Have you ever caught yourself packing more than what you need for a trip just to have more choices for clothing? Just in case your mood changes? Our emotional status, psychological depth, our personalities, and the way we want others to perceive our personalities as actually has much more effect on our personal style than we give credit for, which made it an ongoing topic for discussion. They say, there are psychologically some key drivers in what we wear, such as social signaling and mood. So let’s explore some of them together.
The Sartorial Self
Going back to the 1960s, sociologist Erving Goffman came up with the term “dramaturgy” to refer to the way people behave as actors performing on a stage, adjusting their demeanor according to the situation. So if we were to think of us as actors, the way Mr. Goffman did, we could say that our clothes are part of the costume we wear for these performances, revealing certain aspects of our identities while concealing others, which I find to be a very accurate description, except I would also like to add that the audience watching us aren’t merely regular people, trying to ignore the fact that you are acting as they get lost in the play. You are, we are, actually performing for professional actors as there is no inexperienced audience in this life. Because like it or not, everybody performs in this play to some extent, hence people think that the way you perform is the way you want to perform, thus most of us try to dress the way we want to be perceived, we dress to belong, we dress to feel, to be seen. To sum up, our clothes serve as an extension of our identities. Nevertheless, what we wear can be influenced by our age, gender, culture, profession, social group, and personal interests.
Mood and Clothing
Now, to return to the packing example that we gave earlier, we said how we would pack multiple choices of clothing because our mood could always change. You could feel down that day and wish that you had brought something more oversized with you; or your sister could also feel down that day but in contrast to you, she could wish that she had brought something bolder with her to feel better, to cheer her up, or simply to hide the fact that she was feeling down. So of course the preference could change from person to person, although my personal tip for this situation would be to go with the sister’s choice, as a 2012 study by Hajo Adam and Adam Galinsky proved that if we dress smartly, we tend to feel more confident; if we dress comfortably, we may feel more relaxed. Therefore, dressing bolder will most likely improve your mood.
Social Signaling
Have you ever caught yourself making assumptions about someone, purely judging from the way they dressed, or a piece of accessory that they might carry? You might have even got mad at yourself because of it, but just know that it is an entirely human thing to do. Especially because you yourself, most likely, also dress the way you would like to be perceived, consciously or unconsciously. Fashion is a powerful tool for social signaling. It can tell wealth, status, taste, and even political views. Designer labels can be a status symbol, signaling wealth and taste to others. Conversely, wearing intentionally casual or distressed clothing might signal a rejection of materialism or a desire to align with a certain subculture. So your personal style indicates something about your background, status, or lifestyle to the outside world; much more than you would like.