Dress To Impress Yourself

Traditionally speaking, when we think of our places of work or learning, we tend to assume our appearance comes last on the imaginary list of things that matter. We often get into the habit of prioritizing everything else except how we look. Whether it’s in the office at a corporate job where we think we have to be “plain Jane” to be taken seriously, or whether it’s in class where we feel the need to wear that baseball cap to maintain a level of mysteriousness – we often put our outward appearance to the side. We do this in hopes that we can focus more seriously on the main goal—learning or being the best at our jobs. However, what if I told you that when we look better, we do better?

YOUR APPEARANCE REFLECTS WHO YOU ARE

I remember being in undergrad, always wearing a Ralph Lauren baseball cap to my classes and a pair of rue21 sunglasses when walking around campus. (Yes—it could be raining, and I would still have on those sunglasses!) At the time, I thought nothing of it. I believed it was just my style and choice to wear that cap and those sunglasses every day. In my head, I thought I actually looked kind of cool—which, to be fair, I still think I did! However, it wasn’t until years later that I realized wearing them was a form of hiding. At that time in my life, I was incredibly shy. The idea of people being able to see me made me inwardly cringe. The hat was concealing my face, and the sunglasses were hiding my eyes. My outward appearance and wardrobe choices were a reflection of how I felt about myself. Over time, as I began to grow more confident in who I was, I noticed I wasn’t dependent on those things anymore. I didn’t need to wear the cap every day to hide half of my face, and I didn’t need those sunglasses all the time—especially when the weather didn’t call for them! Now, don’t get me wrong—I still love a good baseball cap and a nice pair of sunglasses. But since there’s a part of me that is no longer shy, I don’t have to hide behind them anymore. The more I began to find myself, the more I started wearing clothes and colors that truly reflected who I was.

YOUR APPEARANCE REFLECTS HOW YOU FEEL

I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase, “When you look better, you feel better.” When I first heard it, I thought it was out of order. I believed we should focus on feeling our best first, then worry about looking the part afterward. Over time, I learned that this isn’t necessarily true. As a college graduate starting my corporate career at the beginning of the pandemic, I worked from home and was lucky to be at a company that didn’t stress being on camera for every meeting. This, in turn, led me to work from home wearing just about anything I wanted. That “anything” ranged from an old t-shirt to a college hoodie. I truly put no effort into what I wore, thinking that since no one saw me, it didn’t matter. I came to realize that this couldn’t be further from the truth. I remember one day we had an unplanned team meeting – and unlike other meetings, this one required us to be on camera. I scrambled during the five minutes before the meeting, trying to find something to wear and make myself look presentable. From that moment on, I made a mental note: I needed to be presentable even while working from home because you truly never know. However, the scrambling wasn’t the only thing that taught me something—it was the feeling afterward. The rest of that workday, I felt a spark, and that spark came from looking better. This made me feel better. It wasn’t until then that I realized showing up at my work desk looking “any kind of way” made me feel the same way. Now, don’t get me wrong—I love what I do. But there was a certain excitement missing when I worked from home in my worst clothes. When I started prioritizing how I looked, even when no one would see me, I felt more inspired and excited to navigate my workday.

I realize now that how we present ourselves, whether we’re being seen or not, reflects who we truly are and shows how we truly feel. Self-love is truly the best love, and what better way to show how much you love yourself than by making sure you’re showing up looking like your best self? Taking the step to work on our outer appearance does nothing but boost our confidence and increase our motivation. Girl—you have lives to change! So why not look and feel your best while doing so? Whether you’re working from home, going to class, presenting a new business pitch, or even running errands—I challenge you to make sure you prioritize how you look. Please remember: when you look better, you feel better. And when you feel better, you can take on anything!