Task 1.

a) Read the text and answer the questions

 What is the main idea of the article?

 How significant is clothes in our life?
 What can the wardrobe say about you?
 How do people decide what to wear on a date?
 Why does the author find the results of psychological surveys about fashion
surprising?
 How did the purpose of clothes change throughout history?
 How do you understand the words of the English writer William Hazlitt: Those
who make their dress a principal part of themselves, will, in general, become of no
more value than their dress?

Fashion Psychology: What clothes say about you

The psychology driving our clothing choices and how fashion affects your
dating prospects.

avid (adj) – extremely eager or interested

peer (n) – a person who is the same age or has the same social position or the same abilities as
other people in a group
display (v) – to show words, pictures, etc. on a screen
convey (v) – to express a thought, feeling, or idea so that it is understood by other people
array (n) – a large group of things or people, esp. when shown or positioned in an attractive way
perceive (v) – to notice something or someone by using sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell
subtle (adj) – not loud, bright, noticeable, or obvious in any way
lid (n) – a cover on a container, that can be lifted up or removed
regardless (of) (adv) – despite; not being affected by something
unconscious (adj) – An unconscious thought or feeling is one that you do not know you have
influential (adj) – having a lot of influence on someone or something
advancement (n) – the development or improvement of something
reduce/ing (v) – to become or to make something become smaller in size, amount, degree, importance, etc.
asset (n) – a useful or valuable quality, skill, or person
exude (v) – to have a lot of a particular quality or feeling
embody (v) – to represent a quality or an idea exactly
vividly (adv) – very brightly (coloured)
recession (n) – a period when the economy of the country is not successful and the conditions for business
are bad
austere (adj) – very simple, with only the things that are absolutely necessary, especially because of
severe limits on money or goods
hemline (n) – the length of a skirt or dress, or the lower edge of a skirt or dress
mate (adj/v/n) selection – to have sex and produce young, or to make animals do this
vibrant (adj) – energetic, exciting, and full of enthusiasm
covert (adj) – hidden or secret
conversely (adv) – in an opposite way
adage (n) – a wise saying or proverb
deceive (v)/deception (n) – to persuade someone that something false is the truth, or to keep the truth
hidden from someone for your own advantage/ the act of hiding the truth, especially to get an advantage
exaggerate/ing (v) – to make something seem larger, more important, better, or worse than it really is
garment (n) – a piece of clothing
posture (n) – the way in which someone usually holds their shoulders, neck, and back, or a particular
position in which someone stands, sits, etc.
intrinsically (adv) – in a way that is an extremely important and basic characteristic of a person or thing
sole (adj) – being one only; single
determinant (n) – something that controls or affects what happens in a particular situation
caution (v) – to warn someone

You needn't be an avid fashionista, nor a London Fashion Week regular, to be

aware of how important our dress sense is to our reputations in the 21st Century. The
clothes we wear send powerful signals to our peers and strangers, projecting the self-
image of us that we want to display.
Yet, how many of us truly understand the psychology of how people in the street
or office interpret our wardrobe choices, and how this impression might differ to the
one that we believe we're conveying to them?
 An array of psychological surveys has revealed the true impact of clothing
choices on the way in which we perceive and judge each other, with experiments
showing some surprising results. They even reveal how subtle varieties in dress sense
can affect our ability to attract a partner whilst we are dating.

Defying stereotypes
Against the gender stereotype of females being more fashion-aware and
conscious of others' clothes and makeup efforts than males, studies have also lifted
the lid on men's insecurities with regards to clothes.
Contrary to commonly held beliefs, men have been shown to be often more self-
conscious than females with regards to their personal dress sense and the way in
which they are viewed in public (Solomon and Schopler, 1982).1
Therefore, we need to understand the significance of clothing choices regardless
of our gender. Whether you are male or female, your fashion choices can affect both
your self-image, the impression that you convey to others and in turn, the way in
which people behave towards you. They can influence everything from the outcome
of a sports match (Hill and Barton, 2005) to an interviewer's impression of your
ability to perform effectively in a job position (Forsythe, 2006).23
In this article, we look at the effect that our fashion choices today can have
on our lives, and how our unconscious clothing choices are interpreted by those
around us.

Why clothes matter: what your wardrobe says about you

Clothes have not always been as influential a 'tell' of our personalities as they are
today. Only as a result of technical advancements over centuries have
fashion choices become significant.
Where in early civilizations, the key purpose of clothing was to keep us warm
and relatively dry, today, central heating warms our homes, reducing our dependence
on clothes alone to help us to survive. Clothes have developed from a practical asset
to a social marker: they affect the way we see ourselves. They help us to be seen in
the light that we wish to be, and also exude our personalities and social status.
In many societies, dress sense embodies personal wealth and taste. For
example, Economist George Taylor demonstrated this most vividly with the Hemline
Index (Taylor, 1926).4 Taylor noted that as a country enters recession and adopts
austere spending habits, women often show a preference towards longer dresses,
whilst during times of prosperity, the opposite result can be seen - hemlines often
become shorter.
A second key influence on our dress sense is a result of millions of years of
development as a species. As with many animals, the concept of mate selection in
evolutionary psychology suggests that our behavior is determined by our efforts to
find a mate and to reproduce.
Signaling in animals: 'honest signals' such as
this male peacock displaying his
colorful covert feathers to attract a female
partner.
According to signaling theory, a male
peacock will display his vibrant fan of covert feathers in a ritual to attract a female
with whom to mate. Such rituals vary from species to species, but in humans, our
ability to create and wear clothes gives us an equivalent advantage in being able to
distinguish ourselves from a crowd and demonstrate our individuality in an effort to
find a mate. Conversely, too, we might use clothing to merge into a crowd and hide
our individuality by dressing in a uniform.

Dressing to Impress?
Aside from the adage of "dressing to impress" what do we know about the
psychology of clothing choices in relation to dating?
 Firstly, let's consider the idea of how we seek to 'impress' potential partners. A
study by Joseph Benz at the University of Nebraska surveyed more than 90 men and
women with regards to the way in which they deceive potential partners whilst on
dates. The researchers found that both genders tend to use deception when dating but
for different purposes.
Males were found to try to impress their dates by emphasizing the security that
they could offer the partner - for example, by exaggerating their financial position or
by trying to demonstrate a preparedness to commit. Women, however, were deceptive
with regards to their body image, exaggerating physical features in an effort to appear
more attractive to their date (Benz et al, 2005).5
In both cases, clothing may play a part in this dating ritual of deception.
Another factor in our clothing choices is the way in which males and females
perceive and interpret different colors.
In one experiment, researchers photographed people in different colored clothes
and then asked participants to rate the attractiveness of people in the resulting photos.
They found that the color of clothing affects the way in which men rate both males'
and females' attractiveness, and how women rate men's attractiveness. Interestingly
however, clothing color did not influence women's judgement of other females
(Roberts et al, 2000).6
This brings us to the question: which colors are viewed as attractive?
Roberts and his fellow researchers found that red clothes would tend to lead
participants to rate subjects more favorably in terms of attractiveness compared to
when they wore clothes of other colors.
This result might explain the findings of a study which found that, when
waitresses wore different colored t-shirts whilst serving in a restaurant, men would
tend to leave higher tips for those wearing red tops than those with t-shirts of other
colors. However, shirt color had no effect on the tips left by female customers
(Guéguen and Jacob, 2010).7
 Of course, the color of garments is far from the only factor used in judging a
person based on clothing.
Timothy Brown and his fellow researchers of the Department of Psychology at
Old Dominion University looked at the effect of clothing on college students'
judgement of both people's attractiveness and masculinity or femininity.
Brown found that in both genders, posture and the way in which people moved
influenced perceptions of their masculinity or femininity, which was intrinsically
linked to their judgement of their attractiveness.
Specifically in males, tight-fitting clothes as opposed helped lead to perceptions
of increased masculinity over those who wore baggy garments (Brown et al, 1986).8
Naturally, many of the findings from research into the psychology of fashion and
clothing choices are subject to the cultural values of the society in which a person
lives. Cultural differences in the interpretation of color, for example, mean that red
may be perceived to have different qualities to those valued by participants in
Guéguen and Jacob's waitress experiment, depending on the country a restaurant is
situated in.
We should also note that the superficiality of clothing choices is rarely the sole
determinant of how people are perceived: Brown's study into clothing and
attractiveness demonstrated the influence of body language in addition to clothing
choices. And for those of us with limited fashion sense, as the English writer William
Hazlitt cautioned, "Those who make their dress a principal part of themselves, will, in
general, become of no more value than their dress".

https://www.psychologistworld.com/body-language/psychology-of-clothing-dating-dress
References

1. Solomon, M.R. and Schopler, J. (1982). Self-Consciousness and Clothing. Personality and
Social Psychology Bulletin. 8(3). 508-514.
2. Hill, R.A. and Barton, R.A. (2005). Psychology: red enhances human performance in
contests. Nature. 435(7040). 293.
3. Forsythe, S.M. (1990). Effect of Applicant's Clothing on Interviews' Decision to
Hire. Journal of Applied Psychology. 20(19). 1579-1595.
4. Taylor, G. (1926).
5. Benz, J.J., Anderson, M.K., Miller, R.L. (2005). Attributions of Deception in Dating
Situations. The Psychological Record. 55. 305-314.
6. Roberts, S.C., Owen, R.C. and Havlicek, J. (2010). Distinguishing between perceiver and
wearer effects in clothing color-associated attributions. Evolutionary Psychology. 8(3). 350-
364.
7. Guéguen, N and Jacob, C. (2010). Clothing Color and Tipping. Journal of Hospitality and
Tourism. 38(2). 275-280.
8. Brown, T.A., Cash, T.F. and Noles, S.W. (1986). Perceptions of Physical Attractiveness
Among College Students: Selected Determinants and Methodological Matters. Journal of
Social Psychology. 126(3). 305-316.

b) Find the synonyms to the following words

avid _______________________________________________
convey _____________________________________________
array _______________________________________________
subtle ______________________________________________
regardless ___________________________________________
reduce______________________________________________
asset _______________________________________________
exude ______________________________________________
embody ____________________________________________
vividly _____________________________________________
covert ______________________________________________
adage ______________________________________________
garment ____________________________________________
sole ________________________________________________
caution _____________________________________________

Task 2. Answer the questions

1. Do you think looks are important in order to be successful? Why?

2. What kind of outfit do you usually wear to work? Are you in favour of
companies having a dress code? Why?
3. How important is it to be well dressed at work? Does it depend on the
profession? Why?
4. Do you think people ever judge you by your appearance? How so?
5. What are shopping and spending behaviours based on?
6. How can clothes be used as weapons?
7. What kinds of clothes can help people have a positive image?
Task 3. Comment on the quotes