The other day I was working out of a coffee shop, and a sixty-something woman, dressed to the nines in a silk blouse, tailored pants, and black heels, sat at the table next to me talking to her friend.
“I don’t get young people, today,” she said. “They’re always dressed for yoga, but none of them are ever at the gym.”
“I know,” said her friend. “There’s this brand called Lululemon. Apparently it’s “in.””
I sunk into my chair, hoping they wouldn’t turn around and notice me dressed head to toe in athletic apparel. To be fair, I was heading in to teach a yoga class, but often, even when I’m not, I’ll leave the house to work for the morning sporting workout gear.
“When did dressing up go out of style?” the woman asked.
I thought about her point after I left.
When yogawear became “in” did workwear “go out”? And has this affected us?
Is it, or is it not, important to dress to impress?
Scientifically, how we dress affects how we feel. According to the Journal of Experimental Psychology, subjects who dressed up for work preformed better on cognitive tests, had more negotiating power, and made less mistakes on tests related to attention span.
In my own personal life, I’ve felt these effects to be true as well. As crazy as it seems, I often shower, do my hair and make-up, and get all ready to teach fitness classes even though I know within the first fifteen minutes I’ll be drenched in sweat. Why? Because I feel really confident walking into the class when I’m put together and I know I’ll teach a better class and have more energy to give to the room if I feel polished.
I also talked in this blog post here about how changing up my wardrobe and acting like a successful author, changed the way I wrote. Had I not done that, I don’t think Waiting at Hayden’s would have been published this year.
So when you’re thinking about getting dressed for work in the morning—either when heading to the office or your kitchen table—consider dressing up. I’m currently loving these work skirts here:
Leave a Reply