Dressing for Success

Carl Richards writes in his “Sketch Guy” column at the Times about something we all probably know and but don’t think too much about: What we wear can often affect how we feel.

For anyone who sees people as part of the job or wants to influence the behavior of others, the way we dress does matter. So let’s not kid ourselves. First, people judge us, at least in part, by how we dress. Second, what we wear affects how we feel about ourselves.

This reminded me of a story one of my friends recounted to me recently: At her casually dressed workplace, a young new hire appeared at work wearing a suit. Everyone chalked it up to him trying to make a good first impression, but then he made a habit of wearing a suit every day, because it made him feel important.

“As it turns out, the president of our division is stepping down and there are rumors that this suit guy is up for the job,” she said. “He dressed for the job he wanted!”

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