Regardless of your budget or fashion sense, dressing with more intention can benefit your mindset and performance
Until a few years ago, deciding what to wear to work was relatively simple. If you worked in an office, you probably had a clear dress code. Whether documented formally in an employee handbook lurking somewhere in your desk drawer, or demonstrated through a corporate culture, you were likely used to wearing a suit and tie, or a smart blouse with a skirt or trousers. You may have sprinkled in your own style with colours or accessories, testing the boundaries of your office environment.
But somewhere around 2020, the COVID-19 era changed all that for many of us, making what to wear at work a stressful predicament. (If you work in a role that requires a uniform, then you probably won’t have been affected in the same way.) In this new hybrid era – in which many employees are sometimes in the office and sometimes at home in their pyjamas – it can be hard to know what to wear when.
Driven by the sense that I couldn’t be the only one struggling with these issues, in 2023 I launched the Stressed But Well Dressed podcast for which I have now interviewed more than 40 professionals, from TV presenters to entrepreneurs, about the challenges of dressing well for work in the post-COVID era.
Why what we wear matters
As a chartered manager and business consultant, my interest in this topic stems from the idea that being ‘well dressed’ is as much a mindset as a state of clothing, and that it can set people up to do their best work. When I get my outfit right, I feel more confident, empowered and positive. When I get it wrong, it can be distracting and demotivating.
To be clear, I’m not particularly interested in clothing per se. To me, how fashionable you look in the workplace is a frivolous issue. I am interested in helping people use clothes as a tool to increase their confidence.
Employees in formal attire felt more competent, while those in casual clothing felt more friendly
As well as serving the basic functions of shelter from the elements and protecting our modesty, clothes are a way to present ourselves to the world – to shape how others perceive us and how we perceive ourselves. For instance, the way that business leaders dress can shape whether they are judged as charismatic or conventional; teachers’ dress can affect their students’ learning; and the clothing of female concert pianists can affect how people judge the quality of their performance.
When it comes to effects on the self, US psychologists showed that employees in formal attire felt more competent, while those in casual clothing felt more friendly. Although it’s a contentious area (some findings have failed to replicate), there’s even evidence that what we wear can shape how we think – for instance, more formal clothing appears to encourage people to see the bigger picture and to eat more healthily – an effect that the social psychologists Hajo Adam and Adam Galinsky called ‘enclothed cognition’. Briefly put, clothes have a symbolic meaning that can cause a shift in mindset – it could be a lucky shirt, a hat or a power suit, and when you put it on, it puts you in a certain frame of mind.
These effects are especially important at work, where we need to be courageous, innovative, motivated and disciplined all at once. Work is often where we want to be at our strongest, but sometimes it can be where we are most vulnerable. In a team environment, we need to feel a sense of belonging, but we also want to feel like ourselves.
I find it useful to think of all this in terms of the ability/motivation/opportunity (AMO) model developed by the economist Eileen Appelbaum and others to explain workplace performance. The model identifies three key criteria, and I believe clothing has an impact on all three of them:
- The ability to do your job: from the basic requirement for a specific uniform for some jobs, to the idea of a more conceptual ‘uniform’ that you see as a tool to empower you in your role, clothing can impact your ability to do your job.
- The motivation to do your job: like it or not, clothes are our most basic way of demonstrating status. The importance of feeling like you belong and building your self-esteem should not be underestimated.
- The opportunity to do your job: this is where physical comfort comes into play. If what you are wearing to do your job is physically uncomfortable, you are going to be distracted from what you are trying to achieve.
With these factors in mind, and based on my business experience and the interviews I’ve conducted with many professionals, here are some practical ways to dress for work with more intention:
View your wardrobe as a toolbox
Whether you go to work in a public place or work remotely from a home office or coworking space, the first step is simply a shift in mindset. Instead of viewing clothes as a basic necessity or seeing the decision of what to wear as a chore, think of your clothing as a tool that has the potential to help you perform better at work – depending on how it affects you and the image you feel it projects. For each item you consider wearing, get into the habit of asking yourself how it will make you feel about yourself. One simple exercise is to choose the positive words you associate with delivering your work and then identify the clothes that connect you with those words.
Think about the way your clothes make you feel about yourself
This isn’t about knowing the monetary value of your clothes or buying designer labels. The cost of an item is irrelevant if you don’t feel like the best version of you when you wear it. Instead, think about whether the clothes in your wardrobe make you feel valued (as if your professional worth is equitable to that of your peers) and help build your self-esteem and motivation.
There are simple accessories you can add to your clothes that are thought to improve confidence
During my research, one of the most poignant comments I heard came from a woman reflecting on her first role in a retail graduate scheme. Without the right uniform and the funds to buy suitable clothing, it diminished her ability to perform well: ‘In store, you could wear a black or grey suit but the allowance to buy these wasn’t available until you actually started. So I went to the uniform cupboard with a lady from HR and she presented me with the most hideous clothes ever. I tried them on and burst into tears. The top was shapeless, the skirt the wrong length for my legs. I wore it for a few days, hating every minute of it, then got the allowance and bought the clothes that made me feel like me. I will never forget that hideous uniform.’
When you are choosing your outfit, be honest with yourself about how the clothes make you feel and the memories they hold. If you had a positive experience when wearing an outfit (maybe a successful meeting or interview), you are likely to feel more confident wearing it again. However, if you had a negative experience – you felt uncomfortable or you didn’t feel like yourself – it’s likely to undermine your confidence.
If you are managing a tighter budget, there are organisations like Smart Works or Dress for Success that can provide an interview outfit. Also, bear in mind that adding simple accessories to your clothes can improve confidence. For example, in an episode of my podcast, the psychologist and neuromarketing expert Katie Hart explains that there are small ways to ‘quietly convey authority’ such as wearing a belt (if your skirt or blouse is tucked in) or adding a brooch to your outfit in the position where a medal would be worn.
Think about the image you want to project
Understand too how you are perceived by others in the clothes you wear – and whether that aligns with the image you’d like to project. To trust in you, are your colleagues or customers looking – perhaps subconsciously – for a certain item or level of dress?
One doctor explained to me the need to wear a suit and tie to gain trust from older patients when sharing details on high-risk but necessary treatments. The suit and tie became the tools to demonstrate his authority. Another doctor explained how, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she defaulted to wearing scrubs every day. But while her male colleagues could wear scrubs and their seniority was not challenged, she noticed that, when she wore them, she was constantly mistaken for a nurse. So, paradoxically, it was while she wore a ‘uniform’ that her authority and position were questioned. By reverting to wearing business clothes for clinic, she’s ensured she is viewed as the doctor she trained to be.
Think about whether your choice of clothes helps you belong
If everyone wears jeans and a T-shirt, there is probably little need to wear a suit and tie, or a dress and heels
One woman explained to me how she went to an assessment centre for a job in a bank wearing a lilac suit. While the suit was appropriate and she felt positive leaving the house, on arrival she saw that every other candidate had opted for either a black or navy suit. Suddenly she realised that she stood out, impacting her ability to feel like she belonged there. Without the feeling of belonging, her self-esteem plummeted, she didn’t do her best job, and didn’t get the role.
Presuming you don’t need to wear a uniform at work, there is still an important question for you to consider around how much you want to fit in with the working culture there. By choosing to follow any informal or unwritten fashion trends and conventions in your workplace, you have the chance to boost your sense of belonging. If you work in a design studio and everyone wears jeans and a T-shirt every day, there is probably little need to come to work wearing a suit and tie, or a dress and heels.
However, this is a balancing act and you should also be conscious of wearing the items that enable you to do your best work. If you know that smarter attire makes you feel more comfortable – go for it. It might even be worth sharing with your colleagues that you’ve chosen what you wear to help your mindset. Telling people why you choose to dress a certain way could not only help them understand you better, it might put them at ease to demonstrate who they are and share their reasons for the clothing choices they make.
In short, it’s worth reflecting on whether you can find a way to fit in without sacrificing your own style and preferences – the next step.
Ask yourself: is my wardrobe actually me?
Look in your wardrobe and consider if the clothes you see reflect your identity. If you have a work wardrobe that doesn’t reflect how you see yourself, you might want to address why you feel the need to show up as someone else in the workplace (for instance, are there deeper cultural issues at play here beyond your choice of clothes?).
Next, ask yourself: Can I dress in a way that makes me feel like I belong in this work culture, but that also allows me to express my own identity with confidence? It might be through something as simple and subtle as your choice of tie, socks, glasses or even a watch strap. Or maybe it is more radical or unique, related to bold colours or more diverse and unconventional styles, yet without compromising your sense of belonging.
For me, it is always about having a pair of shoes that show who I am, however simple my outfit is. I have a love of trainers and a favourite pair of silver, glittery sneakers I wear for work, whether it’s a jeans and T-shirt day or a suit day. I now connect them with who I am and how I want to present myself. They are how I show my personality, they make me happy and they are always a talking point! That silver sparkle is just enough of a slice of fun to show people who I am, and that works for me. It’s worth reflecting on how you want to demonstrate your own individual style and how you can use your clothes to be proud of who you are and share that with colleagues.
Don’t forget basic practicalities
I can’t remember the interview room, the people, I can’t even remember the role. I just remember the pain of the shoes!
A final question to ask yourself is: How does the clothing I wear for work make me feel physically? Is it comfortable? Are the fabrics easy to work in? Do they fit properly? Think shirts that feel too tight; a white top that you spilt coffee on that morning; standing on stage and presenting in shoes that pinch; being asked to work outside without a coat in winter. The right headspace to do your job requires the right clothing in a practical sense. Sometimes it pays to be strategic about colours to hide stains, or to prioritise comfort if you know you’re going to be on your feet or working outside.
It’s easy to make the mistake that confidence and comfort are not intertwined: that you need to feel confident, and that there’s ‘no gain without pain’. I can tell you from personal experience that this is not the case. I distinctly remember an interview I had with a major advertising agency in London that taught me this lesson. I had selected a pair of dubious high heels for the meeting: new, uncomfortable but they looked the part. I could barely walk in them and my toes felt pinched. I had to wear them across London (fashion choices also dictated that my bag was too small to carry a change of shoes). By the time I reached the agency I was in agony. I remember nothing about the interview. I can’t remember the room, the people, I can’t even remember the role. I just remember the pain of the shoes!
It’s tempting to always prioritise the clothing and accessories that we think will make us feel confident, but my most important advice is not to forget comfort. In building your self-esteem, it is just as important to remove physical feelings from the equation, so that you can mentally focus on the task in hand.
Final notes
On my podcast, people have shared stories of the outfits that have empowered them, helping them stand taller, more proud and more confident. Equally, people have reflected on their tougher moments at work, and the idea that during more challenging times they have thrown on clothes, rather than taking the time to get dressed. Their focus has been on getting through the day, and their identity has been challenged, so they’ve choosen darker, looser clothing to hide behind in a bid to stop the world from seeing their internal struggle.
I believe that, by decoding our wardrobe and how it makes us feel, we have the opportunity to use clothes as part of our toolkit to aid our success. Get dressed with confidence, look in the mirror, and rather than wondering: ‘How do I look?’ be brave enough to ask yourself: ‘How does this make me feel?’
