Does appearance really matter?

It’s Monday morning. You’re at your desk and you’re feeling pretty good. The new dress you bought on Saturday is an even better choice than you imagined, then…

“Excuse me Miss Brown, what DO you think you are wearing?”

Surprised, you look up. It’s the boss. “Oh, a new dress I got in the sale, why?”

“Well, it is inappropriate clothing. Surely you know the dress code?”

All over the country, people are being told what they can and cannot wear for work. What is ‘professional’ and what is ‘unprofessional’? But in a world where fashion and standards change so fast, perhaps firms are fighting a losing battle. A combination of celebrities and social media mean that a new, slightly out-there trend can catch like wildfire.

We are surrounded by people who embrace their individuality on social media, frequently displaying tattoos, bright hair, and loud makeup. Visions of a people expressing exactly who they want to be. These people have great influence, yet broadcast an image that most companies do not allow. As more young people begin to follow these traits, will employers have a choice to act upon a person’s appearance? And at what point will these characteristics become so common that not employing someone with the suitable qualifications becomes discriminatory behaviour?

In a recent experiment, three different women with the same job title and qualifications wore the same makeup but different coloured lipsticks, pink, red or blue. People on the street were shown pictures and asked to guess at the women’s personalities, education and jobs. The older generation were more likely to be much more definite than the younger generation. They thought the woman with pink lipstick was better educated, had a higher job status and was ‘professional’, ‘sophisticated’ and ‘mature’. Red lipstick also pointed to someone of high status, who was ‘mature’, ‘elegant’ and ‘classical’. Yet the woman with blue lipstick was thought to have a low-status job, minimal education and was described as ‘immature’ and ‘inappropriate’. Results among young people followed the same pattern but were less definite. So why is this? One theory is that anything judged unusual puts us on edge.

In the early 1900s this became entertainment at so-called freak shows. If you looked different, you were stared at, mocked and shunned from society. Although times have changed and those extremes have faded, the stigma still stands that people who look different are not suited for a professional environment, particularly in companies with older owners and dated values. Yet there is a ray of light, as new generations of leaders emerge and a more diverse workforce is challenging what is and what is not accepted.

There has been a very successful campaign among men to ‘loosen the noose’ of almost compulsory tie wearing, led among others by George Clooney.

In a society that more and more values diversity and individuality, I wonder how long it will be before the world of business and education fully catches up.