Designer Logos Might Really Improve Your Life

REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak

“Carrying a $10,000 Birkin bag by Hermès will make you the envy of your friends. It could also help you snag a higher salary and better job recommendations.

Rob Nelissen and Marijn Meijers, social psychologists at Tilburg University in the Netherlands, conducted a series of experiments to test whether designer labels affect how we perceive people. In one experiment, participants rated strangers wearing Lacoste or Tommy Hilfiger polo shirts as wealthier and higher status than people wearing unbranded polos. In another, strangers were more likely to donate to charity if the person collecting donations wore a sweater with a designer logo.

The research, which will be published in the forthcoming issue of Evolution and Human Behavior, suggests that fashion impacts our earning potential, too. Nelissen and Meijers showed volunteers one of two videos of the same man being interviewed for a job. In one video his shirt featured a logo and in the other it didn’t. Volunteers rated him more suitable for the position, and suggested he earn 9% more, when a conspicuous logo was present.”

As shallow as it sounds, I believe this is true.  But to go along with the designer handbags and clothing, you must also be neatly groomed and well (or at least decently) mannered.  So now not only would you earn more if you were good looking, (a whole 4-5%!), but you can dress the part as well. If you were a hiring manager, who would you rather higher – if two candidates had the same educational and professional background, would you rather hire Candidate A, who looks like they have a bit more style, perhaps making them more savvy and relatable to the client, or the one who doesn’t look like they have any money whatsoever?  I’ve always heard the phrase “If you look like money, it will follow”, and have seen it proven time and time again in many scenarios.  So ladies, purchasing that designer bag may also be an investment in your future, not just your fashion sense!

(Source) 

Former model worried she’s “too beautiful” for the corporate world

Is there such thing as being too beautiful to work?  Apparently a woman in London believes she might be and is concerned. 

She writes: 

“I know that you will think this problem is mad, but I fear I’m too good looking for corporate life.  As a student I used my looks to make money modelling, but now that I’m in the City I feel they are holding me back. Female colleagues distrust me, while male colleagues are drawn to me, but don’t take me very seriously.

My boss has told me that I need to network more. But I find networking events are ghastly, with all the eager men dribbling over me. What can I do, short of turning up to work in a bin liner?

Banker, female, 27″

While it’s not surprising that feel that attractive people fare better in the workplace and life overall, it’s not always true.  People judge you based on how you hold yourself and what you project.  If you walk around like you’re the hottest thing out there and wear clothes that acentutate certain assets, then you will  receive exactly what you put out there.  There was the case of Debrahlee Lorenzana of Citigroup last year, a full-figured Puerto Rican woman - she claims that her appearance, as much as she attempted to cover up, was just too sexy for her co-workers to handle. 

I have had co-workers who are drop-dead gorgeous and have all the guys drooling upon first sight, but after working with them for a while, they are highly respected and no one makes crass comments.  But beautiful people don’t always have it easy, there are plenty of people out there who make it a point of putting them down, and at times they have to work harder to get the same respect a more brainy but less attractive colleague may receive.

“The findings came from a study by the University of Colorado Business School:

Attractive women were discriminated against when applying for jobs considered “masculine”, and for which appearance was not seen as important to the job… Positions such as manager of research and development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor were not considered favourable for attractive women.

“In every other kind of job, attractive women were preferred. This wasn’t the case with men, which shows that there is still a double standard when it comes to gender.”  Attractive men, however, suffered no discrimination and were always at an advantage.

A study by MSNBC and Elle on the other hand, found “female bosses who were considered attractive were rated competent 58% of the time, compared with 23% for unattractive supervisors.”

(Source)