Rule:
Remember, your appearance "talks." Be sure it says positive things
about you. Never leave home without feeling certain you look like the
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kind of
person you want to be. The most honest advertisement ever appearing in print is
the "Dress Right. You Can't Afford Not To!" slogan sponsored by the American
Institute of Men's and Boys' Wear. This slogan deserves to be framed in every office, restroom,
bedroom, office, and schoolroom in America. In one ad a policeman speaks. He
says: You can usually spot a wrong kid just by the way he looks. Sure it's unfair, but it's a fact: people today judge a
youngster by appearance.
And once they've tabbed a boy, it's tough
to change their minds about him, their attitude toward him. Look at
your boy. Look at him through his teacher's eyes, your neighbors' eyes.
Could the way it looks, the clothes he wears, give them the wrong
impressions Are you making sure he looks light, dresses right, everywhere he
goes This advertisement, of course, refers primarily to children. But
it can be applied to adults as well. In the sentence beginning with look,
substitute the word yourself for /him, Your for his, superior's
for teacher's, and associates' for neighbors', and
reread the sentence. Look at yourself through your superior's eyes,
your associates' eyes. It costs so little to be neat. Take the slogan
literally. Interpret it to say: Dress right; it always pays.
Remember: look important because it helps you to think important. Use
clothing as a tool to Iifr your
spirits, build confidence. An old psychology professor of mine used to give
this advice to students on
last-minute preparations formal examinations: "Dress up for this important exam. Get a new tie. Have your suit pressed. Shine your shoes. Look sharp
because it will help you think sharp." The
professor knew his psychology. Make no mistake about it. Your physical exterior
affects your mental interior. How you look on the outside affects how you think
and feel on the inside.
All
boys, I'm told, go through the "hat stage." That is, they use hats to
identify themselves with the person or character they want to be. I will always
remember a hat incident with my own son,
Davey. One day he was dead set on being the Lone Ranger, but he had no Lone
Ranger hat. I
tried to persuade him to substitute another. His protest was "But, Dad, I can't think like the Lone Ranger without a Lone Ranger hat." I gave
in finally and bought him the hat he needed. Sure enough, donning the hat, he was
the Lone Ranger. I often recall that incident because it says so much about
the effect of appearance on thinking. Anyone who has ever served in the
Army knows a soldier feels and thinks like a soldier when he is in uniform. A
woman feels more like going to a party when she is dressed for a party. By the
same token, an executive feels more like an executive when he is dressed like
one. A salesman expressed it to me this way: "I can't feel prosperous-and
I have to if I'm going to make big sales-unless I know I look that way."
Your
appearance talks to you; but it also talks to others. It helps determine what
others think of you. In theory, it's pleasant to hear that people should look
at a man's intellect, not ,his clothes. But don't be misled. People do evaluate
you on the basis of your appearance. Your appearance is the first basis
for evaluation other people have. And first impressions last, out of all
proportion to
the time it takes to form them. In a supermarket one day I noticed one table of
seedless grapes
marked 15 cents a pound. On another table were what appeared to be identical grapes,
this time packaged in polyethylene bags' and marked 2 pounds for 35 cents. I
asked the young fellow at the weighing station, 'What's the difference between
the grapes priced at 15 cents a pound and those
priced at two pounds for 35 cents?" "The difference," he
answered, "is polyethylene. We sell about twice as many of the grapes· in
the polyethylene bags. They look better that way." Think about the grape
example the next time you're selling yourself. Properly "packaged,"
you have a better chance to make the sale-and at a higher price. The point is:
the better you are packaged, the more public acceptance you will receive. Tomorrow
watch who is shown the most respect and courtesy in restaurants, on buses, in
crowded lobbies, in stores, and at work. People look at another person, make a
quick and often subconscious appraisal, and then treat him accordingly. We look
at some people and respond with the "Hey, Mac" attitude. We look at
others and respond with the "Yes, sir" feeling. Yes, a person's
appearance definitely talks. The well-dressed person's appearance says positive
things. It tells people, "Here is an important person: intelligent,
prosperous, and dependable. This inan can be looked up to, admired, trusted. He
respects himself, and I respect him." The shabby-looking fellow's
appearance says negative things. It says, "Here is a person who isn't
doing well. He's careless, inefficient,' unimportant. He's just an average
person. He deserves no special consideration. He's used to being pushed around."
When I stress "Respect your appearance" in training programs, almost
always I am asked the question 'Tm sold. Appearance is important. But
how do you expect me to afford the
kind of clothing that really makes me feel right and that causes others to look
up to mel" That
question puzzles many people. It plagued me for a long time. But the answer is
really a simple one: Pay twice as much and buy half as many. Commit
this answer to memory. Then practice
it. Apply it to hats, suits, shoes, socks, coats—everything you wear. Insofar
as appearance is concerned, quality is far more important than
quantity. When you practice this principle, you'll find that both your respect
for yourself and the respect of others for you will zoom upward. And you'll find
you're actually ahead money-wise when you pay twice as much and buy half as
many because:
1.
Your garments will last more than twice as long because they are more than
twice as good, and as a rule they will show "quality" as long as they
last.
2.
What you buy will stay in style longer. Better clothing always does.
3.
You'll get better advice. Merchants selling $200 suits are usually much more
interested in helping you find the garment that is "just right" for
you than are merchants selling $100
suits.
Remember:
Your appearance talks to you and it talks to others. Make certain it says,
"Here is a person who has self respect. He's important. Treat him that
way." You owe it to others-but, more important, you owe it to yourself-
to look your best. You are what you think you are. If your appearance
makes you think you're inferior, you are inferior. If it makes you think
small, you are small. Look your best and you will think and act your best.
Writer: DAVID J. CHWARTZ, PH.D.
