The Dress Code of Power: How Clothing Helps Control People

The term “power dressing” is often translated into Russian as “clothes for power”, which, you see, does not accurately reflect the meaning. It would be more correct to say “dress code of power.” The term originated in the 1970s in the United States. It was the decade of the hippies, when everyone rejoiced and relaxed after the equally unbridled 1960s.

At the same time, the book of the famous American image maker John T. Molloy was published under the title “Dress for success”, that is, “Clothes for success”. She became a real bestseller. John Molloy proclaimed that the time had come for women to pursue careers because they were smart, talented and serious, and therefore needed to look different. His main verdict: “Forget about floral dresses, peasant sundresses, platform shoes and colorful sweaters. All these flowers are for the losers and the middle class. Only monochrome: gray skirt, light blouse and flesh-colored stockings.

He spoke rather harshly, but indeed, women went to work, gradually began to occupy leadership positions, began to think about how to dress so that they were taken seriously. And the fashion world immediately caught their mood.

“Fashion is a separate industry,” you say. — I have a canning factory. What is the connection between him and fashion? So: fashion occupies a unique place in the culture of any nation. You may not be interested in her, but it is almost impossible to ignore her.

In response to requests from women, Giorgio Armani offered them loose business suits in the 1980s to make them feel relaxed and confident. Parallel to this is Gilles Sander, who creates minimalist pieces from amazing quality fabrics, promoting a rather androgynous style. “These are, of course, like men’s suits,” she hints.

In the 1990s, designer Donna Karan says: “Yes, let a woman work, let her fly up the social ladder, but she must be feminine.”

She commissioned a huge advertising campaign for her collection from photographer Peter Lindbergh. The images showed how a beautiful woman in a business suit becomes the President of the United States. At that time, no one thought about it, did not dream, and did not even talk about it. And these images were in all the glossy magazines, on all the billboards in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. It was a very smart and subtle move. And all women, regardless of profession, wanted to dress the same way.

In fact, clothing for success means more than you might think. Let me give you two stories as an example.

Think Margaret Thatcher. On the Internet you can find a photo of how she looked in her youth, before her political career. Floral dresses, blouses with plunging necklines, frivolous hats… At the same time, Thatcher was a very intelligent, prudent and brilliantly educated person. She tightly controlled her style of clothing. She ditched the floral chiffon blouse in order to influence a certain audience.

Throughout her career, she has not made a single fashion mistake: always a monochrome suit, a pearl brooch or pearl earrings. Nothing extra. Had she dressed differently, would she have received the title of “Iron Lady”? I do not think.

The second example is Hillary Clinton. Also a brilliant lawyer, also very educated. My husband would have been really bad without her. When Hillary began participating in the presidential race, the attention of the audience to her became very tough and not always friendly.

One day, the newspapers came out with her photo on the front pages, where, as the journalists found out, she was in a Giorgio Armani tweed suit. The press immediately calculated: since she has a non-standard size, the suit was sewn to order, which means that she lost 30 thousand dollars. “And what, we will have such a president?!” opponents shouted. This is an important and difficult point. People who enter the public field need to be extremely careful and careful with the choice of designer items.

By the way, for men, the style of clothing is also very important. He is quickly remembered. And given the small set of things that a man can wear at all, it is easy to catch a mistake. For men, the requirements are always higher and tougher.

So, here are the important rules to follow in dressing if you want to be successful.

1. Remember the principle of conformity and consideration

Every industry has its own dress code. Alla Weber, vice president of Mercury and fashion director of TSUM, can wear prints, velvet, diamonds. She is an ambassador for the fashion industry. Marissa Ann Meyer is the former President and CEO of Yahoo! – wears knitwear and turtlenecks, because everyone dresses like that in the IT field. But if you’re building a political career or want to make it in the financial world, you need to look very different. You just have to match the position you take, the role you play, and the industry you represent. Then everything will fall into place.

2. Be careful with designer items

Firstly, their price is easy to find out, and this is not always in your favor. Secondly, things that are too trendy are inappropriate in a business environment. Watch the moment and never be too trendy. An intricate fuchsia dress at a White House reception is overkill. While a suit with a fashionable wide belt speaks of discipline, chic and accuracy.

3. Create your own style or hire a talented stylist

How can you not remember the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his bright socks? This is incredibly smart! Even at important summit meetings, he wears funny socks with prints, slogans, cartoon characters, etc. Apparently, this young handsome man was tired of suits and ties and thought: “Well, at least I can stand out with something?” It turned out that such a tiny detail can attract an incredible amount of attention and love from people.

4. Watch your hair and make-up, especially in a formal setting.

A simple example: remember Boris Yeltsin and his flawless gray hair and look at Donald Trump, with whom his ridiculous shade of hair has played a cruel joke more than once. Hair, makeup and accessories are just as important as the costume.