The Power of Looking Good.

Today, as I was scrolling through Instagram, I came across this human who was dressed nicely, he looked smart, and for a minute I wondered if I ever met this person physically,  it would be a wow moment.

Most people associate this mesmeric moment with sexual attraction.  But this is only sometimes the case. Clothing is a language, it communicates the feelings, mental state, and thoughts of people.

Before anyone tells you, ‘you look good’ you should know it, make it your intention to look good, it’s not a crime. I understand for women, there may be sexist comments about how you look even though their intention is to compliment you. 

Research by Cognitive psychologists Hajo Adam and Adam Galinksy from Northwestern University suggests clothing influences behavior in multiple ways; our perception of ourselves, how others react to us,  and our confidence, this principle is called enclothed cognition—it depends on both the symbolic meaning and the physical experience of wearing the clothes. For example, a symbolic meaning of a man in a suit is business, financial success professionalism, or manners. When you wear a suit you will be perceived differently and feel different about yourself. 

Prof. Carolyn Mair Ph. D.a behavioral psychologist and author of The Psychology of Fashion said when we feel good in what we are wearing, we tend to be more confident.

“When we are confident, we are able to exert influence through our confidence alone. When we feel good, we are likely to be perceived as looking good too, as our posture, voice and other nonverbal aspects will be more positive,” said Mair. 

Wrong Perceptions about Looking Good

You are not just sexy, you are more than that.  Sexual attraction should not be the primary reason for one to look good. We have normalized the word ‘sexy’ but it relates to sex appeal, why should sexual appeal be the measure of one’s appearance? while we all have different sexual preferences and fantasies. There are many aspects about ourselves, if someone has a nice body, it does not mean we should associate it with sex. A person can appear powerful, energetic, positive, loving, friendly, educated, religious, etc. 

Some people are scared of this splendor of looking good, so they tone it down, they don’t wear their size, they don’t care about how they look, and they don’t want attention. It’s obvious when you look good, you face alot of compliments because you look your best, and you express the best of yourself. Most of the time how we dress reflects what we feel inside. It is a way of saying hello to the world. Don’t be shy of your own glory. Express the glory. It takes work to prepare a good outfit, but it takes more work to prepare yourself, and your soul for an opportunity that life throws at you. 

Some people wear glittering clothes all the time as if they are going to perform on stage. This tells something about their personality. How they feel about themselves. For example, A money documentary on Netflix shows how black musicians and athletes buy gold chains after getting money,  just to prove their worth in society. In the end, they end up bankrupt.  Don’t wear it to prove your worth, wear your worth. Your worth is not in the substance, your worth is your mindset, your self-beliefs, your abilities, and your ideals. This is why no matter how well you are dressed in an interview if you fail to answer the questions and express your worth to the company hiring,  you will not be selected.

There are people who don’t want to look good at all, they’ll be like ‘ that’s too much ‘ but in reality, it’s not. They prefer to be unnoticed.  You’ll find this kind of person shy, worrying too much about what people think. Clothes do not just cover, clothes are tools of expression and persuasion.  Queen Esther decide to face the king, even though it was against the law to go to the King without being summoned, In order to persuade the King and present her almost impossible request of freeing the Jews from the death sentence. She wore her royal robes and stood in front of the king’s hall, King Ahasuerus saw Esther and was pleased and later she had a chance to present her request. Im sure the view or the outlook of Esther made the King forget his own law. 

People perceive you just by what you’ve worn. They can tell what manner of a person you are, and where you are from and give you respect or allegiance just from what you’ve worn. Why don’t you take advantage of that?

Today, the media is over-emphasizing how today’s wealthy class wears simple clothes. But we need to question these pictures because we don’t know on what occasion Mark Zuckerberg wore those shorts, what does he do for a living? Maybe his line of work requires him to dress that way. Don’t copy music celebrities, their line of work is entertainment, and if you dress like an entertainer all the time, you will appear awkward.  Understand that at any level of your life, to look good is a simple act of self-care. It is writing your self-worth on a piece of paper. People can choose you just because of how you are dressed. 

There’s another wrong perception about looking good. Some people think you need to overexpose your body to look good. But people who overexpose their bodies tend not to be taken seriously.  This is according to the symbolic meaning associated with over-exposing your body, It might make you feel good but you can’t guarantee that people will perceive you the same way. For example, in a country like Iran, a woman who does not cover her head is perceived as a criminal but this particular woman she is definitely feeling good when does not clothe her head.

To look good has nothing to do with the trends,  to look good is the art of walking down the street, not a photocopy of what’s trending. Always look inside and express outside. Your looks are not simple as they sell shoes in the market. Once you wear something, you are telling the world something. 

Looking good makes room for you, but if you are empty inside,  lacking knowledge, skillsets, and manners, you’ll drop badly from where your looks took you. Therefore, power is how dressing well affects you and affects others. When you have substance and confidence in yourself and a good-looking outfit you can almost get what you want.