Nonverbal Messages of Physical Appearance

 

  

            Messages of Physical Appearance 

Physical Appearance includes: clothing, artifacts, cosmetics, hairstyle etc. that people use to communicate with others.

Funny story: When I tell people that I was born and raised in Russia, people expect me to look and dress like this: 

         or this

But I look like this... 

  Yes! Very anticlimactic! However, I still wear red dresses and braid my hair, so don't be so disappointed!

Messages Portrayed Through My Style

1. Maturity. 

  

Unlike most of my peers I adore simple clothing and steer away from extravagant crop tops and short skirts/shorts. It all has to do with my level of maturity. I perceive myself very mature by wearing formal clothes like  causal or moderately-extravagant dresses during the summer and sandals. I do not think that every one who is wearing crop-tops is immature- in my perception, if I could dress maturity in clothing, it would be a dress and a pair of causal hedges and of course that is subjective. However, revealing one's midsection is associated with turbulence of teenage years and when I try to wear a crop-top I feel like a turbulent teenager that I never was. 

When I wear formal clothes I feel  more in control of my body and behavior as well.  To me, being able to exert control over one's behavior is a sign of maturity. 

2. Level of Comfort 

 

If my friends see me in oversized hoodies and sweatpants that means I am feeling comfortable, relaxed and care-free with myself and others around me. I dress like this only when I am at home, because my house is where I fee comfortable the most. 

If  I dress up, meaning it took me more than 1 minute to decide on my outfit, then I am ready to go out in public, get business done and run some errands outside of my house. 

Similarly, if I have close family over, and I am wearing pajamas and a hoodie- this means that I feel comfortable and cozy around them. However, if we have guests outside of family over or even if it is a washing -machine maintenance guy, I dress formally, because I do not feel comfortable around people who are not close to me. 

3. Personality/ Moods/Emotions 

My personality is obvious from the colors of my sweaters and dresses. I wear clothing that is bright in color and my wardrobe contains colors like green, orange, beige, peach, yellow, light blue. Light colors always bring me joy, so I wear bright colors when I am happy. However, when I am sad, I wear dark colors of my wardrobe like dark blue, dull green, grey, maroon. Moreover, I am a creative person , so I have clothing that has various patterns like polka dots, vertical and horizontal lines, floral patterns, kitties ( cats)  and squares that correspond to my level of creativity. 

Presenting Myself In Various Contexts

1. American Household 

I present myself a little less formal when I enter an American household, meaning I will wear jeans instead of a dress, because I fear appearing condescending by dressing up nicer than people in standard American households. Also, I would feel uncomfortable, because I did not dress properly for an occasion. For example, if I  was just eating pizza and watching TV with my friends- I would not wear a dress, because it would be  tricky to properly position myself without revealing too much.  The goal of my clothing is to be comfortable for me and others. 

2. Non- American/ European household 

I present myself in a formal manner, because by European standards- one must appear neat and collected to show respect for the people who invited you and to show that a person who was invited was raised in a neat, organized, loving family. 

3. Person I know vs. person I am not familiar with. 

I present myself formally in both situations, because European me likes to present the best version of myself to the people I care about and people whom I just met. Dressing up formally for my friends and strangers is a way I show respect and gratitude to the people who come and go throughout my life. Moreover, it is a way for me to demonstrate my personality, moods, and emotions to people no matter who they are. 

4. College vs. Work 

School and College are always perceived as formal, business-like institutions in my opinion, so I try to combine my clothing with my personality and maturity. I would wear bright clothing to a college lecture, but also wear restrictive clothing like dress pants or skirts to keep me focused, instead of wearing sweatpants. Sweatpants is a game over for my concentration in class! LOL. 

At work I tend to wear  comfortable clothing that as opposed to good looking apparel, because I used to work long, 10-hour shifts where my performance was greatly affected by comfort. For example, wearing jeans on a  long shift stiffened my joints, so it was painful to stand for long periods of time, but was necessary to perform my job well. 

Perceptive Misconceptions

When I meet new people and make new friends- everyone considers me so formal and somewhat dull and annoying, because I dress like their mom or somebody who is going to a job interview. However, I still am a young adult that likes to have fun and enjoy life. As people get to know me better- they understand that I can dress formally and still behave and communicate like a 19 year old. 

One huge misconception that come out, because I wear formal clothing is that people think I am way older than I actually am. For example, grown middle-aged men would come up to me ask me to grab some coffee or go on a date with them without realizing that they are twice my age.