Effects of Clothing Attractiveness on Perceptions

Abstract

In many physical attractiveness studies, it is clothing and other appearance vari ables that are manipulated, not actual physical beauty, in order to vary physical attractiveness. Thus, results that have been attributed to physical attractiveness may actually be due to clothing attractiveness. The purpose of this research was to determine whether people perceive others differentially as a function of the attractiveness of their clothing. Slides of six different models in business attire, three wearing attractive clothing and three wearing unattractive clothing, served as stimuli. Fifty‐nine participants listened to a pre‐recorded audio tape consisting of 30 suggestions relative to marketing a perfume. As a comment was heard, a slide of the woman purported to have made the comment was projected. Sub jects rated the women on competence, work comfort, and sociability. Multivari ate and univariate analyses of variance revealed that, as expected, models dressed in attractive clothing were perceived more positively than models dressed in unattractive clothing on each of the three dependent variables. These results provide some support for a clothing attractiveness stereotype that may function analogously to the well‐documented physical attractiveness stereotype. It is known that physical attractiveness, a variable over which one has little control, exerts a potent influence in social situations. These results imply that clothing attractiveness, a variable over which one has potential control, might exert a similar influence.