Fashion is the outward expression of one’s identity. Psychological research identifies that clothes have a strong influence on our mental state, and reflect the way we desire to be perceived by others. Whether we choose to dress up, accessorize, etc., our personal style has a lot to say about our personality & personal presences & interests. This is because clothes have a symbolic meaning with direct relation to our identity.

Most importantly, research has proved that clothes can affect your brain. A psychological experiment conducted, confirms how one’s ability to recall information effectively increases when dressed in a white lab coat. This study demonstrated how a white lab coat helped improve one’s memory span and scope of attention.

In this experiment, participants were divided into two groups; one group was given white lab coats and were informed that the coats were doctor’s coats, and the other group were given colored coats. They then proceeded to perform a memory test. The group of participants who wore the white coats acquired half the errors, compared to those who wore colored coats.

To further support this theory, researchers carried out a second test. This was to identify whether the weight of the coat on the individual’s shoulders affected their source. The individuals were also informed this time that they were all wearing “painter’s coats”. The participants who previously scored half the amount of errors, now acquired a bigger score of errors. This helped identify that it wasn’t the type of fabric or the weight of the material that affected their memory and attention span, but rather the symbolic association of the clothing item itself.

This psychological experiment concludes the way in which clothes affect our brains. Each clothing item and fashion style has a symbolic meaning that directly influences the way in which we think, see and act. The way in which we dress daily reflects on the way we desire to have others perceive us. The clothes we wear correlate to age, social class, career and distinctive characteristics.

Due to classical conditioning, we tend to associate certain clothing items and fashion styles with particular ideas and characteristics. So, should school students’ uniforms be changed to white lab coats, in order to improve academic performance? “You are what you wear”.