Is it natural to judge people on how they dress and carry themselves?

I say absolutely yes. I am going to give this example, with the intent not to reflect anything bad on homeless people.

If the door opened wide and two men stood before you, one a homeless person, the other dressed in a suit, tie and handsome….....which would you select and why?

This is just life’s society today and I never expect it to change in my lifetime.

Clothes and mannerisims do make a difference.

For me, this one doesn’t hold true . . .

Yes, it is natural. But I have learned that it is not always correct. Sometimes people who are not dressed well are the salt of the earth, while we all know that handsome, well-dressed people can be heels or even criminals.

First impressions are usually based on how a person appears and dresses.

While once you go past that and get a chance to know someone, you certainly can put aside those first impressions.

I however think it does bear some reality especially in a business world. I think there is a link between how a person puts themselves together and how they perform their job in certain careers.

It is natural to judge others on how they present themselves.

Yes, I have known myself to form opinions about people based on how they presented themselves.

I don’t usually judge by looks, or clothes, but by what you have to say and how you treat people. I think probably when I was younger I did, but, now that I’m older and wiser….......; )

It happens but mostly no, I don’t judge people by how they look. My experience has shown me the way someone looks is a very poor indicator of the person behind the image. I have met some truly horrible beautifully presented people and some absolutely beautiful horribly presented people.

It’s natural. Anyone who says different is lying.

I think it is natural, if not always correct. I’m fairly clueless when it comes to how people dress, and I rarely notice, but when a guy has his pants so low the butt crack shows, I think it looks disgusting. Another style I don’t like is when women wear dresses or sweaters that fall off one shoulder.

First impressions are just that. If that’s all you know about a person, you may make decisions that you’ll regret as far as getting to know the person better. Or not.
If you’re hiring someone for a particular job and he doesn’t measure up in a first impression, he may not get that job.
We make judgments based on how someone looks, no doubt about it.

Sure. We make determinations (judgements) everyday. When we first meet a stranger, we rely on what we see to determine if the person is approachable or not. Then we observe their manners to see if we are liked or not. Even children do this. Only they tend to not be alarmed unless someone looks really strange or unusual to them. We judge to survive. People like to believe they don’t do that but ask anyone if they would meet a huge tatooed guy who is wearing sunglasses and a hoodie in a abandoned parking lot and you will find few takers.
Now replace said guy, with a pretty woman who is dressed to the 9’s and people will not have a problem with that. Of course that pretty lady could work for the black market in getting live organs from unknowing donors, but her dress and defensless nature and possible education, will lead people to trust her.
I am an equal opportunity judger. I think anyone is capable of wanting my liver till I know them really well.

@digitalimpression I am not lying. I really do not look at the exteriors of folks but make very strong impressions based on their character (actions strike me much more than appearances).

I think that it can be safe to assume so, but also easily very stupid. You have no idea what reason may be behind what they are wearing. Hell I ran to a store once unshaven with torn jeans and worn down shoes, doesn’t mean I’m homeless or a thief. I just needed to grab some ingredients to save a Mother’s Day brunch.

I think this is a “natural,” social habit… but I definitely try to avoid doing it. Sometimes I make snap judgments, but I usually reel myself in and give everyone a chance to prove themselves. You really can’t judge a book by its cover.

And, I am certainly not “lying.”

I think it is natural, in the way that doing anything becomes second nature if you are encouraged to do it all the time. I’ve found that our daily costumes influence our behaviors for the day. If I’m wearing a suit and heels, then I act differently from when I’m wearing t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. I feel different when I’m wearing straight leg pants, or something too tight, or sweatpants and I act accordingly.

I think we constantly evaluate each other based on many criteria. Clothing and presentation and how we speak the language and the quality of our thinking—but a few of the criteria we use to assess others.

The question is how well does clothing correlate with our other measures of people? I don’t know. I know it doesn’t really matter because it is almost never that we judge solely based on clothing. Sure, clothing provides a first impression, but that is the sole source of the impression only if you like to live a risky life.

I certainly believe I can get some interesting and useful information about a person based on what they wear. People who look very comfortable in business suits make me nervous. I suspect they don’t like unconventional people and unconventional thought. I suspect they have very rigid ideas about others.

I’m not sure what I would make of someone who was dressed shabbily. Do they smell? How do they speak? Etc. etc. It’s never just clothes. I find that I am usually wise to wait until I have more information before I make a preliminary judgement about someone. But then again, there are so many billions of people in the world. I almost never have enough to do with a person that I have to form even a first impression about them.

Some of the most fascinating students I have come across in my work have been covered in tatts, have piercings through their face or are carrying a surf board. I have been to many community meetings where people haven’t got tidy hair cuts and aren’t dressed in fancy clothes and then they speak, and they enthral the people listening because of their incredible passion for the goals they are trying to achieve. I have learned from the very old to the very young. The field I work in now means I don’t get to see the majority of the people I work with. I love that because there is nothing to distract either of us from the work we are focused on. There is just me and them and the work they produce. I am also not lying when I say I have learned from experience first impressions are just that.

I do think some if not many people judge others based on how they look, speak and act. And I would counsel anyone who is going for a loan, a new job, to get a scholarship and the like to consider how they present themselves. It matters because people will judge based on those things. I am not oblivious to the truth of that, I have just learned how misleading those superficial things can be in reality.

It would have to be very extreme for me to judge. I do think how someone presents themselves matters in society in general though. I do think it is necessary to comform to some degree for work, or out of respect in some cases.

Some people are just challenged in the how to dress department, it is not even really a fashion thing, it is beyond that. It’s like they just don’t notice clothing, don’t judge others at all based on clothing or grooming, and so it is simply not important to them, and they are bad at it themselves.

Looking dishevelled can be a sign of mental illness. Medical professionals definitely note it as an observation. And, I am not saying just medical professionals in the psych field. It actually pisses me off a little, I think sometimes it is too extreme in how they perceive someone by how they look.

I always think get to know someone as an individual, never let outward appearance or stereotypes get in the way of knowing someone for who they really are.

It’s a natural defense mechanism that is inside all of us way down inside there. The folks who ignore this instinct are naive and probably have things go badly more than the average.

@woodcutter I don’t think the instinct is to judge based on clothing. I think your gut tells you when a person is “off,” for whatever reason.. and it’s foolish to ignore that.

I was taught by my teachers to never judge people by the way they look, so I don’t, I’m comfortable with what I like and how I choose to look. I grew up and found out that my teachers were liberal minded. I also grew up and learned the way of the world, our business society, requires tons of appearance requirements. I have tattoos, a black eyed birthmark under my right eye and I have to shave every day. I’m just not cut out for the “All American Clean Look.” Just as @woodcutter mentioned, if I were hired at an ice-cream shop that caters to tiny people, they might see me as intimidating and scary, because were also taught that tattoos and beards and black eyes are tough. It’s unfortunate for me, because I have no tough guy in me. Just want to love and be loved in return. I’m judged by the way I look, I’m persecuted as a “hipster” I’m labeled and its so fucking sad that the world hasn’t grown up. But strangely with all that being said. I do admire the uniform. I do like walking into burger restraunts and everyone is uniformed. As well as electronic stores and friendly “professional” businesses.

Absolutely agree @ANef_is_Enuf. There is a difference between looking past the way someone is dressed to ignoring a feeling that something isn’t quite right about a person. That may be brought on about the way they look AT you or their body language.

@Kayak8 Its your lie. Tell it how you want to.

Maybe I’m a rarebee but first impressions rarely impress me when compared to most others it seems. There are extreme exceptions as far as a person’s dress attire goes but it is rare that I go too far with judgments on this info alone. Far more important to me rather than how one dresses or carries themselves is the company they associate with, the things they say (and the tone), how they take to you and generally just a gut feeling.

Yes and it is fine to do so. It is what keeps us safe in some circumstances. If I see a man wearing gang colors and a dude walking around in jeans and a blank t-shirt I am most likely to ask the man in jeans for directions over asking the guy in all red, with his hat tilted to the side and his pants around his ass. Could I be wrong, I certainly could be but I will take that risk.
Maybe it makes more sense like this…..Would you approach the Wolf, the German Shepard or the Husky first if run across in the wilderness, why? Because you know that wolfs are dangerous and that Shepherds can bite you to the bone and Huskies are more likely to be gentle. All three are dogs and all three are capable of ripping you to shreds just as all three are capable of cuddling up with you but you choose the one that appears less threatening and for good reason.
People will always judge you based on their first impression. Some will be open to accepting that the first impression is not always right but not many will be willing to change that image once they have received it and calculated what risk you pose to them.

It’s another play on words depending on political correctness, or lack of. Some may even call coming to a conclusion based on a first impression as profiling. Judging? I think the person being examined would call it that, If they want to refuse to believe if ya dress oddly and act oddly people will wonder about them then it’s their call….Be weird if ya want but be ready for the consequences

I really don’t judge by what people wear and maybe that’s because I myself am not clothes conscious. I remember when my youngest son got marrried, my friends sweetly offered to take me to buy an outfit for the wedding and the friends I made here in the finger lakes do the same when I say I need to shop for clothes for our girls night out. But inspite of that, I’ve always had the pleasure of the company of nice people.

People would definitely look at me differently if I wore pink leggings, so yes.

@Blackberry Cute answer! : )

It’s natural. The first thing people see is your physical appearance, so that’s the first thing people use to “judge” others.

Yes, I think it’s completely natural.

I hardly even notice what people are wearing unless it’s really outlandish. I guess if it’s really outlandish I might naturally judge, though. But I also take care to consciously override this as much as possible by reminding myself that the way people dress doesn’t really matter or give me any real information on what kind of people they are.

@digitalimpression It’s natural. Anyone who says different is lying.
Say that! There are many here in the collective lying; and not just lying but bold face lying. I can’t count how many times people have tried to say that to take into account what a person looks like, what they are wearing or if they have tattoo as any indicator of if you want to progress to the personality stage is just shallow. This question here certain make them a liar.I hope they get by this tread to see how wrong they were.