Do clothes really maketh the man?

How much does the way you dress really matter? A lot, I would say. I, for one, believe that the shirt you wear, the trouser you put on, the skirt and blouse the lady across the floor dons, the tie you choose and even the colors and patterns of your dress speak volumes about you. You wear your personality and attitude.

More often than not, clothes reveal a sense of character of the person wearing them.

All around you, you see the stereotypes of dressing. Rock and metal music fans are usually dressed in a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans with an unshaven goatee. Rap musicians are often seen with a baseball cap, a loose, long T-shirt or hoodie and a lot of bling-bling. You would normally associate a fine, smooth suit with a business honcho. Or FBI agents or lawyers if you have been watching way too many western TV shows.

Clothes set the tone to how you approach a person and how others approach you. Most people would turn up for a job interview in their formal best. For men, a crisp shirt, pressed, complementing pair of trousers, a tie even, a staid belt to go with matching, polished shoes would be the norm. For women, it could be western formal wear - a plain shirt or blouse tucked into a skirt or a pair of trousers with appropriate shoes to go with the outfit- or it could be an Indian dress like a salwar kameez. If you carry yourself off well, the interviewer would be impressed and feel that you are serious about the job you are applying for.
How your interviewer is dressed also has equal significance. You might approach the interview and the interviewer himself/herself with a little more caution and deliberation if the interviewer is dressed to the occasion in formal wear. On the other hand, you might warm up a bit if he/she arrives in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
I know many will counter these thoughts by saying that it doesn't really matter how you turn up as long as you know what you are doing and what you are up against and you are confident in your approach. Google, for example, doesn't really care if a job applicant attends an interview in shorts and a tee as long as he/she has the talent and acumen to clear the interview, get selected and do well on the job.
I don't deny this entirely. My point is, for any occasion or even just coming to the office or college everyday, it always works to your advantage and favor if you are better dressed. First impressions always last. Your dress adds to your persona. When you walk across the room or hall, you can command attention, appear frivolous or be completely oblivious to everyone else, all depending on how you dress. Power dressing is what it is called.

All this does doesn't mean that you should never wear your favorite faded jeans and T-shirt and bandana. What it means, is that one should be smart in choosing the right dress for the right time and that irrespective of what you wear, formal or casual wear, you should be able to carry it off with elan and style and make a positive impression.


So, do clothes maketh the man (or woman, lest I'm labelled a chauvinist or a sexist!)?
In the true and literal sense, no. But together with talent and the right attitude, clothes definitely play their role in defining a person.