"Image" here meaning the perception we project based on how we look combined with what we wear. It's been in the back of my mind since mentioning my hesitation that flat caps might make me look like a thug, as this is the effect when I wear a fedora with a suit. Doc4 correctly pointed out that it might not be the hat. Yet what we wear can alter the image we project.
What really bought it home was a surprise hat acquisition today. Came across a hard shell toyo straw cowboy hat in an off-white finish and a black fake leather band with light color metal studs evenly spaced about it. Has three grommetted air holes on each side. liked it, wife liked how it looked on me, and I bought it. Quickly determined this is way too nice, despite the price, to be an every day hat. But it "fits" in more ways than one. The image it projects in my every day clothes is a friendly one. Sure, it's all hat and no cattle (we used to have a small herd - does that count?), but it conveys a completely different image than a fedora and suit.
Not an isolated case, naturally. When I put on overalls and a style of straw hat favored by a grandfather, I look like a farmer. Snap up the sides of my boonie hat, and my wife and all the offspring say I look like a Cajun (?). My usual straw hat makes me look like a farmer, too. My Panamas give a more nondescript image (though one person thought it had a "Mafia" look, I just don't see it). I've been known to tie a bandana on my head to keep sweat out of my eyes, and that gives me a "biker" image if I'm not wearing a hat on top of it.
How does what you wear affect how you look to others?
What really bought it home was a surprise hat acquisition today. Came across a hard shell toyo straw cowboy hat in an off-white finish and a black fake leather band with light color metal studs evenly spaced about it. Has three grommetted air holes on each side. liked it, wife liked how it looked on me, and I bought it. Quickly determined this is way too nice, despite the price, to be an every day hat. But it "fits" in more ways than one. The image it projects in my every day clothes is a friendly one. Sure, it's all hat and no cattle (we used to have a small herd - does that count?), but it conveys a completely different image than a fedora and suit.
Not an isolated case, naturally. When I put on overalls and a style of straw hat favored by a grandfather, I look like a farmer. Snap up the sides of my boonie hat, and my wife and all the offspring say I look like a Cajun (?). My usual straw hat makes me look like a farmer, too. My Panamas give a more nondescript image (though one person thought it had a "Mafia" look, I just don't see it). I've been known to tie a bandana on my head to keep sweat out of my eyes, and that gives me a "biker" image if I'm not wearing a hat on top of it.
How does what you wear affect how you look to others?