‘Brave’ was the word the UK press used to describe First Lady Melania Trump’s outfit for the formal state banquet, hosted by the British royal family as part of President Donald Trump’s official state visit to London.

Her off-the-shoulder, lemon-yellow, floor-length dress by American fashion designer, Carolina Herrera, was certainly a statement and a far cry from the outfit she’d chosen to meet the royals earlier in the day. Paired with a baby pink belt, the vibrant colour and dramatic accessories signalled a bold confidence that made her stand out amongst the more traditional evening attire in the room.

It contrasted heavily with the Princess of Wales’ delicate golden overlay gown, by British designer Phillipa Lepley. Princess Catherine’s outfit featured chantilly lace, long sleeves and a high neckline. It was an outfit that depicted traditional style, elegance and authority.

The discourse around these two women’s outfits has been almost as loud and controversial as the conversations around the politics itself. The outfits’ ‘hidden messages’ made headlines in major UK newspapers, and the choices have been closely analysed by ‘experts’.

While this may be a somewhat trivial matter in comparison to the more pressing, global problems around the world currently, the message here is clear: fashion can be a subtle way to signal your motives, shape your image and stand out. And for those who play a supporting role in international politics, it’s a method of communication.

While we may not all attend royal banquets, many of us do attend work events and work in client-facing roles where how we present ourselves is important. It’s worth questioning, then, does it actually matter what you wear to work?

Dress for the job you want

We’ve all heard the advice “dress for the job you want”, but what if changing the way you dress can actually help enhance your career?

A study from Ryan Vogel and Brian Holtz of the Management Department at Temple University’s Fox School of Business reveals how an employee’s choice of attire in the workplace affects how they see themselves, and can alter their self-esteem. Not only this, but dressing ‘well’ might also alter an individual’s productivity levels.

“This idea really just started because of our personal observations,” said Vogel, an associate professor and Adamany Research Fellow. “We knew someone who seemed to perform better when they dressed well. So we asked ourselves, can something as benign as clothing have those kind of effects? We decided to find out for ourselves.” 

The researchers asked full-time professionals who worked in person with coworkers to participate in a 10-day field study. The participants worked in the areas of online retail, online service, brand design and information technology.  

At the end of each day, participants were asked what they wore each day, their feelings about themselves, their productivity and their interactions with colleagues. They tracked 808 employee days in the workplace in total.

The results were clear: those who dressed better than they usually did had a stronger sense of self-esteem and performed better on tasks. One of the reasons for this, the study found, is that by dressing well, employees were encouraged to seek out social interactions with colleagues.

However, the study also showed that conforming to the norms of the office environment can also help boost productivity. “So if everyone is dressed casually on Friday and you are, too, you’re more likely to feel like you’re fitting in, which is an essential motivator of human behaviour,” says Vogal.

Other research supports this idea. In 2012, Hajo Adam and Adam D. Galinsky at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management introduced the term “enclothed cognition”. They demonstrated that wearing a white lab coat (often associated with attentiveness) significantly improved performance on attention-related tasks compared to street clothes.

Similarly, a 2015 study by Michael L. Slepian at California State University, Northridge, Simon Ferber, Joshua Gold, and Abraham Rutchick at Columbia University, found that wearing formal clothing can boost abstract thinking, helping people see the bigger picture and think more broadly, partly by making them feel more powerful and distant from the situation.

More recently, a 2023 systematic review by Bhoj and Ayachit (SSRN) analysed dozens of studies on clothing and behaviour, concluding that what we wear has consistent and measurable effects on cognition, emotions and interpersonal dynamics. They argue that clothing functions as a “psychological tool” that can enhance focus, confidence, and even ethical decision-making.

Casual wear in the workplace

Since COVID, the Western world has tended towards a more casual dress code at work. Research from YouGov and Otter.ai found that 30 percent of remote workers during the pandemic even wore pyjamas for remote work meetings.

For in-person professionals, however, the outfit choice is not much better. A recent Gallup survey revealed that more than seven in 10 say their typical workplace attire is business casual (41%) or more dressed-down, casual street clothes (31%). Another 23% of workers say they wear a uniform at work most days, while just 3% say wearing business professional clothes is their norm.

However, Dr Karen Bine, professor of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire and fashion psychologist, says that dressing casually could cause an employee to feel less focused and alert.

Speaking to Forbes, she said: “When we put on an item of clothing, it is common for the wearer to adopt the characteristics associated with that garment. A lot of clothing has symbolic meaning for us, whether it’s ‘professional work attire’ or ‘relaxing weekend wear’, so when we put it on, we prime the brain to behave in ways consistent with that meaning.”

There is also earlier evidence on how uniform colour influences behaviour. Mark Frank (University at Buffalo) and Thomas Gilovich (Cornell University) conducted research showing that teams wearing black uniforms in professional sports were both perceived as and behaved more aggressively, receiving more penalties than teams wearing other colours.

Today, this conversation about dress codes intersects with debates about hybrid work, inclusivity, and authenticity. Some companies wonder if old-fashioned dress rules are outdated, while others believe they are still important for earning client trust and keeping a professional culture.

More than just clothes

Whether it’s a suit, a pair of trainers, or even pyjamas in a Zoom call, what you wear always sends a message.

As Melania Trump – who so far has been far less visible in her husband’s second term of presidency – has shown, the choice of outfit can be the difference between fading into the background, and standing out from the crowd.

Regardless of what the critics said about the suitability of her evening attire, one thing remains clear. How you choose to use your appearance can be a powerful tool. When it comes to simply getting on versus getting ahead, perhaps it’s worth reviewing your wardrobe alongside your CV.

By, Chloë Lane

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