23. April 2026
Why the clothes you wear can influence your business success
What you choose to wear when meeting potential, and indeed existing clients, can have an impact on how you perform
Our clothes determine how we feel about ourselves and as a consequence how we behave, and equally, what we wear shapes how our clients see us and what they might hear.
The psychology of clothes
Research1 shows that what we wear can determine how we process information in the moment and how we behave (a concept known as ‘enclothed cognition’). So clothes that have a meaning attached to them can encourage you to think differently, have more confidence, energy and feel empowered. The Smart Works organisation is proof in volumes. It styles women for interviews, choosing outfits that help clients frame themselves for the job, with a 67% success rate. Considering who you are meeting and how you want to feel in that moment, allows you to curate an outfit to underline your personal confidence and ability to get the work.
Colour energy
It’s not just the style of clothes that can affect our behaviour. The colour of what we wear has an impact on our energy levels too. Why is red used in so many sports clothes, or green and pale blue used in medical environments do you think? If you need to be heard then blue might be the best choice, and if it’s a tricky situation green might be the best option to maintain calm. Colours create different energies physiologically - if you don’t believe it, try on different colours and see how you feel.
Think Visual
We all know that first impressions are made very quickly, in fact within a tenth of a second2 , but are you aware how much of this is visual? In research for her book You’re Not Listening, Kate Murphy found that 55% of the information we take in when someone is talking to us is what we see, 38% is through the tone of their voice and just 7% the words they are using3 . So what messages do you want to convey with what you wear?
Be true to yourself
As important as all of this though is that you show up in clothes that represent your personality. If not ‘clothing cognitive dissonance’ (a mismatch between your values and style and your choice of clothes) kicks in to leave you with self-doubt and unease. We’ve all felt uncomfortable in clothes that aren’t ‘us’ at some point in our lives I’m sure.
Curating a wardrobe that feels easy, represents you and gives the best impression of your skills and capabilities is something that takes some thought, but the opportunity to influence your business as you show up as the best version of yourself can be worth it.
For a free 30 minute consultation on developing your personal style drop me ‘hello’ in an email or call me on 07789 320983.
1 Adam and Galinsky 2012, 2 https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/how-many-seconds-to-a-first-impression, 3 Kate Murphy You’re Not Listening 2020