 From Freud and Jung’s psychoanalytic theories to the behavioral interpretations of Skinner and Rodgers, the different schools of psychological thought strive to explain the perplexing and all too often contradictory motives behind human behavior–unfortunately, often with negligible concrete results. In fact, in the world of psychology, where so much of what goes on inside each individual’s psyche is carefully hidden behind ego defenses, habitual behaviors, and socially dictated norms, how we dress–from the clothes we wear to the way we style our hair and decorate our bodies–is one of only a very few clear indicators of an individual’s personality, self–image and at times even his or her world view. In every sense of the word, we 
“dress to impress,”— to make a statement to the world about who we are and how we want the world to see us. 

But what are we saying with what we wear? Not everyone is an expert on style, certainly. We all know what we like, and our personalities will permeate our individual choices, but how can we predict with any degree of certainty how our style of dress will affect others, or, conversely, how other’s appearance may impact our opinions without our knowledge or conscious participation in the process?

Surprisingly, the answers to these issues are not all that difficult to come by. The same research that provides us with so much information (albeit with very few conclusions) about personality development also helps us to recognize how our outward appearance reflects our personality to others. Here are just a few examples of some styles of dress that are popular today and the kinds of information they can convey about those who wear them. 

The conventional dresser dresses for his environment rather than from a sense of personal style. In the business world the conventional dresser is the man or woman wearing a simple, traditionally styled suit in blue, gray or black with a white or pale pastel shirt, conservative tie and sensible shoes. On college campuses he or she is usually in a pair of chinos and a button down shirt, topped off by perhaps a “V” neck sweater and a pair of loafers.  Conventional dressers tend to be “conventional” people– drab and sometimes boring, risk averse and lacking in confidence, they tend to be introverts who like to blend in with the crowd.  

Sloppy dressers generally look as if they slept in the clothes they are wearing.  Their wrinkled, soiled, mismatched outfits, often including torn, frayed blue jeans and deliberately ripped T- shirts are usually topped off by unwashed, uncombed hair, unshaven faces and –on women-heavy, sloppily applied makeup. The “Grunge” look is the uniform of the “Anti-establishment,” and while those who sport this style tend to view themselves as free-thinkers who reject conventional norms, the look also screams of a poor self-image, immaturity, lack of motivation, and an “I don’t give a damn” attitude that others will assume-often correctly-carries over into every aspect of a person’s life-from job performance, to work ethic and personal relationships. 