The Essential Workleisure Sweater For Any Wardrobe

Embrace the power of symbolism and the Alter Ego Effect to feel your best through work and life.

Clothing is only as good as how much you feel like yourself when wearing it.

If you feel stuffy, unnatural, or inauthentic, you'll feel constrained, be less effective, creative, and passionate with your work and day.

That’s why a versatile professional sweater that combines work and leisure (workleisure?) is a go-to option to feel like your most energized and creative self.

The best work clothes are the ones that motivate and inspire — the ones that positively influence your thoughts and behaviors.

It’s the clothes in which you notice yourself feeling more present while having meaningful conversations and connecting with people on a deeper level.

This is because it's nearly impossible to feel good and be present when all you can think about is how painful your shoes are or how comfortable and professional your top is.

Investing in one new sweater for your minimalist wardrobe or capsules that carries you through your career and beyond is worth the purchase, especially when you consider the immeasurable benefits to your psychology that you’ll witness.

OC sweaters are more than just comfortable. They make you feel like your most authentic and confident self.

In this post, I'm going to explore how our clothes influence how others perceive us and how we see ourselves.

By the end, I'll answer how to make the most of our phycological biases.

Imposter Syndrome Is Crippling For All

Imposter syndrome can rip away success from people with huge potential.

I’ve felt this way. You may have felt this way. Just as we are accomplishing more and more, we suddenly second-guess ourselves:

Is this really me? Do I deserve this? Is there someone better?

Perhaps there is an easy way to overcome this feeling - one that relates to the psychology behind something simple as how we dress.

Embrace Symbolism... With Your Clothing

When we think of professional clothes, we think of power.

Glasses are seen to signal intelligence.

A luxury watch implies wealth... even today we're seeing certain NFTs signify exclusive community.

Humans tend to assign symbolic meaning to the world around us.

From caveman drawings to Gatsby’s green light, people have always used symbols to communicate effectively and understand each other.

Without symbolism, there's no language.

Without language, there's no communication.

Without communication, there's misunderstanding.

Symbolism is our human instinct, so it is no surprise that this same use of symbolic meaning still deeply influences our day-to-day lives and the biases we form surrounding clothing and identity.

The Alter Ego Effect

We can leverage the effects of symbolism to improve our self-perception with clothing.

In Todd Herman’s Alter Ego Effect, Herman explains that it’s possible to overcome self-doubt and imposter syndrome by assigning yourself a heroic “alter ego.”

Do you want to feel stronger? Smarter? More confident? Simple: Embrace that exact inner version of yourself.

What usually makes you feel more competent? What are the clothes that make you feel like your most authentic self? What are you wearing when you feel the most productive?

Transform that clothing item into a symbol of who you are and who you want to be.

Wear it, and bring your best inner-self into reality.

Becoming My Alter-Ego - The Boss CEO

Recently, I took up an alter ego of my own: an already successful and wealthy CEO.

When I was afraid to send a cold email, I would ask myself: What would the CEO within me do?

My CEO self wouldn’t be afraid to send an email. What if it opened the door to a new opportunity?

When I was afraid to negotiate payment with a client for my marketing business or afraid to approach a company manager to network, I would ask myself the same questions.

Why Your Clothes Impact How You Feel

Of course, shooting your shot doesn’t always go as planned. But 9 times out of 10? Something good will come out of it, even if it wasn’t your initial ask.

But what about on the days I didn’t feel like my CEO self?

When I was full of self-doubt and unable to send a cold email or negotiate toward a better deal?

When I was feeling uninspired to change out of my pajamas, I would ask:

What would make me feel more ready to tackle the day?

What makes me feel most like my inner CEO self?

*Looks at mirror* Not this. I need to be in clothes that make me feel ready to hop on a Zoom call at any moment.

If I look like I have my life together, I’ll feel like it too.

Quickly changing in my OC sweater, I'd already feel more competent and ready to take on the day.

Answering one question through the lens of my alter ego unlocked insight into how what I do and how I feel is influenced by what I wear. Bingo.

If you believe that every good wardrobe starts with owning less and owning better, consider buying yourself an OLIVER CHARLES sweater.