Recently I had the pleasure of speaking to an amazing group of girls about one of my favorite topics - fashion!! This particular program called Avanti aims at preparing girls about to enter high school with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the next four years. Among other topics such as organization, responsibility, social media, and advertisements, the girls spent a couple hours learning about what our body language says about us, and in turn, what our clothes say about us.
Psychologists would say that there are many ways a person communicates without having to say a single word - through our body language, facial expressions, posture, and of course, by the way we dress. In my talk, we examined different ways our bodies communicate a message. Consequently, if our appearances are an insight into who we are interiorly, the question we must consider is "What do my clothes say about me?"
Perhaps it's time to answer this question honestly and concretely. If we do, we might find that many times our intentions may be starkly different than what they are actually achieving.
Take for example, someone who goes to the grocery store wearing pajama bottoms and house slippers. How many times is the rest if the public thinking to themselves, "Wow! That lady must be really comfortable!" (Zero times, that's how many!) In most cases, we get in the habit of convincing ourselves that our looks have nothing to do with others. This mentality suggests that there is no consideration for how others are effected by our non-verbal communication.
Yes, the main people we should dress for is ourselves and our husbands. But could there also exist an element of courtesy for others? Absolutely. It is important to consider how our appearances affect others, both in positive and negative ways. And when our clothes project a happy, put-together, confident woman on the outside, then that will necessarily lead people to want to know the person behind the clothes.
