Take Off The T-Shirt And Put On Some Power

By Megan Patiry on February 27, 2014

Rich colors, fine pinstripes, French cufflinks and bold shoulders dominated the later part of the 1980′s Wall Street bankers’ outfits from within high-rise castles. Their custom details fit the bill when it came to the needs of the upper-level business class, and there was no rival to contend otherwise; the power suit was the embodiment of wealth and power.

“It wasn’t about fashion,” Sandy Powell, costume designer for the film “The Wolf of Wall Street”, said in a piece for the New York Times.  “It was about showing your money on your back.”

Although fashion on Wall Street has become a bit more reserved following the crash of 1987 and, subsequently, the financial crisis of 2008, one has to wonder what role the power suit played in the time of the wealthy investment banker – and the role it still plays in our lives today. When you have money falling out of your ears, what does it matter what you wear? How and why do we seem to achieve certain mental states through clothing? Well, it turns out research has determined that there is a link between the type of clothing we wear and our psychological state.

Many of us have heard of the phrase, “dress for success,” or even sang “as long as I’ve got my suit and tie,” along with Justin Timberlake. We’ve been instructed on the differences between business casual and business professional, and even when and where to apply both styles. Through implementing these styles, we effectively try to “set a mood” for the day or the occasion. Cognitive psychologists Hajo Adam and Adam Galinksy from Northwestern University coined a name for this phenomenon after studying the factual effects types of clothing have on our psychology: enclothed cognition. 

“We argue that just like physical experiences, the experience of wearing clothes triggers associated abstract concepts and their symbolic meanings,” the study highlighted. “In particular, we posit that wearing clothes causes people to ‘embody’ the clothing and its symbolic meaning.”

The study goes on to show how participants that were instructed to wear lab coats made around half as many errors on a designed test than those not wearing lab coats, suggesting that the traits associated with the lab coat (intelligence and competence) were being at least partly embodied by the participants.

This isn’t the only study on how individuals relate to clothing, however; one study showed that women who dressed in a masculine style were more likely to be hired, and another showed that formally-dressed therapists were perceived as having more expertise and that patients were more likely to return to them.

Photo by Jacob Sutton, courtesy of GQ.com

What does this mean for our wardrobes? It suggests that if we want to be perceived as authoritative and be taken seriously, we need a serious “power suit.” As mentioned before, the style has shifted to a more subtle form of the ’80s power suit, but its basics are still there, meaning you can (and should) still use them.

For Men

According to an article featured on GQ.com, two details label a suit and its wearer “powerful.”

“The stronger, more constructed shoulders and the low button stance (that shows more chest),” the article stated. “They combine to give you that broad, alpha-male V shape.” 

Along with these two keys, it is also recommended to invest in a double-breasted pinstriped suit, as it is still considered “… the most powerful of all power suits,” by GQ. Of course, if you’re going the more rebellious, business casual route of the power suit, they recommend the pinstriped suit, white collared dress-shirt and to then “screw the tie.”

For Women

Photo courtesy of anntaylor.com

The power suit for women is often less brazen than the men’s, and involves a heavier focus on color. According to color psychology, black is considered more authoritative, while white is perceived as softer, which is a fact women should keep in mind when choosing a suit. Remember that black may be too harsh for some skin tones, which makes navy blues or even dark greens adequate alternatives.

Today’s suits for women are also more feminized, with, according to Vogue, “the narrowest of shoulders, and shorter, tighter sleeves; they hit at the hipbone, not the upper thigh.”

For the Artists

Photographer at Milanese Fashion Week, photo courtesy of The Styleograph

This section isn’t just for artists, of course, but for what they represent. Some of us possibly don’t have jobs or a future corporate career that involves the need for the power suit. Take, for example, a photographer, writer, graphic designer and even some teachers; in these fields, a strong suit may come off as “too much” or arrogant rather than demanding of respect. In this case, it really depends upon your profession and whether you work for a small company or even for yourself.

Promise Tangeman, owner of the graphic design boutique Promise Tangeman Creative, talks in an article featured on photographer Jasmine Star’s blog on the importance of personal style.

“Take a step into your closet and evaluate what you like, what you buy, what you wear, and why. You may say that you don’t know what your style is, but give yourself some credit, you know more than you think. When you get dressed in the morning you are choosing a visual look to represent you.”

Promise’s look has been called eclectic and very trendy, but it does indeed fit in with her profession and her boutique’s brand, which makes it a great fit while setting her apart from the competition. She is seen in photos pairing dressy blazers, which give the vibe of professionalism, with funky, contrasting accessories such as feather earrings. In viewing her style and considering the fact that she designed her own business from the ground up, we can see that even developing a “personal” power suit proves beneficial.

The concept of the power suit is something that can be used in our daily lives to aid in boosting confidence or to assert a certain flair, whether it be that of a powerful business investor or of a more out-of-the-box designer style. Working our clothing to our advantage, dressing for who we want to be and incorporating it into our personal brand is just a step closer to looking out from atop our own personal high-rise.

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