Black Friday Sale! 50% Off All Access

Study: High-End Clothes Can Improve Performance Apparently, it really pays off when you dress for success.

By Lindsay Friedman

Entrepreneur+ Black Friday Sale

Our biggest sale — Get unlimited access to Entrepreneur.com at an unbeatable price. Use code SAVE50 at checkout.*

Claim Offer

*Offer only available to new subscribers

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Unsplash.com

Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Fake it until you make it. Look good, feel good, do good.

Professionals have used phrases like this for years. But it's not just sound advice backed by experience anymore. According to a study by researchers from Penn State, Notre Dame and the University of Kentucky, folks who wear brand name clothes to work were found to have more confidence and performed better.

Related: 'Clothes' the Deal: 7 Ways to Dress to Impress

So, go ahead, buy those expensive designer duds. Dress for the job you want (or think) you should have. It's not just a "treat yourself" purchase anymore. There's no need to justify the need for another $1,000 suit. Those $600 Jimmy Choo's say success. That $200 Chanel jacket? Science.

In actuality, clothes don't even have to really be legitimate designer merchandise. Researchers found if they simply told people they were using a high-end Nike golf putter rather than some off-brand imposer, performance improved by 20 percent. The hole-in-one mentality also proved true for people who were given "high-performance" earplugs to wear during a math quiz.

"Some people have a power suit that they put on for important presentations, or they have some special cufflink that they put on to bring them luck," Frank Germann, Ph.D., an assistant professor of marketing at Notre Dame University Mendoza College of Business, who worked on the study, told Bloomberg. "I think our research would suggest that engaging in that kind of behavior might actually work."

Previous research found a similar correlation between attitude and clothing. For example, a study published in 2008 by Journal of Marketing Research showed logo exposure could actually make people act in a certain way, based on the identity of the brand itself. For example, Apple loyalists were more creative. Disney lovers were more honest compared to E! Entertainment enthusiasts.

Related: Insights: How to Dress to Impress

Lindsay Friedman

Staff writer. Frequently covers franchise news and food trends.

Lindsay Friedman is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Making a Change

This All-Access Pass to Learning Is Now $20 for Black Friday

Unlock more than 1,000 courses to fit your schedule.

Health & Wellness

How to Improve Your Daily Routine to Strike a Balance Between Rest and Business Success

Here's how entrepreneurs can balance their time and energy to prevent burnout.

Money & Finance

Why Donald Trump's Business-First Policies Trump Harris' Consumer-Centric Approach

President Donald Trump's pro-business agenda is packed with policy moves encouraging investment to drive economic growth. The next Congress has a unique opportunity to support entrepreneurship and innovation, improving U.S. competitiveness with the rest of the world.

Business News

Barbara Corcoran Says This Is the Interest Rate Magic Number That Will Make the Market 'Go Ballistic'

Corcoran said she praying for lower interest rates and people are "tired of waiting."

Business News

The Two Richest People in the World Are Fighting on Social Media Again

Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk had a new, contentious exchange on X.