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There is a saying:

Dress for the job you want, not the one you have.

I have always understood this as implying that this is a way to help attain "the job you want".

This article references a fairly recent poll from executives, but I'm not sure how great it is.

Several comments and answers on workplace.stackexchange.comgiving opinions or anecdotes claiming it works:

I've had a little difficulty in finding any real research or evidence supporting or denying this approach works.

I would think this claim, that dressing as a certain rank/position would help one attain that position, could be tested.

Is this real wisdom?

I'd prefer more recent studies than older ones if possible, as I wouldn't be surprised in changes in culture over time affecting the results. I'm asking this from a white-collar U.S. context, but would love answers that apply to a more general audience.

Laurel
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zr00
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    Of course I've heard the saying, but it is very vague. It doesn't really make a claim of what will happen, why it will happen or what the boundaries are. Obviously it depends on the work environment (as the astronaut example shows), but that means we have a "no true scotsman" problem - for any occasion it isn't true, we simply exclude it from the data set. Can we find a more specific example? [I looked here](http://fortune.com/2015/03/19/dress-job-promotions/) but it didn't seem to have a specific claim either. – Oddthinking May 25 '18 at 16:02
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    To me, the implied statement was that if you want to be promoted by a rank within your organization, dress like one rank up. I believe that it was a somewhat old saying, and I suspect it was more true back in the day, when social class was more stratified to begin with. Regardless, both the question of "did it work" and of "does it work" should be answerable. – Ben Barden May 25 '18 at 19:27
  • @BenBarden: Work? Work to do what and when? – Oddthinking May 26 '18 at 00:04
  • @BenBarden Yes, you're on the right track for what I intended to, yet unclearly, asked. I'll update my question. I'll also give the context that I work in a corporate IT environment in the U.S., and that I always considered the saying as applying to white collar jobs in general. – zr00 May 27 '18 at 18:05
  • Hunting for the source, the person who popularised recently seems to be Austin Kleon in "Steal like an artist" which is aimed at people looking for creativity - I don't think that's the same as "corporate IT in the USA". – Oddthinking May 28 '18 at 15:24
  • @Oddthinking Interesting. Are you referencing the quote, "Pretend to be something you’re not until you are — fake it until you’re successful, until everybody sees you the way you want them to."? Or did he say the exact thing, and my google-fu is weak? I couldn't find anything specifically about dress code by Kleon. – zr00 May 28 '18 at 18:45
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    I believe the quote first appeared in the 1976 Dress For Success. It is apparently rich in research on what people wear to work. https://www.amazon.ca/Dress-Success-John-T-Molloy/dp/0446328510/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1527777513&sr=8-3&keywords=dress+for+success&dpID=51rjk%252BfBYRL&preST=_SY264_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch – Kate Gregory May 31 '18 at 14:40
  • If you want a more general audience, I'm pretty sure the saying is false for any job where clothing has practical purpose (ie a fireman dressing like a manager), or if you're angling for a job that requires you to dress outside the norm (ie a manager dressing like a fireman). Really the only situation where this might work is if you're in an office job, trying to get your hands on a higher ranked office job. – Erik May 31 '18 at 17:23
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    @zarose: Chapter 2: "you have to dress for the job you want, not the job you have, and you have to start doing the work you want to be doing." – Oddthinking May 31 '18 at 17:24
  • I maintain that this is a poor question for a number of reasons. (1) It takes general advice too literally. The jokes about astronauts and Batman are based on this exact premise. (2) It is *hugely* dependent on context, making it difficult or impossible to answer. In the military, you will get court-martialled. If you need to wear protective gear or a uniform it is meaningless. In IT, gender is a large factor. – Oddthinking May 31 '18 at 17:30
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    (3) Correlation is not causation. People who wear more formal clothes are (a) likely to be more privileged which may affect promotions, (b) might be exhibiting other behaviours and/or maturities that match the superior role, (c) might be signalling to their bosses that they expect a promotion (which might also be achieved with other methods). The only way to test is with a randomised controlled trial where you supply clothes to someone to wear to see how their bosses react. (Would that pass an ethics committee?) – Oddthinking May 31 '18 at 17:31
  • (4) The advice isn't specific. I would interpret it as not just wearing a tie, but adopting the language and other behaviours of a senior role. How can you be sure your test subject is doing it "right"? – Oddthinking May 31 '18 at 17:33
  • I don't read this as "dress sharper than your colleagues", but more like "dress like other people in that position". So for example in an informal environment, adopt that style, if that's where you want to be. – Sklivvz Jun 01 '18 at 07:16

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