WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Does 'Power Dressing' Actually Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here with a classic episode from

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<v Speaker 1>our archives and from former host Christian Sager. This one

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<v Speaker 1>was inspired by a book Christian ran across about how

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<v Speaker 1>to dress for success. It got him wondering can power

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<v Speaker 1>dressing really make a difference socially or psychologically? Well, hello there,

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, I'm Christian Sager, and I've got a question

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<v Speaker 1>for you. Do I look powerful? Well? I know you

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<v Speaker 1>can't see me right now, but I feel powerful. Some

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<v Speaker 1>people even think that what you wear can produce this

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<v Speaker 1>kind of confidence. And who doesn't want to feel good

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<v Speaker 1>about themselves? So what is this power dressing and does

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<v Speaker 1>it actually work? Well? To answer that question, we have

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<v Speaker 1>to take a trip to the smooth nineties seventies, when

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<v Speaker 1>a guy named John Malloy came out with a series

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<v Speaker 1>of books about dressing for success. He gribed a uniform

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<v Speaker 1>of sorts for both men and women that would help

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<v Speaker 1>them achieve greatness in business professions. For men, Malloy recommended

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<v Speaker 1>conservative business attire that was high quality and fit well.

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<v Speaker 1>Essentially a business suit in a dark hue with a

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<v Speaker 1>modest white shirt and a tie. Think don draper for women,

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<v Speaker 1>He adapted this uniform to include a skirted suit and

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<v Speaker 1>a soft blouse with floppy or bode neck pieces think

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<v Speaker 1>Margaret Thatcher. In order to achieve the kind of authority

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<v Speaker 1>of the Iron Lady, Malloy recommended women do two things.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't look like a secretary and don't look too sexy.

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<v Speaker 1>You couldn't wear waistcoats or contour jackets because they drew

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<v Speaker 1>attention to the bust. Scarves were popular because they drew

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<v Speaker 1>attention to the face and away from the breasts, and

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<v Speaker 1>floral prints and feminine colors like salmon pink were out.

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<v Speaker 1>But you didn't want to look too masculine either, hence

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<v Speaker 1>the skirts instead of trousers. This was the birth of

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<v Speaker 1>power dressing, and by the nineteen eighties it became the

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<v Speaker 1>way enterprising women learned to manage or limit the potential

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<v Speaker 1>sexuality of their bodies and leave all that gross girl

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<v Speaker 1>stuff like cooties at home. But as they entered the

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<v Speaker 1>corporate workforce in ever greater numbers, some women wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>modify this uniform while maintaining their professional appearance. One alternative

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<v Speaker 1>model for breaking out of these fashion limitations was Princess

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<v Speaker 1>Diana with her more glamorous outfits. Others were on TV

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<v Speaker 1>and shows like Dynasty, Designing Women and Moonlighting enter broad

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<v Speaker 1>shoulder pads, wide lapels, and a wider range of textures, colors,

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<v Speaker 1>and accessories. Cut to the present day. Now, most of

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<v Speaker 1>these fashion fads have come and gone, but you can

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<v Speaker 1>still see their influence on politicians. For example, take Hillary

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<v Speaker 1>Clinton or Donald Trump. Many of the tenants of power

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<v Speaker 1>dressing are still in play today. We just don't call

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<v Speaker 1>it that anymore. But a study re examined the principles

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<v Speaker 1>behind power dressing. It found that putting on formal clothing

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<v Speaker 1>does indeed make us feel powerful and even makes us

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<v Speaker 1>think differently. The authors of this study tested student participants

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<v Speaker 1>in a series of experiments by rating their outfits and

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<v Speaker 1>taking cognitive tests. When the students switched out of sweatpants

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<v Speaker 1>and into the kind of clothing they thought they should

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<v Speaker 1>wear to a job interview, the tests showed their cognitive

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<v Speaker 1>processing became more abstract, broader, and holistic. The authors also

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<v Speaker 1>say that how often you actually wear formal clothes doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>matter regardless of when you wear it. These uniforms have

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<v Speaker 1>become a symbol of power. There have been other studies

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<v Speaker 1>into how clothing affects our cognition too. For instance, when

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<v Speaker 1>people wear white doctor's coats, they become more attentive, but

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<v Speaker 1>this effect doesn't happen when they think it belongs to

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<v Speaker 1>a painter. Today's episode was written by Christian and produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of

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<v Speaker 1>other powerful topics, visit how stuff works dot com. Brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app. Apple

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