The right outfit helps your personal branding and avoids embarrassing situations!
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The dress does not make the priest! And this is as trivial as essential!
People gain a perception even before we can start to talk. Some researches show that how we look affects the extent of trust on us. Anybody can build a perception in 5 seconds in according to some researches (Princeton and University of Toronto). While some perceptions come from uncontrolled factors (physical features, smell), we can act on other: the not verbal language (the body) and the para-verbal language (tone of voice, speed, voiceprint). The capability to change the tone of voice, the speed and the voiceprint, as well as the capability to use the gestures, the smiles and the eyes movements are powerful tolls of communication and personal positioning.
At the same time, a correct outfit to specific events is, first of all, an attention to ourselves; it is also an attention to those who participate in the same specific event; finally, it is a way of “positioning”, since the outfit becomes a distinctive sign.
The attention to the choice of outfits corresponds to the dress code, that is the correct and most suitable outfit (sometimes explicitly requested in the invitation to a specific event). They range from the so-called after five, requiring refinement without exceeding in formality (for men, elegant trousers, white or soft colors shirt, and optional jacket; the woman can dare with short cocktail dresses, also with bright colors and fabrics), to the black-tie, that instead leaves no space to creativity (for men, black tuxedos and bow ties, white shirt with collar points down, cufflinks and smooth black shoe with laces; for women, absolutely recommended the long evening dress, to cover the ankle, of a dark color combined with precious but not too showy jewelry and accessories, shoe or sandal with a thin heel and clutch bag as only solution). The dress code covers other options such as, for example, optional black-tie, requiring not too rigorous elegance (for men, a dark suit and dark tie, white shirt fine and black leather shoes; for women, any type of cocktail dress, heeled shoe and precious but not too showy accessories and jewels are allowed) or creative black-tie, with free (but not too much!) creative interpretation (black tuxedo but with colored bow tie and matching band, for men; allowed the use of lace for the cocktail dress, for the women). Finally, we have to mention the business formal, required for business lunches or conferences (for men, blue or gray suit, and tie, with white or light blue shirt; for women, blue, grey or beige suit to convey a professional image); and finally, the casual, which is not a real dress code (for men, no tie, sports pants and informal shirt; for the woman, trousers and a sports shirt are fine).
Outfits and dress code might look like an excess, the product of an era where appearing is more important than being, and the shape is often worth more than the substance. Honestly, they are part of our personal branding and our way of being a brand, as well as a way to avoid style lapses and participate in an event with shorts and flip-flops! And this attention means substance, and not appearance!
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