Power Dressing or Overdressing? The Effect of Self and Managerial Attire on Employee Perceptions

This study investigates how dress styles influence employees' self-perceptions when they and their managers wear different attire in corporate environments. We surveyed employees across various industries and company sizes, showing them images of individuals in casual, smart casual, business casual, and business formal attire. Based on Peluchette and Karl's (2007) validated instrument, participants rated sixteen self-perception attributes across six dimensions: authoritativeness, competence, productivity, trustworthiness, friendliness, and creativity, with strong reliability coefficients ranging from .82 to .93. Our findings revealed that employees perceive themselves as significantly more authoritative (p = 0.0002) and competent (p = 0.033) when wearing business formal attire, while manager attire significantly affects employees' self-perceived authoritativeness (p = 0.036). Notable gender differences emerged, particularly in how manager attire influences employees' sense of friendliness (p = 0.0089), with female employees rating themselves lower on friendliness when managers wore formal attire. Work environment moderated these effects, with hybrid and remote settings showing significant impacts of manager attire on employees' self-perceived competence (p = 0.0296) and productivity (p = 0.0379). Through factorial ANOVA analyses, we identified complex interactions among attire, gender, work experience, and work environments, extending previous research by examining the bidirectional influence between employee and manager dress codes in contemporary corporate settings.