit to another should be a very gradual process.  Your brain identifies certain clothes with the activities you do.  It’s important when you work from home to wear clothes that put you in a working mind set.

Being employed dictates our start and finish times.  Before we arrive at the work place we have gone about our own personal routine.  It may be that we wake up, exercise, drink coffee, shower and do all the customs associated with getting ready for the job.

The mind identifies with the preparation as it has been done time and time again.  We put on our work clothes and the brain is again reminded that work is about to begin.  By the time we arrive, we are ready for action.

If you used to finish work – rip off your work gear to get into something more comfortable, then it is NOT advised to wear those same clothes to the home-office.

I would go as far as saying wear nothing that identifies with casual attire.  This is where our minds are conditioned.

Adjusting to a new home-office work place takes thought and discipline.  We have to reset the mind and get it to identify with a new work environment.

This is a very important transformation, so it must be considered carefully.  Our routine and the work outfit has changed, and we still expect our brain to operate like it did when we were employed by someone else.  Yet we have not gone about any of our previous rituals to prepare our mind.

While it sounds wonderful to work in your pajamas, do you think you can achieve the same results as you would being ready for work?  Will you concentrate like you would in the office?  Not in all cases.

It would be wise to purchase new work garments that are comfortable for the home-office.  This way you can start reprogramming the mind to identify these outfits as your new work clothes.

Could you imagine if Cinderella turned up to the ball in her maids outfit?  It would have been a completely different story.

The Prince may have thought of her as the hired help and asked her for a drink rather than chasing her at midnight, only to find a shoe.

Someone may have questioned her presence at the ball if she was not in a formal gown.

Wearing an acceptable outfit for this event allowed her entry where she was received in a totally different manner; rather than had she dressed in her maids outfit.

Some outfits are confusing.

I never could understand what jeans sitting around the knee area meant.  While summing up this dress wear, I had to rule out the role of a drug dealer.  Where do you put your stash or cash, and how in the hell do you run from the cops?

I did wonder whether this is fashion statement rather than a thug life identifier.  Pants around the knees is definitely not for standing on the corner ready to do some wheeling and dealing.

These days it is a little hard to distinguish between hookers, strippers and party goers.  They have the same kinds of outfits.  We yell that woman should be able to wear anything and be treated with respect.  I agree.

However if the research is true, we are summing up individuals within three seconds based on their appearance.  Yet when you are wearing barely nothing 

You are presenting yourself in fashion where men want to holler, stare and given the opportunity would proposition you.  And woman shake their head in confusion or disgust, but make it apparent to you who their man is.

Wearing what you want is an expression.  And regardless of what is right or wrong the above outfits are always prejudged – generally in a negative fashion.  Some appreciate it.  While others think it is nothing more than attention seeking behaviour.

Clothes determine our attitude.

You will not find a soldier on duty with the same attitude he would have sitting around a friend’s house for drink.  The uniform prepares him to be alert, on guard and ready to put all his training into action, if required.

A nurses outfit reminds the brain that caring for people and attending to illness and injury is the job requirement.  Using all their training and procedures to carry out their duties.

 History shows our outfits define us.

In every war throughout history there have been uniforms that distinguish who the individual is fighting for.  There is an us and them attitude.  Cowboys and Indians, Nazi’s versus the rest of the world.  The Nazi symbol still to this day is indented into our minds.

Team sports such as Soccer and Cricket have uniforms that automatically tell us what side each player is on.  The clothes these sports people wear on competition day are different to what they train in.  On game day a uniform alerts the brain that their best performance is required.

On game day a uniforms alerts the brain that their best performance is required. Share on X

Whether we approve or disagree with what an individual wears is about our own pre-conceived ideas.  Some outfits give us a direct message as to an individuals’ job, other outfits are judged immediately by our own personal preferences.

We identify uniforms with customary jobs and competition.  So next time when you get dressed, ask yourself – what is my outfit saying to the world?  Do I go to war in my pajamas?

So next time when you get dressed, ask yourself – what is my outfit saying to the world? Share on X

If you enjoyed this post – don’t forget to share it with a friend.