WEAR. A. TIE.

Judge a Book by its Cover.

    There is a growing generation of adults dressing in poor taste. They justify their excessively scantily clad attire and their messy, unkempt fashion with excuses like "Why do you care?", "Don't sexualize my body.", "Why does it matter?", and "It's my body, I will dress how I want." These excuses often leave the older generation exasperated without retort. It is my hope that I can shed some light-on why dressing like a hooker or a homeless POS is against your best interest.

Heuristics, Hedonism and Egotism.

    It takes exactly 0.4 seconds for someone to form an opinion on you. Before you open your mouth, you are filed away into some mental category. That snap judgement of your merit is quick, decisive and often reductive of one's identity. In 0.4 seconds, the opposite party will decide if you are a peer, an enemy, someone to take seriously or someone to blow off. The post-modern ideology is to blatantly object to this quick heuristic analysis of someone's identity. They claim that it is undignified to the other party and reductive... and they are right. It is degrading to base one's initial judgement on what they wear. However, THERE IS NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE. We are wired to make snap decisions, to assess threats, allies, and other third parties, we make snap decisions on who is to be taken seriously and who is to be cast aside. This decision is often based on ones' clothes, demeanor, gender, age, race, height, build, and a whole slew of other factors. I am more likely to subtly ready my weapon if a 6'3 man in a dirty wife beater and sagging joggers runs towards me, than if a 5'2 woman runs towards me in a power suit and high heels. Like it or not, we have been designed and evolved to judge each other's merit quickly and ruthlessly.

    The younger generation will cry that it is a travesty to subject other people to scrutiny, but all of that bloviating and complaining means nothing to thousands of years of social evolution. If you dress well, people will treat you well, if you dress poorly, you should expect to be treated poorly. How you dress is part of a social contract. Your modesty and polite fashion are an indicator to the rest of society that you mean well and can be regarded as part of the ingroup. No-one cares about you enough initially to give you any second thought, much less a second chance at first impressions. You can moan and cry all you want that you should be allowed to dress however you please, however, all that signals to the rest of society is that you value your personal preferences over the comfort of others and the order of the inherent social contract. Your disregard for appearances paints you as an outlier, someone so self-centered or egocentric that they cannot even adhere to the simplest of social norms. Social norms are in place for a reason; they signal to the majority that you share a common ideology and thus a common value with the rest of the group. That is why style exists, it is why goths all think similar and dress similar. Why white-collar men and blue-collar men appear different in dress and in demeanor. It is the origin of the uniform and the basis for modern fashion. How you dress signals to onlooks, what you value, what you think of others, and what you think of yourself.

    Think carefully of the individuals that use lingerie as normal clothes. Ask yourself, are they often individuals who are humble or egotistic?  Are they vapid or understanding?  Do they value character or appearance? Are they often reserved and analytical or loud and emotional? You know, whether you admit it or not, the answer.

Wear a Tie

    There are no second chances at first impressions. Sure, you can slowly change other peoples' opinions of your merit over time, but why would you want to set yourself up for failure by dressing sloppy and then trying to overcome that initial divide between the presentation of your personhood and your actual character. It is better to wear a tie, act dignified, and achieve the social connections required for success, than to miss out on opportunity for a modicum of egoism and personal comfort. Better to ride the wave of social expectation than to drown under it with the excuse of personal conviction. Be respectable, dress respectably, and get taken seriously.

You Need the Opinion of Others

    If you are one of the people who says to themselves, "Well, if they aren't willing to get to know me first, before they judge me, then why should I want them in my life in the first place!" You prove my point. That thought is inherently egocentric, it is based on pride and on self-righteousness. In that thought, you judge the other party equally and as ruthless as they judge you. You, therefore, are not better than those that you oppose. 

    People that live this way often have worse outlooks and social relationships than their more modest peers. Because the way you dress provides an insight into your values and your personality, you will attract or repel others through the clothes you wear. The women who dress like harlots decry men for being vapid and shallow SOBs. So often do they place themselves on the pedestal of righteous victim that they forget that they may be the cause of their own injustice. If you dress immodestly, but expect yourself to be treated modestly and earnestly, you are naive and have set yourself up for failure. If you wish to attract a high-quality partner, regardless of gender, you should dress in a way that is appealing to the higher values. Immodesty attracts immodesty, baseless hedonists attract other hedonists. Be careful that you set yourself up to be taken seriously. For a serious demeanor and proper attire will attract other individuals of a similar mindset and personal outlook. Many times, I have been given job offers simply by my demeanor and my attire. When I dress well and act respectably, the snap decisions to take me seriously is often reached.

You need the favorable opinion of others if you hope to succeed. We are community creatures, our success in life rides on the favors and the connections granted by others. Use heuristics and peoples' snap judgments about you to your advantage. Dress well, act well, and succeed.