Have you ever heard of a term called, Enclothed Cognition? Yes, it’s a real thing, backed by scientific data. It suggests that clothing impacts our cognitive process and how we think; What we wear actually changes our thought patterns!
Judgement is a very real part of human behavior- it just is. People make a decision about you within the first 8 seconds of meeting you. Their decision is influenced by your handshake, your body language and your clothes. Think about it for a moment; If you see a woman carrying a designer handbag you assume, either consciously or not, she is living comfortably. You may not even be aware of it in the moment, but your mind goes there. You likely wouldn’t assume it could have been a gift, or that she could be in debt because of the purchase- It’s just not your first thought.
Your fashion choices do not only impact others‘ decisions about you, they also impact your own decisions about yourself. Colors, especially, have a big influence. How often have you heard, “Yellow is such a happy color!” It’s because happiness and optimism is what yellow represents. Red is the color of power and so on.
Now knowing all of this, is your style truly aligned with your being? Do you judge someone based on their clothing choices? Data says you do.
