Fashion psychologist Shakaila Forbes-Bell on how to dress to truly be yourself at work

shakaila forbes-bell at stylist live 2023

Credit: Shot by Farheen

Fashion


Fashion psychologist Shakaila Forbes-Bell on how to dress to truly be yourself at work

By Holly Bullock

2 years ago

2 min read

Never know how to dress for the office? On the Work Life with Google stage at Stylist Live 2023, we took a lesson in harnessing fashion psychology for work from the author of Big Dress Energy


Trying to decide what to wear for work can leave even the most wardrobe-proficient among us with heaps of discarded outfits and a severe case of overthinking. The hardest part? Matching the way we want to dress with the way we feel we should dress for our job.

For many years, we were taught to adopt ’workplace personas’ – to leave our true selves at the door and become the perfect boss or the ideal colleague. But now, for many of us, this has been flipped on its head, with ‘authenticity’ quickly becoming the new buzzword in many workplaces. This leaves us with a conundrum: how can we dress for work in a way that feels authentic but still manages to say all the right things to our colleagues?

To solve this dilemma, we called on the power of fashion psychology. Speaking on the Work Life with Google stage at Stylist Live, Shakaila Forbes-Bell, the founder and editor-in-chief of Fashion is Psychology and author of Big Dress Energy, gave her advice for dressing for success as our true selves at work. Here’s what she said… 

Dress like the boss

“There’s a psychological theory called the mimicry effect, which finds that hiring managers favour people who dress like them,” Forbes-Bell explains. “This is particularly helpful for people in entry- and mid-level positions, but everyone can benefit from feeling close to their colleagues through the clothes they wear. Try it, but make sure to add a unique touch, too: dress in a way that connects you to those around you, but still feels personal.”

Embrace the Goldilocks approach

“This is about finding balance, rather than extremes,” says Forbes-Bell. “People listen more closely to those wearing formal clothes; they invade their space less, think of them as being more successful and more resourceful. But at the same time, when people wear informal clothes, they’re more likely to be perceived as sociable and therefore more likeable. So mix things up to get the best of both worlds: wear a pair of trainers with a suit or pair your hoodie with a pair of slacks.”

Know that tailoring matters

“Studies have found that people wearing well-fitting suits are perceived as being more resourceful, more successful and more flexible than people wearing ill-fitting tailoring,” explains Forbes-Bell. “And if you’re perceived that way, you’re more likely to act it. Now, I’m not telling you to spend an arm and a leg on Savile Row, but consider taking pieces to your local dry cleaner or picking up a needle and thread and following a YouTube video. It’ll help your clothes feel like they were made for you, which is only going to have a positive impact on your career.”

Our pre-office getting-ready routines are about to become much less stressful.


Images: JKG Photography

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