Wearing Appropriate Clothing Can Boost Your Confidence
Fashion is a powerful tool that can be used to punctuate who you are without saying a word. We tend to dress the way that we feel, which means that many of us are walking around with pajamas and messed up hair. We don’t tend to give enough credit to the material things in life that can make a big impact on our self esteem.
Now before you start to get all uptight about how we should not put importance on material things, let me say that you are correct. Material things should never be the indicator of success, esteem, or anything else that matters. However, the things that are tangible can act like a period on the end of a sentence. Is this confusing? Let me explain.
You are a strong, confident woman who takes the time to style your hair and put on make-up, but you hate clothes. You will choose comfort over style every day of the week. You walk into a board meeting late, dressed in faded jeans and a flannel shirt. Everyone turns around to see who just walked in. What do you think the first impression is going to be? It’s not going to be one that is flattering. A conclusion will be made about who you are from what you look like. You might be brilliant, but you present yourself as someone who has self doubt. Is this really the message you want to send?
So now let’s take another scenario. Your colleague walks into the same board meeting late, but she has on a power suit and pumps. She might not be so intelligent, but she carries herself with confidence. Board members pause to look at her, noticing her polished appearance. When it is time for the board to make an important company decision, who do you think they will be more likely to listen to?
The point here is that clothes say a lot more about us than we realize. They give strangers the first impression of who we are. We should not necessarily dress the way that we feel. We should dress the way that we want to feel. Clothes play a crucial role in how we view ourselves. We feel a sense of confidence when we look good. This causes us to walk taller, speak louder, and stand up for what we believe.