Much of the information we take in daily is visual. In fact, 93% of our communication is non-verbal and based on what we see. 

What you wear matters.

Whether you know it or not, your closets are filled with personal information - About your identity, your values, your personality.

And every day, you wear it all right out the door for the whole world to see.

Do you think about what are you saying through your clothes?

Our clothes also become a part of our identity. Whether we like it or not, what we wear gives off signals that help people to form an impression of us.

Sometimes, I wonder if the clothes are trying to communicate or do they speak? Do clothes have a language with different interpretations; each piece of clothing contributes to the entirety of the style, hence it's meaning.

I believe, clothes already spoke before we did. They make a statement without saying a word. By the time we meet and converse we have already spoken. 

Clothing cannot tell people who you are deep down, but it is part of the slim profile of information that a person has about you on first meeting. What we wear, when we wear certain outfits, and how we wear them already tells people something about us; it announces sex, age, and social class at first glance.

Clothing has its system.

It has vocabulary and grammar. The type of clothing worn depicts the occasion and is a more universal tongue. The clothes we wear are not only a physical manifestation and expression of fashion but go on to reflect our inner thoughts and feelings too.

Moods can be reflected by the colors we wear while wearing oversized or extremely fitted clothes can be inner conflicts of a fashion flub coming to the surface. You may see them as mere fashion disasters, yet there is a deeper logic operating behind them.

Clothes are subtle ways of expressing a part of us that tells us when, where and how we do certain things.

If you shop against the realities of your age, chances are that you do not consciously realize whether your choice of attire makes sense for you or not. You do not need to be a fashion pro or a fervent fashionista to be aware of the pivotal role that clothes we wear play.

People who do not know us judge us first and foremost on our appearance before other things come into play. A pleasant and cheerful countenance can deliver positivity and project the self-image that we want to display.

Why do certain occasions have a set and defined costume and dress code? Why don’t we wear brightly colored clothes at funerals or dull and morbid colors at parties? Why do you think would you be viewed with skepticism if you did so?

It’s because it is so deeply engraved in our minds to not break cultural taboos and to also respect the sanctity and sensitivity of the prevailing situation.
The festival season calls for boldly experimenting with all your looks but the same cannot be done in the corporate scenario. Your attire can convey an explicit message to the people around you, so you’ve got to be careful.
Clothes are often also used as an expression of politics, to reclaim spaces and advocate identities—a chance to articulate a point without taking direct action.

Clothes are a silent language, full of meaning and nuances that come in all shapes and sizes, colors, and textures.

It is a language with many variant forms, different vocabularies, and sometimes complicated grammatical rules, which are all, as with every language, constantly changing. Clothes is a language that we all speak but communicating with clothes is not always straightforward and may lead to misunderstandings. We do not all speak the same dialect!
Clothes is a highly diverse field of study that helps to explain how we communicate, not with words, but with our appearance. What does it mean when a man wears a suit and a necktie, or when a woman covers her face with a veil? Why do some people prefer to wear cotton garments, linen, or even hemp? And why do some of us don hideous jumpers at Christmas? Clothes are also a resource for historical and archaeological observations. Which clothes language did people speak hundreds or even thousands of years ago? Why was the Egyptian pharaoh, Tutankhamun, entombed together with some two hundred garments, including over a hundred loincloths? Why are some Chinese men and women starting to wear typically Han-style garments – is it simply to say that they are Chinese and want nothing to do with Western-style clothing? There are more questions than answers!

If you feel that the clothes you wear cannot possibly influence the way people judge you, then perhaps it is time for some self-reflection. Consider how your perception and judgments about an individual may change according to their dressing sense. You tend to associate qualities of maturity and seriousness with people wearing a suit, don’t you?

The reality could be different, but our initial perception of a person is made from that first impression, and it’s a rule of thumb that we tend to apply to the general public. If the same individual was to dress up as a pixie, your judgment would most likely lie towards the other extreme.

Clothes are one of the most striking features that compel people to make judgments. The stereotypes about fashion created in your head are not only applicable to strangers. You dress up accordingly as well.

Furthermore, clothes do not only help form opinions but also unconsciously affect our behavior. It is more like switching roles as you change attire.

Feeling more mature in formal attire and going into a sleepy, lazy mode when you switch into your PJs is an apt example of how your mood can be easily influenced by simply changing your attire.

Clothes signify how we want to be treated, what social group we belong to or want to be accepted into. Acceptance for who we are and what we wear gives us peace of mind, just as wearing clothes we are comfortable in can positively affect our mental state.
The question to ask yourself is whether you dress for yourself or others?
Most people want to think that their decision of what to wear is a personal choice, but is it free from outside influence, or are you putting out signals for the sake of other people, too? Probably both.

Clothing is a non-verbal communication amongst all; it has its own vocabulary and grammar just like literature.

RELATED TOPICS:#Apparel,Sanjay Lal