Why do we wear clothes?

Photo by Fancycrave. Available from: Unsplash

Thumbnail Photo by Amber Kipp. Available from: Unsplash

By Hannah Schmidt-Rees

Think about this; why do we care so much more about what we wear when surrounded by strangers, and so little when surrounded by good friends and family? 

Let me use my own life as an example; When I visit good friends, what I wear isn't important, hell, slam me in a boring t-shirt and some old jeans and I couldn’t care less. But, when I go grocery shopping, I wouldn't be joking if I take at least 15 minutes to work out what I wear. And to achieve what? To impress strangers that I'll never see again? Why do we wear clothes? And why do clothes matter?

Clothes embody characteristics. A bright red dress suggests a bold personality. A tightened business shirt collar suggests authority and influence. A floral pattern shirt suggests a down-to-earth and humble outlook on life. The specific clothing that we wear, the cuts, patterns, fabrics, colours and styles of the clothing that wear all give others indications about who we are.

Our clothing is essentially the first thing that others see, and therefore is the first thing that allows others to create an impression of us, without us even having to say a word (aka. Judging a book by it's well dressed cover). To prove that we are smart; we may wear minimalist and well-tailored garments. Artistic; bold prints and edgy cuts. Competent; structured and classic clothing. We wear clothing in order to reinforce our best traits to others.

Whenever Barack Obama conducted a speech to working class Americans, he would always speak in a business shirt with rolled up sleeves and no jacket. This was to prove that he was also, a working class American, thus creating a better connection with his audience. When Hillary Clinton was running for president, her go-to was a brightly coloured pant suit. The purpose of a pant suit is to reference a man's business suit, to prove that Clinton was a bold, strong and independent woman in comparison to her opponent, (slime ball) Donald Trump.

What we wear gives hints about our social class, gender identity, profession, age, lifestyle and more. So the next time your working out what to wear, just think about what kind of person you're conveying through your clothing. Does it really reflect who you are?

Here’s a fun little game, try to imagine what others would first think about you just by looking at your style. I'll go first; I wear a lot of black, a lot of ‘mens’ clothing, and a lot of long dramatic jackets (picture an edgy teenage Professor Snape). I’m sure they would think; ‘androgynous, former goth kid’. And I’m also sure that you’ve already began to shape a perception of me just by reading those two sentences. See how easy it is for my personal style to say so much about who I am?

‘Androgynous, former goth kid’ isn’t entirely wrong, I’ll give you that, but if I’m completely honest, I use my personal style to convey a person that I aspire to become. To repeat myself; ‘we wear clothing in order to reinforce our best traits to others.’ Currently, I’m a quiet and nervous university student, but does my fashion reflect this? No way. I allow my fashion to represent and exaggerate my best qualities; that I’m creative, funny, bold, ambitious and androgynous. That I’m confident enough to wear whatever I want.

Why do we wear clothing? Well, I wear clothing because I want to put my best and most well-dressed foot forward, telling people that I am the best version of myself, without ever having to say a word.

(And when I say former goth kid, I mean that my goth aesthetic has aged like fine wine. She's goth, but she's modern too.)