Uniform – Company Apparel and how to use it to help your business.

https://www.inc.com/molly-reynolds/research-shows-that-the-clothes-you-wear-actually-change-the-way-you-perform.html

Like it or not, your clothes and presentation communicate volumes about you as a person. The question is not whether you care about fashion, it’s more about what you’re communicating intentionally or unconsciously through your fashion choices. Just as the actor in the right costume moves and speaks differently, so does the everyday person.

Your clothes tell a story about you. If you want to show that your work is clean, sharp, and to the point, you need to dress in clean lines, sharp creases, and (yes) points on your shoes and tie. Even the way you wear your glasses speaks volumes about you and your work!

What Do the Details Show?

Research shows that you can tell a lot about someone’s personality, politics, status, age and income just from looking at a photo of their shoes.

Did you ever notice that when President Barack Obama addressed a crowd of working class Americans, he would speak with no jacket and his sleeves rolled up? That silently and instantly communicated to the audience that he too was a hard worker.

You might remember when a 44 page dress code published by Swiss bank UBS went viral. The obsessive stipulations detailed everything from the sensible (“If you wear a watch, it suggests reliability and that punctuality is of great concern to you”) to the downright invasive (employees were instructed on how to shower and apply lotion, how to wear their underwear, and told not to eat garlic during the week).

They may have been control freaks, but UBS got one thing right: every detail about your presentation communicates something.

When you’re dressing or grooming, consider what it says about you and whether it’s in line with the message you want to communicate. There’s no right or wrong. It’s all about context. A tie can make you look reliable and rooted in tradition. This might be important at an investment firm, where clients want to know that you’re serious about stewarding their capital. But it can also come off as stuffy and resistant to change, which may be inappropriate for a tech startup.

Your Clothing Impacts Your Thinking

Of course, dressing smart is also important for your confidence and sense of self-empowerment. But your style does more than just send messages, to your mind or to others. New research shows it actually impacts how you think. Professional dress, one study found, increases abstract thinking and gives people a broader perspective. So that tie might actually be switching on your creativity button.

“The formality of clothing might not only influence the way others perceive a person, and how people perceive themselves, but could influence decision making in important ways through its influence on processing style,” the study says.

Professional attire creates social distance. When we are more socially distant, we tend to think in more distant, abstract terms. In socially distant settings we address people by their title, for instance, rather than the more intimate first name.

“Even after controlling for socioeconomic status, students wearing more formal clothing showed stronger inclinations towards abstract processing.”

Thin-Slicing

Usually we process visual details instantaneously through a process called thin-slicing. That’s when the brain makes millisecond judgements based on new stimulus. It often happens without us even knowing. We might just get a feeling that we don’t trust someone, or that someone else is steady and reliable. We might not even know why.

That gut feeling, commonly called intuition or a first impression, is really part of the very fast-paced mental process of thin-slicing. It’s how we continually judge books by their covers, all day, every day.

So choose your personal presentation with care. Presentation includes not only your clothes, but your accessories, hairstyle, fragrance, posture, body language, tone of voice, and the level of energy with which you move and speak. Think of the person that you need to be in any particular situation. Then dress, groom, and accessorize in a way that helps you mentally step into that personality.

Are you marching in there to get things done? Put on something red, roll up your sleeves and speak in a commanding voice. Are you making social connections at a gala event? Go for suave, but not workplace formal. Dress to feel attractive. Speak in a smooth tone, and let one shoulder relax.

If you’re loafing around on a long weekend with half a box of pizza, you can probably get away with breaking out the frumpy comfortables.

Taking intentional command of how you dress and present is a good step in empowering yourself, accomplishing your goals, and living a more lucid life at the helm of your decisions. So pay attention! Remember, all the world’s a stage.

Watch: Barbara Corcoran Says One of the Two Most Important Things in Business is the Way You Look

Do your small business employees wear uniforms? If not, perhaps it’s time to start. Consider these seven ways employee uniforms can boost your business.

1. Identification: Uniforms help identify your employees so customers can quickly and easily get help when they need it. For example, a distinctive uniform for restaurant servers, such as Prudential Overall Supply’s bib or bistro aprons, helps customers get faster service because they know exactly who to ask.
2. Visual marketing: Uniforms serve as a marketing tool. Do you have employees who go out into the field, such as delivery people or home repair specialists? Whether they’re driving to a customer’s home, walking down the street or stopping for lunch, a uniform helps brand your business in the minds of everyone who sees them.
3. Safety: Uniforms can keep employees safe. For instance, if you own a construction business, manufacturing company or automotive repair shop, specialized protective uniforms like Prudential Overall Supply’s work pants, coveralls and high-visibility safety vests can protect employees from workplace hazards. By supplying employees with the proper clothing and footwear, you can rest assured knowing that they’re protected.
4. Security: Employee uniforms give customers confidence in your staff. Would you let a repairman into your home if he weren’t wearing a uniform? Neither would your customers. Requiring uniforms gives customers security that your employees are who they say they are. In fact, 75 percent of customers say that uniforms establish trust.
5. Save money and time: Uniforms make life easier for your employees. When your business rents employee uniforms, your workers no longer have to pay for their own work wardrobes. Nor do they have to think about what to wear — they just don a uniform in the morning, saving time and effort.
6. Unity: Employee uniforms build team spirit. With everyone dressed in uniform, it’s easy to feel team spirit. In contrast, if you don’t require uniforms, employees may become competitive over who dresses the best or feel embarrassed if they can’t afford to “keep up with the Joneses” in terms of fashion.
7. Cleanliness: If you choose a company like Prudential Overall Supply, which provides laundering services, you eliminate the risk that employees will neglect to wash their clothing or uniforms. You can feel confident that your staff will always project the right image — clean and crisp, rather than rumpled and dirty.
8. Simplicity: Employee uniforms eliminate dress code hassles. Dress codes are tricky to enforce and can cause office gossip and backbiting. With uniforms, employees know they’re always appropriately dressed — and you don’t have to deal with sensitive dress code issues or morale problems. Prudential Overall Supply offers business casual clothing, such as oxford shirts and polo shirts, to meet the uniform needs of any type of business.