1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:08,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Well, Hello, 2 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:11,600 Speaker 1: their brain Stuff. I'm Christian Sager, and I've got a 3 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:15,200 Speaker 1: question for you. Do I look powerful? Well? I know 4 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: you can't see me right now, but I feel powerful. 5 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:20,599 Speaker 1: Some people even think that what you wear can produce 6 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:24,080 Speaker 1: this kind of confidence. And who doesn't want to feel 7 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 1: good about themselves? So what is this power dressing and 8 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:30,680 Speaker 1: does it actually work? Well? To answer that question, we 9 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:33,839 Speaker 1: have to take a trip to the smooth nineteen seventies 10 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:36,919 Speaker 1: when a guy named John Malloy came out with a 11 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: series of books about dressing for success. He prescribed a 12 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 1: uniform of sorts for both men and women that would 13 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: help them achieve greatness in business professions. For men, Malloy 14 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: recommended conservative business attire that was high quality and fit well. 15 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:57,760 Speaker 1: Essentially a business suit in a dark hue with a 16 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:02,440 Speaker 1: modest white shirt and a top think Don Draper. For women, 17 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: he adapted this uniform to include a skirted suit and 18 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:11,559 Speaker 1: a soft blouse with floppy or bode neck pieces think 19 00:01:11,760 --> 00:01:15,320 Speaker 1: Margaret Thatcher. In order to achieve the kind of authority 20 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: of the Iron Lady, Malloy recommended women do two things. 21 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:23,480 Speaker 1: Don't look like a secretary and don't look too sexy. 22 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:27,199 Speaker 1: You couldn't wear waistcoats or contour jackets because they drew 23 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,760 Speaker 1: attention to the bust. Scarves were popular because they drew 24 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 1: attention to the face and away from the breasts, and 25 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: floral prints and feminine colors like salmon pink were out. 26 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: But you didn't want to look too masculine either, hence 27 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:45,320 Speaker 1: the skirts instead of trousers. This was the birth of 28 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 1: power dressing, and by the nineteen eighties it became the 29 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: way enterprising women learned to manage or limit the potential 30 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,400 Speaker 1: sexuality of their bodies and leave all that gross girl 31 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: stuff like cooties at home. But as they entered the 32 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: corporate workforce in ever greater numbers, some women wanted to 33 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: modify this uniform while maintaining their professional appearance. One alternative 34 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: model for breaking out of these fashion limitations was Princess 35 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: Diana with her more glamorous outfits. Others were on TV 36 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: and shows like Dynasty, Designing Women and Moonlighting enter broad 37 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: shoulder pads, wide lapels, and a wider range of textures, 38 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: colors and accessories. Cut to the present day, now, most 39 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: of these fashion fads have come and gone, but you 40 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:35,800 Speaker 1: can still see their influence on politicians. For example, take 41 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Many of the tenets of 42 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,080 Speaker 1: power dressing are still in play today. We just don't 43 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:47,519 Speaker 1: call it that anymore. But a fifteen study re examined 44 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: the principles behind power dressing. It found that putting on 45 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: formal clothing does indeed make us feel powerful and even 46 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: makes us think differently. The authors of this study tested 47 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:02,399 Speaker 1: student participants in a series of experiments by rating their 48 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:06,519 Speaker 1: outfits and taking cognitive tests. When the students switched out 49 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: of sweatpants and into the kind of clothing they thought 50 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 1: they should wear to a job interview, the tests showed 51 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:18,360 Speaker 1: their cognitive processing became more abstract, broader, and holistic. The 52 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: authors also say that how often you actually wear formal 53 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: clothes doesn't matter, regardless of when you wear it, these 54 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 1: uniforms have become a symbol of power. There have been 55 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:32,679 Speaker 1: other studies into how clothing affects our cognition too. For instance, 56 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: when people wear white doctor's coats, they become more attentive, 57 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: but this effect doesn't happen when they think it belongs 58 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: to a painter. Check out the brain stuff channel on 59 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: YouTube and for more on this and thousands of other topics, 60 00:03:51,720 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: visit how stuff works dot com.