Do women dress for men - or women?

So, apparently, women spend almost £84,000 on clothes in their lifetime. 
And they are dressing more seductively in the economic downturn to increase their chances of nabbing that rare thing, a man with a decent job.

Or that’s the spin that the Daily Mail put on a recent study to come out of Texas Christian University.

As if it was really that simple, that women just dress to impress men.

In an earlier blog I did point out that high heels force women to adopt a posture reminiscent of randy babboons and, sure, that’s all about appearing seductive. 
But women who expose too much flesh can actually be harming their career prospects.
I still find the enclothed cognition argument compelling, i.e. that women dress to impress themselves, since certain clothes make them feel better, give them confidence and lift their mood (even if there’s not a man in sight).

Clearly it’s complicated. There seem to be three factors at work:

1.    Evolutionary psychologists have shown us that clothing sends out all kinds of sexual signals (red for fertility, high heels for fecundity). This is the ‘women dress to attract men’ argument.

2.    Then there’s the function of clothes for emotional regulation, which is born out by my research showing that women select clothes accord to their moods. This could be seen as the ‘women dress for themselves’ argument.

3.    There’s a third factor too. It’s the ‘women dress for other women’ point of view.  Take a look at this:

Letter from a popular Sunday newspaper supplement.

£600 for a scarf? What credit crunch? 
That aside, could it be that women dress to get one over on the competition as this letter suggests? 

Blogger Nikolas Lloyd thinks yes (and has kindly allowed me to quote his theory here):

Imagine a society in which there are not very many women around who are available. Such a society was the one in which we evolved. In the world of the forager, a potential mate came along seldom, and one usually only had a small selection of women from which to choose a life partner. In this society, a woman who had known the local men for ages and was on good terms with them, was very nice, but perhaps not the best looking or a little bit past her prime, might lose out to some slip of a thing who walked out of the forest. A foreign woman might out-compete all the local women, even if she hardly spoke the language, if she was young and pretty, and this would not please the local women. What could these women do to keep the stranger out? Well, just as language seems to have evolved partly to keep out outsiders (a human who has learned a language as an adult will almost never fully master it and pass as a local), so too could fashion. The local women could make it next to impossible for the foreigner to pass as a local, and become accepted in society, by coming up with many arbitrary and subtle rules of fashion.

So Lloyd thinks women dress in a way that helps them fit in with their social group and keep out intruders. Identification with one's social group is clearly one purpose of fashion. And one way we signal our affiliation with a social group is through clothing: this is true whether your group is a Mayan tribe, or mums at the school gate. 
He's got a point. 
It's quite likely that those other women are far more likely to notice what you're wearing than any passing male.

Baboons in stilettos

A friend recently confessed that she wears high heels all the time because her husband ‘prefers them’. (So if you thought he looked sexier in a horse-hair cod piece, he’d wear one for you would he?) ….

Her hubbie obviously hasn't descended down the same line as Matt Rudd who, in today’s Sunday Times, is bewildered that women wear things that cripple them with blisters and prevent them from running. When it comes to heels there are clearly two types of males, those affected by lordosis and those who aren’t.

Lordosis, I hear you cry, what the Jimmy Choo is that?

It’s an abnormal forward curvature of the spine. The position that a high heel forces the female form into, with the back arched and the buttocks invitingly tipped up. According to the American Physical Therapy Association, “Walking in high heels forces the back to arch and the chest to thrust forward. Basically, high heels cause the neck and back to hyperextend.”

If you’re thinking this is a load of babboon’s buttocks you’re right, it’s the courting pose of mammals. 

Helen, Fisher, author of the Biology of Attraction, says:

"Some women also have a characteristic walk when courting; they arch their backs, thrust out their bosoms, sway their hips, and strut. No wonder many women wear high-heeled shoes. This bizarre Western custom, invented by Catherine de Medici in the 1500s, unnaturally arches the back, tilts the buttocks, and thrusts the chest out into a female come-hither pose. The clomping noise of their spiky heels draws attention too."

Despite a recent finding that high heels denote emotional instability during cognitive appraisal, it seems that evolutionary psychology is alive and well and tripping down the catwalk. Or the high street.

Disastrous dress undoes job prospects

I was chatting about fashion psychology yesterday with a friend who works at a very prestigious university, when suddenly her face lit up.

“We’ve just made an appointment,” she said  “and now it’s struck me that we appointed the best dressed candidate.”

Each applicant had to give a presentation to a panel and an audience of peers. 

The first candidate, she said, had obviously borrowed his suit. It was at least three sizes too big, the sleeves hung down over his hands and the jacket almost reached his knees. 

“It swamped him,” my friend told me, “and now I realise he seemed diminished by it in so many ways, he came across as completely powerless.”

The next candidate, a woman, was smartly dressed except her blouse didn’t quite meet the top of her trousers. 

“We were seated right at mid-rift level, the woman was standing up and her bare belly was in our eye-line. I’m afraid it detracted from what she was saying…could we really work with someone who had exposed so much flesh at our first encounter?”

Apparently the third candidate matched the first two on experience and credentials, plus he was also dressed appropriately; good fitting suit, clean shoes, open-necked shirt. 

He got the job.

I've come for the job

It’s so easy to overlook sartorial turn-offs like these. No one ever mentions them in the rejection letter ("We're very sorry but.... that suit... what were you thinking???")

Anyway the impression is mostly subliminal, exerting its effect unconsciously. 

Yet recent research I’ve been involved in is showing just how much these things matter in the job market. 

Shabby suits on men spell failure, not success (see earlier blog)

Exposing too much flesh marks a woman out for a low status job and scuppers her chances of reaching the top, as we've reported here previously.

In 2009 Wookey et al found that a provocatively dressed female Chief Executive Officer was rated as less competent than a professionally dressed CEO, a professionally dressed office assistant and a provocatively dressed office assistant.

They conclude that: “…sexiness is associated with social ability in low-status jobs, but when a woman is in a position of power, sexiness may be viewed as dysfunctional and inappropriate."

Wookey, M. L., Graves, N. A., & Butler, J. C. (2009). Effects of a sexy appearance on perceived competence of women. The Journal of Social Psychology, 149, 116-118.

  

The Psychology of...the Handbag!

'No, Alan, not like that, hook the handbag over your wrist and keep your palm turned upwards.'

Of all the directions I thought my career might take me, teaching Alan Titchmarsh to carry a handbag was not one I had imagined.
But I found myself doing just that recently, when recording a piece about handbags for the Alan Titchmarsh show (on ITV today, 3pm). 
Alan was such a good sport and minced onto the set carrying a gorgeous little snakeskin number, one of many designer and vintage handbags featured whose extortionate prices raised a few 'ooohs' from the studio audience.


We live in a time when the handbag has become the ultimate statement piece for women. And even in these days of austerity many women seem reluctant to ditch the designer bag. In fact for many, a touch of regulated self-indulgence feels more necessary than ever.

Why? 
Here are a few of my theories. Or what I call my 'handbagology':

Status symbols

“I loved all the admiring glances I got from my friends when I walked in with it.”

It used to be men who advertised their status,  with the flash car or expensive watch. Now women are earning more and competing at the top they too are signalling their status to others. They choose a bag  - usually a huge in-your-face tote - that says, I’m successful, I’m expensive, I’m chic. Many women at the top assess their own and other women’s status by the handbags they use.

Rule No 1: Your bag shouldn't weight more than you do.

Compensatory consumption

My research has shown that women spend more when depressed, believing a purchase will cheer them up. They might get a brain ‘buzz’ from buying it, but it may be short-lived and will not eliminate the cause of their negative emotions. Ironically, the harder the times the more women will seek solace in this way. And probably the bigger the bag the greater the void in their lives.  But beware. In the words of my friend Jessica Chivers, ‘Happiness is NOT a handbag!’

Celebrity worship

“I saw Beyonce with it in a magazine and so I had to have it.”

We’ve seen a huge rise in the cult of the celebrity and in the desire of women to emulate them. You may not be able to get the Beckham figure, millions or footballer husband, but you can get the bag. Or one like it. Some designers are cashing in on this and using celebrities to advertise their handbags, like Coach using Gwyneth Paltrow.

Rule No 2: Don't believe if you buy the bag you'll look this good

Believing a bag is an ‘investment’

I once heard a fashionista on Woman’s Hour declaring that she ‘invests in a designer handbag each season'. We delude ourselves if we view high-priced fashion items as an ‘investment’. Most aren’t. (Just to be safe, in case the bottom drops out of the handbag market or there’s a world clutch-bag crash, I’d recommend an ISA.)

Identity

“It’s a kind of passport into the business world. It says, ‘I’m worthy of a job in fashion’”

Humans have evolved to belong to a group, we crave to be seen by others and feel part of something. An expressive wardrobe is a way of signalling not just which group you belong to (teenage groups have their own cool trends which distinguishes them from others) but which you aspire to. Many feel a designer bag makes them seen and sends a message to others: I want to be one of the Gucci crowd, I’m a Prada girl. There’s even an optimal way of carrying it to show it off to the max. The logo is always displayed, the bag hooked over the wrist, palm held upwards.

Feeling fat? The bag always fits…

If women feel the urge to shop but are feeling fat they can buy a bag and it will always fit, whereas clothes are very figure-dependent. The same goes for shoes.

The power  - and cost - of the brand

"I know a lot of women who will starve to get a handbag. I’ve got a lot of friends like that.”

I came across the comment above on an online site (theartofthebag.org). Millions of pounds of clever marketing go into promoting and advertising designer handbags, and some women will even go into debt to have their bag of desire.

Creating scarcity

Luxury brand items are now more available – at airports, on the high street, online. So the marketers create a sense of scarcity by limiting the availability of certain items. This stimulates even more desire. Brain research shows we get huge pleasure not just from getting something but from anticipating having it. The luxury brands cash in on this by creating waiting lists, making women want it more and obliterating the difference between want and need.


All goes to show that a bag is so much more than somewhere to keep your purse and your keys!

Your clothes influence how you think and feel.

I never cease to be amazed at the myriad of tiny things that can influence our personal psychology. 

Like my recent finding that women who wear jeans are more likely to be depressed.

Or the finding that women do worse on a maths test when wearing a bikini. No kidding.

Or that sports teams who wear black behave more aggressively.

Or that wearing a lab coat makes you more conscientious.

The clothes you wear have the power, literally, to change your mood or change your mind. 

That’s pretty amazing if you ask me. Psychologists even have a name for this, they call it enclothed cogition. It all goes to show that we should think very carefully about what we pull out of the wardrobe in the morning.

Sad? Jeans can be a giveaway. Photo credit Daily Mirror.

I asked 100 women what they wore when feeling depressed. More than half of them said jeans (that’s almost double the number who would wear jeans when feeling happy).

Also 57% of the women said they would wear a baggy top when depressed, yet a mere 2% would wear one when feeling happy.

The women also revealed they would be ten times more likely to put on a favourite dress when happy (62%) than when depressed (6%).

Accessories can make a difference too. My study found that:

·      Twice as many women said they would wear a hat when happy than when depressed.

·      Five times as many women said they would wear their favourite shoes when happy (31%) than when depressed (6%).

It seems that ‘happy’ clothes - ones that make women feel good - are well-cut, figure enhancing, and made from bright and beautiful fabrics. The opposite of most jeans in fact.

Since clothes can exert an influence over our psychological processes pulling on a pair of jeans and a baggy top because you’re feeling a bit low could actually make you feel more depressed.  

So the recipe for happiness? 

Well, as we say in our behavioural change work, it helps to act the opposite of how you feel. To do something different. 

So if you're a bit blue, put on a happy dress!

How much cleavage should you flash at work?

Sarah Brummitt, image consultant.

Thanks to Sarah Brummitt (right) for airing the important issue of cleavage in a corporate environment.
I must admit, I've long been bewildered by the trend for boob-flashing at work. 
And now it seems that more mammaries equals less salaries.
Sarah, an image consultant and training and development consultant, keeps us abreast of this issue:

Last year, a survey commissioned in the UK suggested that women who display too much cleavage at work could end up sabotaging their careers. More than 3,000 managers found that almost half of bosses would overlook a woman for promotions if she regularly exposed her cleavage.

Is this fair? Or is it sexist nonsense? Is cleavage cool or crass at work?

I'm not a prude - and as a small chested woman I can appreciate a fabulous bosom as much as the most hot-blooded male...but.......a glorious cleavage in the office is just not on. It's a distraction to both men AND women - but for different reasons.

1. Men see it as a clear 'come on' sign OR, they are so embarrassed they don't know where to look.

2. Women can either be continually distracted (I know I am because one of my colleagues insists on regularly exposing her cleavage and I can't help but keep looking.......). The altenative female response is to elicit some good, old-fashioned, bitchy jealousy and loathing.

As an Image Coach, I'm all about personal brand - helping professionals create a perception by colleagues which conveys the real essence of them; their reputation; their unique expertise. 

Who on earth wants to be known as the girl that always has her baps on show? 

It's not right and it's not fair, but the reality of still working in a predominantly male-orientated work environment means that to succeed in business we need to be viewed as credible, professional and authoritative.

A woman can't do that if her boobs are out.

So, ladies please - a glorious bosom is for a date, a cocktail party, a social event. It's not for the office. So button up, put them away and create a focal point somewhere else. May I suggest the face instead?

Thanks Sarah - check her out on www.sarahbrummitt.com. Thank goodness the good old polo neck is coming back into fashion.

And remember, psychological research confirms that the image you portray may be at odds with the one you intended. 

You may think that a flash of cleavage is cool, alluring even. 

They may think you look like a lap-dancer. 

Think about it next time you dress for the office and keep in mind that less is probably more.

Why what you wear really matters

Looks a bit dodgy. Not my type. Seems friendly. Love at first sight. 

Just a few of the snap judgements we're prone to make about others.

On what basis?

Many people including psychologists think it's all to do with facial features (cue Roberta Flack singing The first time ever I saw your face). Symmetrical faces and wide-apart eyes are good, anger is a no-no. But my latest research has revealed that clothes makes a huge difference to these first impressions. And the upshot of it all is (you'll like this one)....clothes can be a really marvellous investment!

We carried out the research at the University of Hertfordshire in collaboration with Mathieson & Brooke Tailors. Over 300 adults (men and women) looked at images of a man and a woman for just 3 seconds before making 'snap judgements' about them. In some of the pictures the man wore a made-to-measure suit. In others he wore a very similar off-the-peg suit bought on the high street. In some pictures the woman wore a skirt suit and in others a trouser suit of the same colour and fabric.

After just a 3-second exposure people judged the man more favourably in the bespoke suit.
They rated him as more confident, successful, flexible and a higher earner than when he wore a high street equivalent. Similarly the woman received more positive ratings in a skirt suit than in a trouser suit. Since both models' faces in the pictures were blanked out these impressions must have been formed after quickly eyeing what they were wearing.

The bespoke suit on the left made a far more positive first impression that the high street suit on the right

Clothes say a great deal about who we are and can signal our social status to others. It even starts in childhood - one study found that teachers made assumptions about children's academic ability based on their clothing. And research has even hinted that women should dress more like men if they want to succeed. A study by Forsythe (1990) tested this using a mock interview for a management position. The more masculine the clothing worn by female applicants the greater the perception of their management potential. Fortunately, although it used a different methodology, my findings suggest the opposite. 
After just a 3 second exposure the female in the skirt suit received more positive ratings than in the trouser suit. 
It's reassuring that women can dress in more feminine ways and still be taken seriously.  Be careful about the plunging neckline or micro-skirt though, you can take things too far and other research shows provocative clothing is viewed as indicative of low professional status.

This woman made a more positive impression in the skirt than in the trouser suit.

Sartorial laziness is an easy habit to slip into. We may think that fashion is just profligate indulgence and our sunny personality will eclipse our dull attire or detract from the soup stains on our anorak. Untrue. What we wear speaks volumes in just a few seconds. Dressing to impress really is worthwhile and could even be the key to success. 

How do you do this in the current economic climate? In an earlier blog I gave some tips for the cash-strapped fashionista along with Style Psychologist Kate Nightingale. I also asked David Brooke of M&BT whether we could justify splashing out on bespoke tailoring. He said: 

“A made-to-measure suit is undoubtedly more expensive than some high street suits, but does not need to break the bank. In fact, an M&BT made-to-measure suit is always better quality and lasts far longer than off-the-peg suits. A bespoke, or made-to-measure suit, in light of this research, must be seen as an investment in your career and an essential ingredient to your personal success.”

As a clothes lover (and in the spirit of my new position as Professor of Fashion Psychology at the University of Bilgi, Istanbul) I naturally have to agree with David. Also, in our Do Something Different philosophy, shaking up your wardrobe and projecting a new outer image is a great way to start changing behaviour.

More fashion-related blogs coming this way soon...

You can download a summary of the research from the Psychology of Fashion page of my website