Why You Should Dress Your Best Every Single Day: 35 Compelling Reasons

An old t-shirt, a hoodie and sweatpants. Nothing screams comfort more than this combination. But besides comfort, what else does it make you feel? Confident? Capable? Smart? Not really, right? Now imagine meeting an old friend from school who is dressed in her best, while you are in your sweatpants. Yikes! That’s not a pretty scene. This is why you should always dress your best.

But there are MANY more reasons you should dress your best. Reason #1. Life is short. Always look good. Now let’s find out more reasons why you should always dress your best.

5 reasons to dress well all the time

Have you seen how people dressed during the 1940s-1960s? Men always wore suits with ties to the office and perfectly pressed button-down shirts with trousers on the weekends and even when going to the grocery store. Women wore suits with hats and gloves for all appointments and elegant dresses at home. Jeans and coveralls were meant for laborers, ranchers and farmers. Fast forward to the 2020s. Now people wear their pajamas and even bathrobes to the grocery store. You’ve seen those Walmart memes. You know what I am talking about.

So what happened over the years? Why do we dress so sloppy these days? To be honest, I don’t have the answer to that. But I do know why you should always dress your best and wear clothes that accentuate your personality and personal style. Yes, comfort is an important factor when it comes to dressing, and no, none of us feel like wearing our best clothes every single day. But if you can make just a little bit of effort to dress well, it can make a lot of difference to your life and transform how you feel about yourself.

Related: What Your Favorite Clothing Color Says About You

Here 5 amazing reasons you should dress your best every single day –

1. Life is short. Always look good 

Before we go into the actual benefits of dressing well, let’s focus on this for a second, shall we? I know you’re stressed, tired and exhausted – with work, relationships, finances, family and yourself. Life sucks. I get it. Believe you me. You don’t want to spend an hour every single day finding the right clothes, pressing them, doing your makeup, fixing your hair and making sure you look your best, all before you tackle the hundreds of challenges the day has in store for you. But that effort matters. It shows that you value yourself. It shows that you have the confidence to deal with life’s challenges… in style. And despite all the stress and obstacles the day has to offer, you still look your best. It shows that you have inner strength mixed with a healthy dose of awesomeness. It shows that you are unperturbed by all the shit around you and choose to be your best self day in, day out.

And to top it off, it shows that you realize how fickle the thread of life is. All the chaos and stress that surround us – these are all surface level shit that we have created for ourselves. At the end of it all, all of us will cease to exist and none of this will matter. Got fired? Won’t matter in 6 months. Got dumped? Won’t matter in a few years when you meet your soulmate. Feel frustrated? Won’t matter when you pursue your passion on the weekends. The only thing that will matter is your mindset and your self-esteem. And that is where dressing well comes in. When you dress your best, it shows how confident you are. It makes you feel good about yourself. Try feeling sad when you look hot in that new chic dress. 

If I am going to be depressed about my life, I’d rather look hot af. Catch my drift? In the words of the great Barney Stinson, “Suit Up!”

Related: What Your Favorite Lipstick Color Says About Your Personality

2. Get your confidence out of the closet and put it on

We all have moments of self-doubt. Moments when our confidence takes a plunge and leaves us wondering if we have it in us to make it through the day. This is when being in style and dressing well can make a difference. Self-perception is crucial because how we perceive ourselves determines how others perceive us. According to the psychology of dressing well, when you dress your best, you start a habit of positive self-affirmation. This is the reason why when you dress up for a date or a social event, you immediately feel better about yourself. You feel more confident, have a more positive attitude and act more sociable. On the other hand, when you leave your home wearing an old pair of jeans and a stained t-shirt, you feel terrible about yourself and avoid interacting with others. The rule is simple, to feel great about yourself on the inside, make sure you look great on the outside.

This is especially true when you are in a professional setup. Dressing professionally can make you feel more presentable, capable and confident to tackle daily stressors and obstacles in your professional field. When you control your self-perception and how others perceive you, you will be better able to manage things that are out of your control. Our professional wardrobe also communicates how dedicated and serious we are about our professional goals. It informs our coworkers, managers and directors about what we are truly capable of. Dressing well not only makes you confident, but it also makes others feel confident about your capabilities.

And when you walk down the sidewalk wearing your finest suit or dress and heads turn to take a second (or even a third) look at you, that is surely a confidence booster.

Related: 7 Tips To Gain Confidence And Boost Your Self-esteem

3. Dress up your self-esteem and self-worth

How we dress has a lot to do with how we feel. And how we feel has a lot to do with how we dress. Clothes are our second skin. That’s why when you dress your best and look in the mirror you feel good about yourself. It boosts your mood, your self-esteem and your sense of self-worth. Personally, every time I wear a new outfit that fits me well and compliments my personality, I feel awesome about myself. No matter where I am going and who I am meeting – I feel optimistic and confident about myself. And I am pretty sure the same goes for you. 

When you dress to kill, you feel more authoritative, responsible, competent and reliable.

When you dress for yourself, instead of impressing others, you respect and value yourself. It shows that you know what you are worth and treat yourself accordingly. Your clothes act as a barrier that prevents negative criticism and insults from affecting your mind and self-esteem. Dressing well shows that you care about yourself and are willing to invest the time, money and effort into the belief that you are important (but not in a narcissistic way). It is about self-respect and self-worth, rather than what others think about you.

When you dress your best you tell yourself that you matter to yourself, even if no one else gives a shit about you. It shows that you refuse to give in to self-criticism, self-doubt and poor self-esteem. Looking your best all the time is a way to show that you are thankful for what you have and what you are.

It’s not about pretending to be something else, it’s about appreciating what is inside of you. And if you won’t appreciate your own self, how can you expect others to? Right? Dress your best, be your best.

Related: 5-Step Game Plan For Building A Positive Body Image

4. Impress with a killer first impression

All of us judge a book by its cover. That’s the reason why publishers, authors and graphic designers work so hard on creating the perfect book cover. Visual aesthetic matters. People judge other people by the way they look. You just can’t sugarcoat that. You can call me anti-woke or whatever, but that’s just the truth we have to deal with as humans and as a society. Is it fair? Nope. But it is what it is. 

When you dress like a lousy bum, that’s the impression you are going to leave on others. When you dress your best, you will leave the best first impression on someone.

Clothes are tools that help you create your personal brand. This is how you control how society perceives you. How your friends, colleagues and peers see you. When you dress your best, you craft your social status and reputation the way you want. Best dressed individuals are treated better than people who dress sloppy. Why? Because humans are primarily visual-based creatures.

How you dress tells strangers and people, who barely know you, how they should “judge” you and your character. Yes, we are all judgmental and superficial. That’s just how we are.

While you may not care about how others dress, other people do judge you by your appearance and how you look on a daily basis. In fact, one study found that when a man pretended to be a market researcher, his “Style of dress was found to have a significant influence upon the number of agreements from both older and younger women to answer the interviewer’s questions.” The study found that when the male market researcher dressed smartly, about 73% of older women were more agreeable and around 98% of younger women were more agreeable.

Related: Power-Packed Body Language Tips For Making A Killer First Impression

Making snap judgements based on appearance is a programmed and evolutionary instinct that helps us avoid threats and recognize opportunities. When you dress your best, people see you as attractive, respectable and trustworthy. They perceive you as an opportunity to grow rather than a threat. This is why how you dress has a stronger impact on first impression than how you communicate. You wouldn’t go to a first date or an interview in your sweatshirt. Would you? Be on top of your game and always dress to kill.

5. Like attracts like, smart attracts smart

When you dress like a bum, you will surround yourself with bums. When you dress like a smart individual who dresses like they know who they are and what they want, then that’s the type of crowd you will attract.

When you want to be successful in life, you need to dress for success. Only then you will attract the right people and right opportunities. Dressing for your goals will help you attract the right kind of attention and surround yourself with like-minded people with similar goals. Not only this will inspire you to be your best, you will also have the opportunity to learn from others, meet new and interesting people and land up in good company.

Your wardrobe can speak volumes about your ambitions, authority and confidence. It can help you highlight your strengths and help you stand out of the crowd so that you get noticed by your target audience. This is known as peacocking where you dress up to get noticed. For instance, when you dress your best when going to the bar and look your hottest, you will attract the most handsome and confident guys, while intimidating men who lack confidence and charisma.

Now dressing your best doesn’t have to be expensive. You just need to wear clothes that are clean, fit you well and enhance your personality. Your clothes can raise your energy and vibrations which will attract high-frequency energies and vibrations towards you. When you don’t care about your appearance, you attract people who lack energy, are lazy, have low self-esteem and self-respect. As I said, like attracts like.

Related: 9 Psychological Tricks To Attract People And Make Them Like You More

25 More reasons you should dress your best

Here are some other benefits of dressing well and other reasons why you need to dress your best all the time –

• Looking good makes you feel good. Dressing well boosts your personality and mood.
• It helps you express yourself as fashion can be a form of self-expression.
• Putting on your  “A” game makes you more attractive and appealing.
• You never know why you might meet on your way. A frenemy? Your ex? So make sure to look good everyday.
• When you dress your best, you take a step towards self-improvement.
• It is a sign that you take yourself seriously and care for yourself.
• Dressing smartly helps you rightfully command respect.
• Being well-dressed helps to boost your dating game.
• When you pay attention to how you dress, you pay attention to finer things in life.
• Being in style and looking good promotes self-respect.
• Dressing sharply and smartly can make you more productive at work.
• It can give you a competitive edge over others whether in your career or in dating.
• Stylish and smart clothes help you rise above mediocrity.
• You’re not going to be young forever, so style it up.
• You get to make your haters jealous and annoy closed-minded people.
• You boost your perceived social status when you dress your best.
• Dressing helps you build consistency and boosts your sense of accomplishment.
• It promotes risk taking and creativity.
• Your dress reveals your character and personality.
• When you dress for the job, you will be more productive.
• Styling your attire can make you appear smarter and intelligent.
• Wearing the right clothes can increase your credibility.
• Receiving praise and compliments for your clothes and style can boost your self-esteem.
• Dressing well can be an excellent conversation starter in social situations.
• You deserve to look and feel your best every single day. 

That’s why you should dress your best at all times.

Related: How To Be Pretty? 25 Ways To Look More Attractive, Naturally

The psychology of dressing well

Appearances matter. Even though it shouldn’t. It sucks that we, as a society, judge others by the way a person looks and dresses. What matters more is our knowledge, capabilities, accomplishments, contributions and character. But we can’t use this as an excuse to be a sloppy dresser.

The unfortunate truth is we have been programmed and conditioned by our society to judge and respect people based on how they look and dress. Imagine going on a date, and the other person shows up wearing old clothes with food stains on them and messy hair on the very first date. Nope. You are not going to sit through that and waste your time. Right? 

Okay, imagine you went for a job interview, and the interviewer is dressed very professionally, wearing a really swanky suit and is looking dapper. You immediately start respecting the company, the position you applied for and the management team. Why?

The appearance of the interviewer sends a message to you that this company is serious about what they do, they act professionally and hold themselves in high regard. So you realize that joining this company and being a part of their team will help you achieve a certain level of professional and social status.

Well, the same logic applies to you. Let’s rewind to the start for a second. Remember the hypothetical “old t-shirt, hoodie and sweatpants” combination you were wearing when you met your hypothetical “friend” we talked about in the beginning?

When your friend sees you dressed so casually and carelessly, the first thing they are going to think about you is that you are struggling to be in a positive mental state right now – either you are going through a breakup, or you were recently fired from your job, or you are feeling sick or simply having a bad day. That’s not the impression you want to make on an old friend you stumbled on after years. For someone with anxiety, like me, this is a straight up nightmare scenario. 

Related: The Psychology Of Colors: What Your Favorite Color Says About You

The last thing your friend will think about is that you are a talented, accomplished and happy individual who loves to wear clothes that make them comfortable. Trust me, this will be the last thing on their mind, even though that is exactly how you feel. THIS is why you need to dress your best all the time.

How to dress your best  

Need some tips to dress your best? Dressing well is easy. You don’t have to go for fancy brands or buy expensive clothes. You just need to understand your personal style and wear clothes that accentuate your personality, mindset and attitude. Here are some quick tips on how to dress well all the time –

1. Dress for the occasion. 

Wear clothes that will please your target audience and convey the message you want them to read. For instance, dressing professionally for an interview.

2. Wear clothes that fit you well. 

Get yourself a decent tailor and alter your clothes accordingly to fit your body properly.

3. Choose colors that complement your skin tone. 

It’s also a good idea to go with darker color shades as they can hide the quality of the fabric, constructions and stains.

That’s all. It’s that simple. So why are you still not dressing your best?

Related: What Wearing All Black Reveals About Your Personality

Dress your best

Your dressing style tells the world who you are. It is a form of communication that can speak volumes about who you are inside and outside. So be careful about what you put on your body. However, you also need to have a positive attitude and wear your confidence along with your stylish clothes.