Then, one day I was out to lunch with a friend. Looking out the restaurant window, I happened to see a woman rushing past in a well tailored skirt suit with an attache case in her hand, and I thought, she must be late and rushing off to an important meeting or something. That’s when it hit me that I was doing it, too. I had made an assumption about her job and, presumably, her intelligence based on what she was wearing. Taking that same logic a bit further, I realized that since potential employers don’t know you yet, all they have to go by is what you present to them in the form of a resume and then, in an interview, with your performance and appearance in an interview. If you “look the part”, a good bit of the battle is won.

So, I went back and read the book from the beginning. I found that the author didn’t just decide these things on his own. In fact, he said that when he first started doing research into what clothing played well for men, he had to get rid of a good bit of his wardrobe because he discovered he was thwarting his own success by his poor personal style. He actually did quite a bit of research by showing groups of test subjects photos of people in various types of clothing and asking them to make an assessment on what that person does for a living and to select character traits that they believed that person had. Then he put those test results together in his book. In putting some of his suggestions into practice as the Director of Student records at a university, I found that students seemed to accept my authority much more readily when I looked the part.

I realize now that, until people get to know us as individuals, all they have to go by is what they see, which forms their initial impression of us. When I really think about it, it still feels like “judging people” and rubs me the wrong way to make decisions on something as superficial as appearance, but I feel a bit better about it now that I understand why it happens. I also still balk at suggestions (from the late 1970s edition) such as being sure your umbrella has 12 ribs and carrying a gold Cross pen. That’s still a bit too superficial to suit me. I mean, if we’re in a vulnerable situation and we see someone approaching us who is dressed like all the “thugs” we see on TV, don’t we all have the immediate urge to cross the street or something to get out of that person’s path? That person might be the kindest person on the planet, but we can’t tell that based on appearances. Similarly, I had a friend in medical school to be an anesthesiologist, and he wanted to dye his hair green and spike it with gel. I didn’t really have to think about it to know why the medical school dissuaded him from that path. After all, what patient about to undergo surgery would feel confident being put to sleep by someone with green spiked hair, unless he already knew and trusted the person?

To finally get to the end of this very long post, I completely agree that taking on the trappings of the role can make all the difference in your ability to get into that role, and it also can determine how people watching you perceive you!

Orianna, I hear you. I am well acquanted with buying syndrome.