What do you wear to work? Do you wear a uniform, perhaps something formal, or do you just pick up the first T-shirt you can find in your wardrobe? I dress in casual clothes but I sometimes wonder: could a makeover advance my career?

 

Accountancy firm PwC believes appearance is very important. They say people make up their mind about someone in just 30 seconds. What you wear can help you be remembered for the right reasons.

 

Image consultants¹ say what you wear is a big part of your personal brand. But for many people what should matter is whether you can do your job, rather than your choice of attire².

 

Karen Pine, a psychology³ professor at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK, says women who wear slightly provocative⁴ clothes to work are judged to be less competent and less likely to get a promotion⁵. So low-cut dresses and tight-fitting clothes are a no-no, unless you're in show business.

 

And men aren't off the hook when it comes to dress code either. Pine says that men are perceived as less successful if they wear an off-the-shelf suit, while equally suitable candidates who don a tailor-made suit are more likely to get a promotion.

 

But clothes are about more than just appearances. Smart Works is a charity in the UK which offers high-quality clothes for unemployed⁶ women on low income to help them find a job.

 

The charity's chairwoman Juliet Hughes-Hallett says: "It's not really about the clothes. It's often really emotional. The people who are dressing⁷ them are feeding their self-esteem."

 

So, maybe it's a good idea to put on that old Superman T-shirt after all, if only under my smart suit. It might make me feel strong and superior. And I might start wearing glasses. They do make me look more intellectual and… well, they never did Clark Kent any harm. Who knows where my new clothes could lead me?

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