Are you nicer when you like your outfit?

The recent blog “I’m nicer when I like my outfit” received an astonishing 500,000 likes. Yes that’s quite a few, for what may seem to most as a fairly bland, or even an obvious statement! That so, our Studio Team decided to set to to understand the science behind this emotive response and learn how we use it to influence uniform design and generate positive sentiment leading to nicer staff and happier customers particularly for customer facing organisations. 

A few questions to get you thinking:

• Do you remember when your parents tried to make you wear clothes you really didn’t like and the negative feelings that welled up within you?
• Have you ever discovered how an outfit can transform your look and lift your confidence?
• Do you find that looking smart gives you significance or that the opposite drags you down?

Clothes are silently powerful; an expression of our personality, a statement of what we are. And without you or the people around you even realising it, they have a subconscious effect on your attitude towards others, and other people’s views and behaviours towards you.

Now translate that into corporate uniform and we have a formula for success. If your staff come to work feeling upbeat about the way they look and feel, confident, and motivated, that will have a subconscious effect on how they treat your customers and in return how your customers feel about your company. That positive customer experience then translates into a handsome return on what doesn’t need to be a big investment in uniform.

After more than 40 years of designing, making, and delivering corporate uniforms, Murray are not novices and we understand that there are many factors that influence how staff react to uniform and how garments aid or frustrate daily tasks.  Design can often be mistaken for aesthetics alone but equally important is the cut, fit, grading, construction and lots more. Imagine being a waiter with a kimono style uniform; you will be constantly frustrated by impractical sleeves dragging in food. However if you are an air hostess a blouse with an action back will give lots of room when reaching up to those overhead lockers. A couple of simple examples.

However style shouldn’t be omitted in the quest for practicality. No-one wants to be made to look ridiculous in a compulsory uniform. On the other side of the coin, a successful uniform design will improve employees’ buy in to the point that they love it so much that they want to wear it outside of work! A uniform designer must ensure that garments are designed not only to fit but also to complement a large range of body shapes and sizes. If all staff feel that their uniform is on-trend and flattering, they will be a lot happier and as we’ve already said, employee satisfaction impacts business performance!