How Dressing Better Can Actually Make You Happier

Can dressing better really make you happier?

There’s a saying by Mark Twain “the clothes make the man”, and while it’s a little shallow to judge someone based on what they wear, it’s sadly the reality we live in. However, it’s not all bad. As it turns out, dressing nice can actually have a significant positive impact on your life. It all stems from a “look good, feel good” mentality, and the combination of feeling more confident and society’s perception of people who dress well.

First off, when you dress nice, you inherently feel like you look better than normal. You feel like you’re best self. And when you feel like your best self, you automatically become a more confident you. It’s the confidence that really makes the changes in your life, the wardrobe upgrade is just the facilitator. People can just tell when someone is confident, it exudes from their entire being. Looking from the outside at a confident person, it seems like everything just comes easier to them. Like when James Bond walks into the bar, the coolness just seems effortless. And the reality of it – it is. Confident people aren’t inherently better or more qualified, they simply aren’t as worried about it. They are more relaxed, and on a fundamental level believe that they are capable of whatever it is they are doing. With that belief comes success. Now am I saying that if you wear a suit or a nicer dress all your dreams are going to come true, no – but i’m not saying they won’t and it sure is a good place to start.

The next factor goes hand in hand with the first, and it is how society responds to people who dress nicer. People simply react better to people who look good. They trust them more and are nicer to them. Is it necessarily right that they do so – again no, but it is the truth of the situation. Suits and nice dresses are associated hand in hand with success. When you see a man walking on the street and they are dressed, your mind automatically turns to “that person must be important”. Plus, and this is just a personal opinion, I think everyone just looks better in a well tailored suit or dress, and this in turn causes people to react to you differently.

I recently started incorporating suits into my everyday life, not just on special occasions, and the results have been eye opening. As cliche as it sounds, the world really does just seem brighter, and I attribute this both to how I feel and to the way people have responded to me since. In the morning when I leave for work I feel more positive – more prepared for my day. I know I look good, and in response I feel good. When I go somewhere I am automatically treated with more respect, people are more engaged when I talk, and people are just all around nicer to me. Which in turn makes me feel happier and more confident. It all just builds up on itself, and without a doubt has made a significant positive impact on my life. And it all started with a slim fit suit and a tie.