If you’re not already familiar with the terms ‘Dress up’ and ‘Dress down’, know that the meanings are exactly as they seem. Dressing up involves wearing smart and vibrant clothes, while dressing down involves putting on attires that are laid back, casual, and informal. Depending on where you’re going, we usually know when to dress up or dress down. For example, you wouldn’t dress up to go to the gym. Asides the apparent times when you have to dress down to specific places like the beach, gym, or spa, dressing up is almost always a better option. In essence, when unsure, dress up. Here are some reasons why dressing up is a better option than dressing down:
- Dressing up makes you more confident
Dressing up is the ultimate mood changer. When you dress well, you feel good. When it comes to your self-esteem and confidence, there’s no bargaining. Dressing well would always give you that mental edge over others and it is always worth it.
- You get more respect
Dressing well earns you more respect without a doubt. You get to meet the relevant people at your event or even just be seen as an important person altogether. Put simply, a big difference between being bounced at the club gate and being allowed to get in, is your dressing.
- You never know who you run into
This is very important. If you have run into an old friend when you looked scrappy, then you would value the significance of this. Asides running into people you already know, you could also have the opportunity to meet relevant people in your industry or make other essential connections. If you dress down, you might not nearly have the courage to converse with these people. If you do, they might not just take you seriously.
- What’s the worst that can happen if you dress up or down?
With dressing up or down, there is always a trade-off. When you dress up for an event where most people are dressed down, you are seen by most as important. More so, you can easily act like you’re coming from another event or heading out to one. Nobody gets hurt. However, when you dress down for an event in which people are dressing up, you would be sure to have the most uncomfortable set of hours. Dressing up wins always.
- You get compliments
Compliments make us feel good and it further increases our sense of self-worth, so every opportunity to become a recipient of compliments should be taken. Dressing down might give you the opposite as people might just want to know if everything is alright with you.
BY: LAWRETTA EGBA
