Dress Down for Success: When Nonconformity Signals Status

Hollywood reports often include photos of celebrities wearing sweats at a swanky restaurant in Beverly Hills or jeans to the Oscars.[i] Such reports do not diminish the public perception of celebrity (literal) worth, because they are viewed as intentional fashion choices, with full knowledge they are bucking the dress code. Making a statement through eccentricity, flamboyance, or situationally inappropriate attire is analyzed differently than errors of fashion judgment. Research explains.

Source: Image by Jasmin Campoya from Pixabay

Stepping Out in a Crowd: The Red Sneakers Effect

Unlike the courtroom environment where I spend my days, working with similarly suited colleagues dressed to show respect for the court and the criminal justice process, there are other venues where individuality is not only permissible but impressive.

Silvia Bellezza and colleagues (2014) explored what they describe as the “Red Sneakers Effect”—how people infer competence and status through nonconformity.[ii] They explored reactions to nonconforming behaviors, such as wearing gym clothes to a luxury boutique or red sneakers in a professional context. They explain that nonconforming behavior can reflect a form of conspicuous consumption—displaying status through prominent and visible evidence of the ability to afford luxury goods, promoting positive inferences of competence and status. We can imagine such an inference likely depends on other factors as well, including hair, makeup, jewelry, and personal hygiene. Wearing sweats with a Rolex watch and a four-carat wedding ring showcasing an impeccable manicure, for example, presents a mixed message regarding the wealth of the wearer.

Dare to Be Different

For professionals who think the only way to dress to impress is by sporting the corporate “uniform,” think again. Bellezza and colleagues found that people confer a higher degree of both competence and status to nonconforming rather than conforming individuals. This might explain the perceived intelligence of the plaid-jacket-wearing professor with horn-rimmed glasses, or the executive running a board meeting in a thousand-dollar sport coat and jeans. In such contexts, nonconformity functions as visible evidence certain people can “afford to follow their own volition.”

But there is a limit. Bellazza and his team note that these positive inferences are mediated by perceived autonomy and affected by observers’ desire for uniqueness—resulting in people with a higher need for uniqueness being more likely to perceive nonconforming individuals as possessing a higher level of status and competence.

And apparently, contextual familiarity matters also. Bellezza and his team note that positive inferences vanish when an observer is unfamiliar with the environment when nonconforming behavior appears unintentional, and in settings where there is an absence of expected norms and collective standards of formal behavior.

Marking Up Dressing Down

The allure of nonconformity is known to advertisers as well, resulting in some seemingly overpriced fashion trends. Bellezza and colleagues explain that nonconforming brands sold for premium prices signal that nonconformists can afford conventional symbols of status—consistent with the “poorgeoisie” trend displayed by wealthy consumers who embrace nonconformity by “dressing like hoboes but spending like millionaires” (citing Kandell, 2012). They note that to “look poor,” these consumers buy products and brands such as shirts and jeans that are priced much higher than average, showcasing an intentional willingness to deviate from the norm.

Resisting Retail Rebellion: Catering to Convention and Compassion

As a caveat to nonconformity research, there are indeed settings where convention and conformity demonstrate respect. Funerals, weddings, and job interviews require thoughtful, appropriate attire, instead of displays of eccentricity. And personal style often takes a back seat to the desire to please partners, friends, and intimates who have shared preferences and proclivities. You are more likely to wear a dress your spouse bought you for your birthday when the two of you go out than daring to be “different” in ripped jeans and an overpriced tank top.

Making a statement through signature clothing may portray style and status, within suitable settings. No one wants to stand out like a sore thumb and be remembered for all the wrong reasons. But most importantly, beyond fashion, people who are clothed with positive emotion, kind words, compassion, and empathy, make the most positive impression of all, in any setting.