1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:09,559 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here with a classic episode from 3 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: our archives and from former host Christian Sager. This one 4 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 1: was inspired by a book Christian ran across about how 5 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: to dress for success. It got him wondering can power 6 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: dressing really make a difference socially or psychologically? Well, hello there, 7 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, I'm Christian Sager, and I've got a question 8 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: for you. Do I look powerful? Well? I know you 9 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,319 Speaker 1: can't see me right now, but I feel powerful. Some 10 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:39,879 Speaker 1: people even think that what you wear can produce this 11 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,400 Speaker 1: kind of confidence. And who doesn't want to feel good 12 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:47,199 Speaker 1: about themselves? So what is this power dressing and does 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:49,920 Speaker 1: it actually work? Well? To answer that question, we have 14 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,159 Speaker 1: to take a trip to the smooth nineties seventies, when 15 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: a guy named John Malloy came out with a series 16 00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: of books about dressing for success. He gribed a uniform 17 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: of sorts for both men and women that would help 18 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:09,040 Speaker 1: them achieve greatness in business professions. For men, Malloy recommended 19 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: conservative business attire that was high quality and fit well. 20 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,840 Speaker 1: Essentially a business suit in a dark hue with a 21 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: modest white shirt and a tie. Think don draper for women, 22 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 1: He adapted this uniform to include a skirted suit and 23 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:30,680 Speaker 1: a soft blouse with floppy or bode neck pieces think 24 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: Margaret Thatcher. In order to achieve the kind of authority 25 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 1: of the Iron Lady, Malloy recommended women do two things. 26 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: Don't look like a secretary and don't look too sexy. 27 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: You couldn't wear waistcoats or contour jackets because they drew 28 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: attention to the bust. Scarves were popular because they drew 29 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 1: attention to the face and away from the breasts, and 30 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: floral prints and feminine colors like salmon pink were out. 31 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:00,280 Speaker 1: But you didn't want to look too masculine either, hence 32 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:04,440 Speaker 1: the skirts instead of trousers. This was the birth of 33 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 1: power dressing, and by the nineteen eighties it became the 34 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,800 Speaker 1: way enterprising women learned to manage or limit the potential 35 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:15,520 Speaker 1: sexuality of their bodies and leave all that gross girl 36 00:02:15,639 --> 00:02:19,640 Speaker 1: stuff like cooties at home. But as they entered the 37 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: corporate workforce in ever greater numbers, some women wanted to 38 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: modify this uniform while maintaining their professional appearance. One alternative 39 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:31,239 Speaker 1: model for breaking out of these fashion limitations was Princess 40 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: Diana with her more glamorous outfits. Others were on TV 41 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: and shows like Dynasty, Designing Women and Moonlighting enter broad 42 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: shoulder pads, wide lapels, and a wider range of textures, colors, 43 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 1: and accessories. Cut to the present day. Now, most of 44 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 1: these fashion fads have come and gone, but you can 45 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: still see their influence on politicians. For example, take Hillary 46 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 1: Clinton or Donald Trump. Many of the tenants of power 47 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: dressing are still in play today. We just don't call 48 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: it that anymore. But a study re examined the principles 49 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:11,079 Speaker 1: behind power dressing. It found that putting on formal clothing 50 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:15,079 Speaker 1: does indeed make us feel powerful and even makes us 51 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,120 Speaker 1: think differently. The authors of this study tested student participants 52 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: in a series of experiments by rating their outfits and 53 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: taking cognitive tests. When the students switched out of sweatpants 54 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: and into the kind of clothing they thought they should 55 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 1: wear to a job interview, the tests showed their cognitive 56 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: processing became more abstract, broader, and holistic. The authors also 57 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,400 Speaker 1: say that how often you actually wear formal clothes doesn't 58 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: matter regardless of when you wear it. These uniforms have 59 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: become a symbol of power. There have been other studies 60 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: into how clothing affects our cognition too. For instance, when 61 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 1: people wear white doctor's coats, they become more attentive, but 62 00:03:56,520 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 1: this effect doesn't happen when they think it belongs to 63 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: a painter. Today's episode was written by Christian and produced 64 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of 65 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: other powerful topics, visit how stuff works dot com. Brain 66 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: Stuff is production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts 67 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:17,039 Speaker 1: from my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app. Apple 68 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 1: podcasts are wherever you listen to your favorite shows.