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What Your Clothes Say About You Men

Lin — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 11:00:13 +0000

Men and teenage boys, what do your clothes say about you? The article What Your Clothes Say About You: You Are What You Wear discussed what the clothes women wear says about teenage girls and women, but there is a need to discuss mens clothes and the clothing styles men and boys choose to wear and how society in general views you as a person by what you wear and how you groom yourself.

Just like with women and girls, society does judge you by the clothes you wear. Good or bad first impressions are immediately made about you based solely on the clothes you wear and your personal grooming habits, providing important information about you as a person and your attitude toward yourself and your relationships with others; the importance you place on your work or employment; your approximate education level; your income or social status; your level of self-esteem and morals.

Regardless of the fashion trends you personally find appealing, fashionable and appropriate for your age and personality, clothes do say a lot about you! Ask yourself, “what does my clothing, hairstyle and grooming habits say to those around me? What message am I sending to others I come in contact with? Do my clothes and grooming reveal an attitude of indifference or a sense of responsibility, respect or of disrespect, of carelessness (sloppy dressers are often viewed as a careless person) or of dependability, of honesty or of dishonesty?”

Carefully consider the pictures below of men and teenage boys wearing various clothing styles and ask yourself, Who would be judged the most rebellious? Who doesn’t care about his appearance? Who is the most educated or wealthiest? Who would you not want your daughter or sister to bring home to introduce as her new boyfriend? Who presents themselves as trustworthy, respectable, responsible and hardworking? Who is more likely to be taken seriously and hired by a company looking for a qualified, respectable, trustworthy, likeable person to represent their company with customers? Who is the attention seeker?

What is it about each person that gives you an immediate impression of who they are and what they’re about, since you’ve never met any of them? Just because you have the freedom to choose the clothes you wear doesn’t take away from the fact that what you wear announces loud and clear what your attitude is about yourself and others around you, what is on your mind and whether you have honorable intentions or not. What you wear and how you groom yourself is a mirror-like reflection of who you are as a person inside, otherwise you wouldn’t wear the clothes and hairstyles you choose to wear. What do YOUR clothes and grooming say about you as a person?

You’re likely familiar with societal labels placed on men and women because of the clothes they wear. Some labels include terms like: trendy, emo, gangster, skank, preppy, ghetto, hip-hop, goth, urban, skater and many more. Take a moment to watch this brief and interesting video interview of young men and women talking about clothes men and women wear and how others view them because of their choice of attire and see if you agree or disagree, or at least understand why they feel the way they do.

The point is that your clothes and grooming habits are critical. Your wardrobe sends a clear message to others, that may well determine your chances of being hired for a job, especially when applying in person. Your clothes can change the personal and professional attention you receive, the kind of people you attract as friends, and even the kind of dates you attract. Whatever bait you use determines the type of fish you’ll catch.

If you are meeting a potential date or the family of your significant other, the clothes you wear and how you groom yourself may very well determine if you will be invited back even before you have a chance to speak. Consciously choose clothing, hairstyles and grooming that shows your true personality and authentic self, without having to say a single word.

Remember, you want your clothes to portray you in the most positive light possible, so select appropriate attire with your personal and professional goals in mind. Dressing for the job you want, not the job you have is critical when seeking to dress to impress a potential employer during a job interview.

Your attire should be noticed as being appropriate and well fitting, but it should not take center stage. Be aware that in some industries, customer contact and image presented to the customer is critical. In such industries, your attire will be judged more critically.

Wear appropriate mens clothing that best shows your interests, personality, and individuality instead of wearing clothing that may promote unnecessary and misleading perceptions about who you really are. Don’t simply focus on current fashion trends and styles of the moment, but shop at stores that project the true image you want to send to those you come in contact with.

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You Are What You Wear: What Your Clothes Say About You

Lin — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:30:23 +0000

What do your clothes say about you? When you walk down the street or are out in public, what kind of attention are you attracting? Do people smile, stare, point at you and laugh, look away, or simply ignore you altogether? Like it or not, people judge a book by its cover. While it may not seem fair that people develop an immediate impression of who you are simply by the clothes you wear, it’s still true that your clothes tell a story about your personality and how you are likely to be perceived by others.

With current fashion trends as they are, it seems that modesty and dressing appropriately has gone right out the window, replaced by the shortest, tightest, most revealing clothes women and tween-teen girls can find. Astonishingly plunging necklines, crop tops, mini or micro mini-skirts, short-shorts (or daisy dukes), and other provocative clothing styles that leave little to the imagination. The clothes you choose to wear on a daily basis provides important information about you as a person, your approximate education level, your income or social status, and even your level of self-esteem. What story is your clothes telling about you? (Men, What do your clothes say about you too?)

A recent telephone conversation with my 23 year-old daughter really drove home the point about girls and young women thinking they are being fashion conscious, but are really missing the mark. It seems my daughter has been trying to help a friend of hers understand why men have been treating the friend disrespectfully, from catcalls to sexual propositions, and how her provocative style of dress just might have something to do with it. This friend also seems to be surprised by the negative reaction she gets from female peers, and struggles to understand why she has lost friendships since “becoming fashionable”.

When women dress in a skimpy, seductive style of dress akin to a street corner hooker, they shouldn’t be too surprised when men treat them with less respect and dignity than a woman dressed more modestly. You teach people how to treat you. “Is what you wear who you are?” While it may be true that what you wear doesn’t define you as a person, what you wear is a reflection of who you are, so choose wisely. Before you choose your outfit for the day, it’s important to think carefully about how you want other people to view you and interpret your personality and intentions.

There are many clothing personality styles out there to choose from, from sloppy dressers (“I don’t care about my appearance”) to expensive designer styles, but the skimpy dressers who opt to wear the most inappropriate, skanky looking outfits that exude a poor self-image is truly alarming. Individuals may look at these wild, scandalous, “fashionable” outfits as a sign that you may have less than honorable intentions, rather than thinking you have a great sense of style.

Whatever bait you use determines the type of fish you’ll catch. Having your ass-sets hanging out, your padded-bra enhanced “cleavage” falling out of your revealing top, boys and men are not going to be thinking about what a nice personality you might have. They are much more likely to have thoughts of wanting to “hit that” at the first opportunity possible. Is that really what you want? What you wear is a reflection of who you are as a person. Wear clothes that show your individuality, interests and real personality instead of wearing clothes that may illicit obscene and unnecessary misconceptions about you.

Even very young girls are being targeted to dress seductively and inappropriately, believed by many to be fueled by pop music stars, television and movies, teen magazines and clothing manufacturers. Personally, I blame the parents for buying these clothes for their young children and teens, or allowing them to be accepted as gifts from others.

The sexualizing of children, both girls and boys, has been going on for many years now. As soon as children’s television became deregulated in 1984, marketers have been treating children as fair game for the almighty dollar. This new group of consumers are being targeted with lines of toys, clothing and other products with sexual content, imagery and violence. Children and parents are falling for these marketing tactics hook, line and sinker. I’ll have more to say on the sexualization of children in an upcoming article.

So Sexy, So Soon: The Sexualization of Childhood in Commercial Culture
Men, What Your Clothes Say About You

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