What went through your mind when you opened your wardrobe this morning? Did you pick your outfit for an important meeting, lunch with friends, the gym, maybe a date? What you chose almost certainly affected how you approached and interacted with the world today. What if what you wore could even affect the outcome of an interview, exam result or an important business decision? Researchers at Northwestern University studying the phenomenon of enclothed cognition found that people show heightened attention to tasks when attired accordingly (participants in white lab coats that they believed belonged to a doctor made half as many errors in tests as their peers). “The clothes we wear have power not only over others, but also over ourselves,” notes researcher Dr. Adam Galinsky, “there seems to be something special about the physical experience of wearing a piece of clothing.” This means that our clothes are not simply a visual expression of how we want to present ourselves to the world that day - our social armour - but a way of enhancing our cognitive processes. Our clothes have power.
If clothes can affect body and brain, altering our psychological states, as well as the opinions of those whom we encounter, traditional power dressing takes on a whole new meaning. “Let's not forget why people spend time thinking about what they're going to wear,” said Business of Fashion founder Imran Amed in a debate with AFR Magazine’s Marion Hume, “it's because clothes are the most democratic form of self-expression, one that almost every human being has. We can't lose that.” How we perceive what we wear is crucially important and therefore allows us to do away with outdated notions of power dressing – matching suits, dark colours and concealing silhouettes, in short, dressing like men - in favour of a modern approach that makes us feel a whole lot more authentic, and without a shoulder pad in sight. “I think power dressing is feeling comfort, both physical and mental, and also self-expression,” says Yara Flinn, self-confessed utilitarian tomboy and designer of minimalist New York label Nomia. “I have always been fascinated with clothing as a visual and sociological form of communication, I think women should wear clothing that represents their personality and not worry about how it might come across to others. I think the more genuine you feel, the more confidence you exude.”
Women in the public eye are particularly astute when it comes to picking the right outfit for the occasion, whether the red carpet, a talk show or press tour. Michelle Obama’s eye-catching jewel tones, feminine dresses and statement accessories help her identify with her audience, from a graphic floral dress courtesy of South American designer Carolina Herrera on the first family’s seminal trip to Cuba, to the marigold Narciso Rodriguez shift she wore to President Obama’s final State of the Union address, which not only shone like a ray of sunlight in a sea of dark suits but sold out before the end of the speech. It’s a move that speaks volumes about Obama’s confidence, purpose and style, and in that moment a yellow dress wielded the strength of a dozen clichéd pinstriped suits. She’s helped generations of women reject the notion that the clothes we wear in serious settings should hide womanly curves or minimise individuality. “I think I struggled a lot when I worked in an office to feel ‘office appropriate’ and still maintain a sense of personal style, which is what I strive to balance with Nomia,” says Flinn. “I am aware of the office atmosphere, but I aim to create clothing that can live both inside and outside an office.” A wardrobe without arbitrary divisions might just be the true barometer of personal style.
And when the subtle messages our clothes exude need a little more punch, we can always turn to the slogan. Actress Lena Dunham has made no secret of her support for Hillary Clinton in the current Presidential race, publishing an interview with Clinton in Lenny Letter, and joining the Clinton campaign trail in Iowa to address voters directly. All while wearing a series of red-white-and-blue dresses, denim jackets and sweaters emblazoned with Clinton’s name, which wouldn’t look out of place in the Marc Jacobs Americana-inspired spring/summer 2016 collection. Curated by Dunham’s stylist Shirley Kurata, the custom-made pieces have the effect of visually aligning Dunham with Clinton in the minds of a demographic more likely to scroll Instagram for their politics, as well as maintaining Dunham’s quirky-cool feminist influence on current affairs. "I was never going to see the change I wanted to if I were half-hearted about showing up to the polls and half-hearted about saying what I believed in," said Dunham. The truth is that Dunham’s fans, including her 2.5million Instagram followers, may not recall her exact words in support of Clinton that day, but they will certainly remember her outfit.
