Analyzing Identity Through Impression Management: Professional Men’s Clothing Choices as a Symbol

It has been said that first impressions can never occur twice. This is true in all regards, and most individuals cope with this through varying degrees of impression management. After a first impression occurs however, the management of that relationship based on further impressions is vital for long term symbiotic relationships to continue between the two or more people involved. In a professional setting, impression management is essential to establish a status quo between coworkers in their respective environments. The most apparent form of this is through the use of symbols, in this case clothing, to establish and reinforce how co-workers think and behave towards each other inside and outside a professional setting. In particular, men have been known to dominate professional settings therefore are noted for their clothing choices. Mark Twain once quipped, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.” This draws a parallel with the common saying, ‘dress for the job you want, not the one you have’. Through the following literature, this essay poses the research question: how do professional men manage their identities via their clothing choices? This essay will discuss what professional identity is, and how people manage their presented self in organizations. Then apply what is said about identity and impression management and apply it to constraints males have within a professional context, and ask how clothing creates opportunities for identity management.

Identification is known as an active process by which individuals link themselves to elements in the social scene. Our identities are vitally important for because they aid people into making sense of their individual experience, organizing th...

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...onship between biological and cultural processes are complex, and should be considered that certain environments produce or enable roles that are played in an individual’s given system. In layman’s terms, gender takes into consideration a variety of factors, while sex is predetermined.

In a narrower lens, the differences between men and women as members of their society perceive the differences imposed on their identification. Differences such as the division of labor into women’s and men’s work and a varying contrast between feminine and masculine attitudes play a prominent role in each social system (West, C., Zimmerman, D., 1987, pg.128). Drawing these conclusions back to the topic of professional men tells us that these roles men acquire are a result of attitudes both genders have accepted to be true, and establishes a dynamic in the course of the workplace.