I’m a psychologist & this is what the order you put your clothes on reveals about you

WHETHER you get up last minute and rush out the door or take a more relaxed approach to getting ready, we all have a certain routine we like to follow in the morning.

But have you ever stopped to consider what the order in which you get dressed and prepare for the day might say about your personality?

GettyThe way we get dressed can reveal a lot about our persona[/caption]

Here, Dipti Tait, Psychologist and Behaviour Expert Hypnotherapist shares exactly what your morning routine reveals about you…

Habit of a lifetime

Whether you realise it or not, the chances are you get dressed in the exactly same order nearly every morning – and this is down to the psychology behind how we create habits.

Dipti says: “Our subconscious dressing habits get coded into our lives through repetition.

“We are in charge of all our habits because we have repeated them.

“A repeated behaviour becomes a comfortable behaviour and our ‘preference of order’ – the order we prefer to conserve energy and save time.

“It then becomes hard to break out of this comfort zone.

“For example, when my partner wore some new red trainers when he normally wears white ones to work, he said he felt self-conscious all day.

“Nothing really had changed, apart from the way he felt about the colour of his shoes!”

GettyHave you ever thought about the order in which you get ready in the morning?[/caption]

Dressing to impress

If you start at the top – with your face and make up – before then putting on your bra and top or dress, and working your way down to socks and tights, it can indicate you’re confident and prepared.

Dipti says: “Top down dressing, such as ‘face on first’ suggests you like to be ready for action.

“You are dressing to impress.

“You dress to feel confident and are happy to be on show.”

Bottoms up

The reverse approach, starting at the bottom and working your way up to your face, can suggest a more cautious, thought-through approach.

Dipti says: “Bottom up dressing suggests that you want to be comfortable, you take your time.

“You dress for yourself and are perhaps more tailored.”

“Socks first tends to be a male preference, and underwear first tends to be a female preference.

“This is a subconscious ‘safety’ habit.

“The bits we cover up first are the bits we want to protect and keep safe and comfortable – it’s all about our personal choices to hide bits of ourselves or to reveal bits of ourselves and then it goes even deeper than that.

“Our desire to be seen or viewed, or unseen and ignored, depending on our state of mind and how we are feeling emotionally at that time – who would have thought that getting dressed says so much about your mind and emotions, eh?”

GettyIf you put your socks on first it suggests you like to be comfortable[/caption]

Reflecting your mood

Additionally, before you even put on a single item how you choose your outfit really sets you up for the whole day, and reflects the mood you wake up in.

Dipti says: “If we are feeling happy and positive, we will take time to pick our clothes to reflect our good mood.

“On the flip side, if we are feeling melancholy and depressed, we will struggle to get dressed at all.

“Our style is reflective of our mood and very much reflective of our personality as well.”

Fashion focus

It goes without saying, the outfit itself can also reveal a lot about your personality.

Dipti says: “Extroverted people will tend to seek out quirky or ‘louder’ items of clothing to stand out and make a statement.

“Strong-minded people will dress to impress, perhaps with luxury items to give the impression of being put together and curated.

“Relaxed and easy-going personality types will tend to stick to the same style, and there will be a preference for comfort and the relaxed fit.

“Introverted personality types will be much more practical in their styling approach and wear the first thing they see because it’s familiar.”

GettyStarting at the top of your outfit and working your way down can suggest confidence[/caption]

Two sides to every story

Ultimately, some behaviours we control, and others are more subconscious.

Dipti says: “I believe that there are two sides or ‘halves’ to all of us.

“The top half is the part of ourselves that we have on show, and the bottom half is the bit that is hidden.

“The top and bottom idea can be represented by our external presence and our internal presence. Who we are in public, and who we really are in private. 

“The conscious part we can control, because we have awareness of it, and the subconscious part is harder to control, as this is our habitual nature and unconscious behaviour.

“This top half / bottom half principle was very evident when we were all doing our conference zoom calls during the pandemic.

“Hands up those of you who had a very smart ‘put together’ top half and a very casual / comfortable bottom half?” 

Clothing chaos

If you’d never thought about your routine before however, it’s not surprising.

Dipti says: “Imagine if we didn’t operate habitually for most of our time and we had to really think hard and scrutinise everything we did.

“For example, ‘I wonder how I should take my jumper off – should I pull it over my head first, or should I pull my arms out first?’ Or, ‘should I put my left sock on before my right sock?’

“Then we would never get anything done. We would just spend our whole day deliberating, and that would cause chaos!”

GettyWe don’t overthink exactly how we put our clothes on, and it’s for a very good reason[/caption]