Girls of a certain age expose their stomachs, and boys expose their underwear.\u00a0 Those of us who are too old to seek this kind of social status based on sex appeal are more concerned about dressing to project power, authority, and stability.<\/p>\n

We select our clothes even more carefully when we are going to present.\u00a0 Do we dress like the audience?\u00a0 Do we dress in our finest?\u00a0 Or do we calculate what the audience will wear and dress slightly more formally?<\/p>\n

We agonize over such questions because clothing is one of the languages we speak.\u00a0 Our first (or second) language is English.\u00a0 Then we have the specialized language of our industry or profession, which in some cases takes years to master.\u00a0 We also speak body language<\/a><\/strong>, over which we have little control and which communicates volumes about who we are.\u00a0 Then there is para-linguistics, which amounts to the impact of our speaking voice<\/strong> (nasal? whiney?\u00a0fast?\u00a0sonorous?\u00a0deep?\u00a0Brooklynese?\u00a0Old New England?)<\/p>\n

But not to be neglected is what social science calls “Symbolic Communication.”\u00a0 We choose our clothes, grooming,\u00a0and accessories to show the world\u00a0who we want to be.\u00a0 Thus, in adolescence, soon after the hormones kick in, we drop our drawers and raise our shirts to say, “I have the power of sex appeal.”<\/p>\n

And when that phase is over, we climb into our power suits and power ties, wear a lot of black, and keep our hair neat and tidy so as not to suggest anything too playful.<\/p>\n

We choose our watches and our cars as accessories, in order to tell others that we are successful and in-demand.\u00a0 We locate our businesses at prestigious addresses in order to appeal to the social aspirations of our potential customers.\u00a0 Such choices are forms of symbolic communication.<\/p>\n

We do this to earn the trust and respect of others, so that they will give us responsibility and money, and we will therefore be prosperous, respectable, and secure.<\/p>\n

I find it fascinating that it is difficult to trust somebody who is not dressed properly.\u00a0 We want airline pilots, judges, and\u00a0doctors\u00a0to wear uniforms.\u00a0 And those of us in business create our own uniform code of attire.\u00a0 Blue suits, red ties, skirts at the knee, cleavage in storage.<\/p>\n

We don’t want our heart surgeons\u00a0and pilots to wear torn blue jeans and ripped T-shirts.\u00a0 We don’t want our bankers to dress like Jimi Hendrix or Elton John.<\/p>\n

Clothes make the man.\u00a0 I think Beau Brummel said that.<\/p>\n

Deep down, we’re all shallow.\u00a0\u00a0Oscar Wilde said that.<\/p>\n

I say clothes are either about sex or power.\u00a0 Guess which type presenters wear?<\/p>\n