--- title: Here’s What Science Says About How You Can 'Dress for Success' description: Different color clothing says different things about you canonical: https://time.com/3815449/science-dress-for-success/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-10T04:01:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:21:03.431Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Here’s What Science Says About How You Can 'Dress for Success' og:description: Different color clothing says different things about you og:url: https://time.com/3815449/science-dress-for-success/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25f1be9b1fa821d6/6987ea56f887dc1858e8ddfd/162820556-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=378&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 378 og:image:height: 213 og:image:alt: 162820556 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here’s What Science Says About How You Can 'Dress for Success' twitter:description: Different color clothing says different things about you twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25f1be9b1fa821d6/6987ea56f887dc1858e8ddfd/162820556-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=378&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here’s What Science Says About How You Can 'Dress for Success' > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Apr 10, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  Men's Suit Men's Suit Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Apr 10, 2015 4:01 AM UTC What you’re wearing definitely affects whether people follow your lead or do what you say. Via [100 Things Every Presenter Needs to Know About People](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321821246/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0321821246): --- > “” --- Clothes really do make a difference. In fact: * Different color clothing [says different things about you](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-does-the-color-of-your-clothing-tell-oth). Most interesting is that studies show red has some pretty unique effects. For the most part, [red seems to mean sex](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-red-clothes-mean-sex). It makes [men more attractive to women](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-color-should-men-wear-to-be-more-attract). It makes [women more attractive to men](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-color-should-a-woman-wear-on-a-date). It helps [hitchikers get picked up](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-color-that-helps-hitchhikers-get-p). (More on the odd and interesting effects of red [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-the-color-red-have-magic-powers).) * Dressing young can [make you healthier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-looking-young-help-you-stay-young). Glasses make you look [smarter but less attractive](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-glasses-really-make-you-look-smarter-but-l). How a female celebrity dresses can tell you [how short her marriage will be](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-there-a-formula-that-can-predict-how-long). * You like brand name clothes because they [make you seem high status and (hopefully) this will cause people to treat you better](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/why-do-we-like-brand-name-clothes-so-much). * [Dark clothes = neurotic. Formal dress = conscientious. Messy and unconventional clothing = open to new things. Cleavage and expensive clothes = narcissism in women.](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-can-you-tell-about-someones-personality) * You trust doctors more when [they wear the white coat](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-it-matter-what-a-doctor-wears). You like musicians’ music more when they [dress the way you expect them to](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-a-musicians-clothing-affect-how-much-we). By the same token, [what you wear affects how _you_ act:](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-what-you-wear-affect-how-you-act) when research subjects wore lab coats they acted more attentive and careful. So choose your clothes wisely when you need to perform at your best. **Join over 180,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/do-clothes-make-the-man-can-you-really-dress/)**_._** Related posts: [A Navy SEAL Explains 8 Secrets To Grit And Resilience](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2015/01/grit/) [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful ](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3815449/science-dress-for-success/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3815449/science-dress-for-success/"},"headline":"Here’s What Science Says About How You Can 'Dress for Success'","datePublished":"2015-04-10T04:01:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:21:03.431Z","description":"Different color clothing says different things about you","url":"https://time.com/3815449/science-dress-for-success/","keywords":["Psychology","Science topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25f1be9b1fa821d6/6987ea56f887dc1858e8ddfd/162820556-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt25f1be9b1fa821d6/6987ea56f887dc1858e8ddfd/162820556-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"162820556","caption":"suit-close-up","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3815449/science-dress-for-success/","name":"Here’s What Science Says About How You Can 'Dress for Success'"}}]}] ```