# Does what we wear really matter? The science of enclothed cognition - **Episode:** [149](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/149.md) (2024-11-28) - **Type:** interview - **Tags:** enclothed cognition, fashion, psychology - **Time:** 5:42–9:55 (start 342s) - **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/149?t=342](https://truthliesandwork.com/149?t=342) --- [5:42] Leanne Elliott: Angela, I wanna, I wanna get straight into it in In terms of fashion, it's one of those things that I think, as a woman, I think about. I can't say I'm a fashionista in any way, but I'm conscious of the clothes I wear and how I present myself, particularly in professional situations. I mean, from your experience with clients, how does what we wear influence our mood and our confidence at work? [6:08] Angela Foster: Oh my gosh, I'm so glad that you asked this. There was actually a study done, and I think it was at Northwestern University, and it was probably like 2010, 2012, something like that. And that's exactly what they studied, was the effect of our clothes on our mood, our performance, and all of that. And it came out that people who had a lab coat on and were told that it was a doctor's lab coat had improved mental ability, improved creativity, improved performance. They did better on mind games [6:42] Al Elliott: Wow [6:43] Angela Foster: And like, you know, like mind-bender games, that type of thing. So it really affects a lot on not only our performance, but then also, especially when it comes to women, our confidence. Because we've all seen, you know, we've all been in business situations where 2 women walk in the room and one of them is like oozing over with confidence and you're attracted to her. You want to get, you know, like introduce yourself, get to know her, find out what she does and all of that. And then somebody else who has less confidence and kind of like blends into the background, doesn't put herself out there, and all of that. So it can be in, you know, a social situation, but you also want to think about like, what does that look like in the work situation? And if you're the one that doesn't feel confident to put yourself out there, then I mean, that's obviously going to have ramifications on, you know, promotion abilities and getting different jobs and that type of thing. So I call it the 7-Eleven rule. What it is is that strangers, make 11 decisions about us in 7 seconds of meeting us. So when it comes to, you know, like meeting with a new salesperson, meeting with, you know, a new podcast host, meeting with anybody, like whether we realize it or not, you made 11 decisions about me and whether I was going to be any fun, whether I was competent, whether it was like going to be a great interview or not a great interview before I even said, hey, Leanne, I'm Angela [8:06] Leanne Elliott: Yeah [8:07] Angela Foster: Do you know what I mean? That's how quick it happens, and that's how powerful it is. So it has so many ramifications besides just what other people think about us, but just how we show up. One of the things that team members like to know about their leaders is that they're consistent versus being friendly and empathetic and all of that. They like a consistent leader that they know what to expect from them. When you are the leader and you're setting the bar for, this is how my team shows up, this is how we come to work, this is how we present ourselves in front of clients, this is all of that, that consistency is key, not only in how we look, but in how we treat our teams and that type of thing. So, when we want to be great leaders, knowing, setting the expectation, living up to that expectation is incredibly important. And I do a workshop that's talking about dressing your brand and that type of thing, mostly for managers and team leaders who want to make sure their team feels like they're cohesive and they're showing up the way that the team leader wants them to. And that whole thing of like, this is the message that we're sending to everybody who meets us, is incredibly important, especially in higher value situations. You might buy, I don't know, a pair of pants from somebody who doesn't look amazing, but you're not going to spend $100,000 with somebody who looks awful and a train wreck [9:32] Al Elliott: Right [9:35] Angela Foster: I mean, but it's the truth, right? Like, when there's a lot of money on the line, the way somebody shows up is incredibly important [9:41] Leanne Elliott: And can it go the other way? Because I'm thinking, you know, of like that, that kind of very put together, a bit slimy salesperson who's so suited and booted to the point it's a bit off-putting. Can it swing the other way?