How you dress teaches people how to treat you

[Firerybadger]

Wondering how much truth there is in this sm gem I’ve just seen as I’m of the comfort above everything type. If it’s true maybe I’ll get treated differently by the world

What rot!

Only incredibly shallow people judge others purely by what they’re wearing. Keep being comfortable, OP!

But to some extent this is true. The power suit, the doctor's coat (Who or Medical!), we expect the profesisonals we see to not be wearing their old jeans and tee shirts.

When I can be bothered I might try being glammed up and see if it does make a difference. Part of me thinks that deep down there is something in this but then maybe not😬

It's one of those things that's true whether you like it or not sadly.

Of course it's true. How you present yourself matters. Like it or not.

Of course people will treat you differently if you're in a police uniform / bondage gear / bodycon dress / primark leggings / armani suit. Most of the time they shouldn't and how people dress involves a lot of factors outside their control (available money, time, job, children, responsibilities, living conditions, transport)

True

Is it not just another way of saying that if you come across as though you think well of yourself, others will too? One way your self worth can be reflected is in how you present yourself.

Yes, people definitely make judgements about you based on your clothing. It's one of the tools people use to generate a first impression as well, hence why choosing carefully for a job interview is important.

Does anyone remember that show from years and years ago, called A Week of Dressing Dangerously? Something like that. Of course people treat people differently depending on their clothes.

Everyone does. Everyone. Absolutely everyone.

To an extent. Years ago I was making my way back from an unexpectedly cold parkrun, festooned in the dog blankets from the car boot. I definitely got a few "OMG mega bag lady" double takes that day! To be fair I think my own head might have swiveled.

I think it is true but wish it wasn’t

I still I hope I treat everyone with respect but of course how you dress and carry yourself communicates a lot.

Did you see in the news a British police force introduced baseball caps instead of the more formal helmets and bowler hats a couple of years ago to be gender neutral?

They are now switching back as they found it had a profound effect on how members of the public saw them. When dressed more casually the public decided they carried less authority and gravitas.

Of course it does. I don’t think it’s necessarily a negative thing, although it can be. But dress sense can be a reflection of personality and interests - you might be an outdoorsy person wearing sports/practical gear, and artsy type wearing cool jewellery or whatever. Clothing does convey a lot. I think it also can say something about how you see yourself. It’s interesting really. I would never judge someone negatively, or be mean about someone’s dress sense though.

Of course its true. It's not even necessarily judging, even the most non judgemental person will make subconscious assumptions about people based on how they present themselves.

Unfortunately as much as it pains me, it's true.

Well I've been at church holiday club every day this week and as it's Landlubbers theme this year I spent the week dressed as a pirate every day!

Is it not just another way of saying that if you come across as though you think well of yourself, others will too? One way your self worth can be reflected is in how you present yourself.

no. My self worth is just fine. In fact in my case it’s the opposite, I don’t care if people judge because I dress for comfort, that’s their problem, not mine. I know I’m probably more qualified academically than any of them, and if they want to assume I’m not based on dress not my problem.

i have this conversation with my mum. She thinks suit=respectable and well off. If a bloke in a suit appeared at her front door she’s likely to sign up to whatever he asks, because he can’t be a scammer in a suit.

Unfortunately, it is very true.

On casual days the security guard seems very interested in me around the meat aisle.

I remember when we were first renting a flat. We later found out that our neighbour who was renting the same size flat on the same floor was paying more than us. We both signed our rental agreements the same week. He was in his suit and tie after work, we had jeans and sweaters on. All we could think was that the landlord had assessed our rent on what it looked like he could get away charging us.

what you wear shouldn’t make a difference to how you are treated but sometimes it really does.

I wear tatty jeans and shirts and worn out boots (except when I'm wearing my crocs 😂) all weekend every weekend. I also come from a 'privileged' background, went to Oxford, have a senior professional job. I have literally never noticed anyone treating me (how?) differently at the weekend, nor would I expect them to.

There's a bit of reverse snobbery around dress though isn't there? Recently I've been working with a couple of very senior lady lawyers on whom I am absolutely crushing. They wear crumpled old linen and rock it.

People can still signal their class or cultural identities whilst wearing supposedly 'scruffy' clothes (crumpled linen being an excellent example). I think the thing I always think is that clothing is communication of a type. So, by not caring or choosing certain clothes or deliberately styling yourself a certain way, you can't help communicate certain things about yourself even if you didn't want to. You can't say absolutely nothing with your clothing.

That said, I think these days there's a much wider bandwidth of what counts as acceptable, I go to graduations and the academics are much scruffier than the parents! All communication, whether we like it or not.