The Dress Code (Post #5)
Communication encompasses channels such as verbal, non-verbal and as some may even contend, telepathic. In daily communication, people are mindful of the verbal communication processes which they are engaged in. Notably, our interactions with others are affected by dressing as well.
It is difficult to avoid conveying information through dressing. In this, dressing is parallel to the nonverbal channels of communication such as kinesic and proxemic behaviour. Whatever the position assumed or whatever the distance maintained between people, there is no “neutral” setting.
Our dressing gives strong impression of who we are. When people dress, they not only put on clothes but an attitude, a role, sometimes an entire way of life. Thus as onlookers, we can interpret strangers’ narratives by what they wear; their mood, style, beliefs, lifestyle, and sense of belonging to a group or ideology.
Though our sense of dressing defines who we are, there are situations when we need to alter this expression for purposes of enhancing our communication skills. For instance, a business suit is appropriate when attending a corporate meeting. Failure to act likewise may seem to others as an act of disrespect. More radically, the “ungrammatical” dressing of items of clothing that belong to different styles of dress would be considered as a contravention of codes set by society. Such unorthodox behaviours may in turn create bad impressions and hinder effective communication processes.
As such dressing appropriately enables people to identify with each other and helps overcome initial communication barriers and. Less attention will then be placed on a person’s appearance and more emphasis can be placed on ideas to be conveyed.
Dressing is a form of communication whether you mean it to be, or not. Express yourself in the way you want to be understood. Subtly but surely, the right choice of dressing will aid in effectively conveying our ideas to others.
How have you used dressing to help you communicate effectively?
It is difficult to avoid conveying information through dressing. In this, dressing is parallel to the nonverbal channels of communication such as kinesic and proxemic behaviour. Whatever the position assumed or whatever the distance maintained between people, there is no “neutral” setting.
Our dressing gives strong impression of who we are. When people dress, they not only put on clothes but an attitude, a role, sometimes an entire way of life. Thus as onlookers, we can interpret strangers’ narratives by what they wear; their mood, style, beliefs, lifestyle, and sense of belonging to a group or ideology.
Though our sense of dressing defines who we are, there are situations when we need to alter this expression for purposes of enhancing our communication skills. For instance, a business suit is appropriate when attending a corporate meeting. Failure to act likewise may seem to others as an act of disrespect. More radically, the “ungrammatical” dressing of items of clothing that belong to different styles of dress would be considered as a contravention of codes set by society. Such unorthodox behaviours may in turn create bad impressions and hinder effective communication processes.
As such dressing appropriately enables people to identify with each other and helps overcome initial communication barriers and. Less attention will then be placed on a person’s appearance and more emphasis can be placed on ideas to be conveyed.
Dressing is a form of communication whether you mean it to be, or not. Express yourself in the way you want to be understood. Subtly but surely, the right choice of dressing will aid in effectively conveying our ideas to others.
How have you used dressing to help you communicate effectively?
posted by Bryan at
5:26 PM
5 Comments:
Hi Bryan!
What an interesting and insightful post!
I do agree with you that people do assess someone based on their dressing. And how they wish to carry themselves would indirectly be reflected through the way they dress.
This brings me to another point of how people normally dress because there is a dress code to adhere to. It is like a societal pressure to dress according to the code or risk getting "kicked out". This relates to how we dress when we attend interviews, meetings, presentations or to the beach. Well I definitely wouldn't wear business attire to the beach!
Since school is the place where we spend most of our time in, I shall touch on the topic of dressing to school. We see very different ways of how people dresses at school. Some dress like their going shopping, some dress like their going to bed. For me, I believe that comfort without being too sloppy is important as it is important to feel at ease especially when we have an entire day of school to attend. But how can we draw the line between comfortable and sloppy? We are after all, an Education Institute. If the professors dresses formally to lecture us, shouldn't we do the same? I guess this would be the one issue that the society did not set a "dress code" to. And how one perceives the way others dresses to school would entirely be up to the individual.
Nevertheless, your post did set me thinking. And it also got me pondering about how people from different cultures present themselves through their dressing. But I guess this would be a whole new topic to discuss. In the meantime, this is post well done! The choice of topic was a good one since the way we dress is undeniably very much integrated into our society.
Cheers,
Shu Ting
Hi Shu,
I agree that it is important for us the dress appropriately for school. After all, our dressing is a form of respect for our academic teachers.
Nevertheless, as students, it is undeniable that we value dressing for comfort and hence at times dress too casually. I have to admit that I often face the struggle between dressing for school and dressing for comfort when the whether conditions are extreme, for instance, a hot sunny day or a rainy day.
Probably as students, we may need to exercise more self discipline in dressing appropriately. But might a day or two of more casual dressing be acceptable? It depends on the perceptions of an individual I guess. We could perhaps base our decisions on appropriateness.
Regards,
Bryan
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hi Bryan,
Personally plagued with a wardrobe malfunction, I am guilty of being prejudiced towards comfort wear rather than dressing to suit the occasion when given a choice, particularly due to the sweltering weather we experience.
This brings to mind that there exists a different dress code for every other function & setting; some are self-explanatory, like dressing appropriately when attending an interview, whilst others like hanging out in town may present more ambiguity.
Which brings to question: how does one define dressing appropriately? When is one deemed to have over-dressed or under-dressed? Does fitting in with the company take precedence over the setting or otherwise? Who arbitrarily decided bermudas are for beaches and sloppy wear isn't suitable in town?
If the general rule of thumb is "When in Rome, speak Roman", how should one decide what is the appropriate dress code when a setting condones a variety of them?
Cheers,
Desmond
Hi Bryan,
It is a refreshing perspective to view dressing as a form of non-verbal communication. Besides giving others an impression of our beliefs and lifestyle, it can also signify our status and possibly change the attitudes of others towards us. Therefore, I agree with you that our sense of dressing defines who we are, despite of whether it is our intended meaning.
This reminds me of a comment made by a friend when she came back from a holiday in America. She pointed out that the salesgirl, who was promoting expensive beauty products in an American shopping mall, was just as warm and friendly towards her regardless of her sloppy dressing. However, this strikes a contrast with her experience in Singapore where the salesgirl seemed to doubt her spending power by her dressing and served her with little enthusiasm. Hence, this exemplifies the power of dressing on others’ opinions of us.
In my opinion, the extent of the impact of dressing depends on the setting and parties involved. In business settings such as meetings and interviews, it is imperative for us to dress well to impress our future employers or clients. On the other hand, it is not as crucial for us to fuss over our dressing for school or informal setting if we are hanging out with friends or people we know well.
However, it is important for us to note that basic personal hygiene should still be observed and a general benchmark should exist even if one dresses down, as it is a form of respect for others.
Thanks for sharing such an insightful post!
Cheers,
Jie Li
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