No socks, no leads: How agents can dress for success

Gold said clothing plays an important role in shaping judgments and forming opinions, while helping professionals feel more confident.

Ultimately, she said agents should carefully consider their clothing choices to reflect the tastes of their market, while ensuring they looked put-together and considering options to suit their natural colouring.

Why choose clothing wisely?

Gold said agents should carefully choose their outfits, as people tend to form a judgement about someone within three seconds of meeting them, making first impressions pivotal.

“People do make a judgement on how competent you are based on how you dress or how they feel you are doing a role,” she said.

She also said that clothing can be an instant confidence booster, and that how people dress can affect how they feel and how they perform in their jobs.

“That’s why a lot of people nowadays are taking a bit more effort into how they dress post-COVID, especially.”

“It does have obviously an effect on your mood, so if you're wearing something that you really like, it's probably a good start to the day,” she said.

Sock or no sock?

Gold said an apparent trend of agents going without socks or wearing no-show socks is disappearing after a decade of popularity.

While in recent years, many people chose to pair a sockless look with a dress shoe such as a loafer or Oxford, she said the tide was turning with the rising trend of visible socks.

“A sock can also be worn quite strategically, for example, choosing a sock colour the same as your pants so it creates a continuous vertical line which helps make you look taller,” she said.

“Or a pop of colour or pattern to add personality to an otherwise plain outfit. If you want to look a bit more contemporary, I would go for a sock, as someone who is very partial to a coloured or fun sock.”

Know your audience

Gold said that agents needed to know their audience well and dress to reflect their market to establish a sense of connection with their clients, depending on their geographical location or age.

For example, she said an agent in a rural area should dress neatly but may be considered overdressed or out of touch if they choose to wear a suit.

“Maybe if it's a younger demographic, maybe a more contemporary or casual suit versus a more conservative demographic,” she said.

“[For] an older demographic, you might want to be a bit more typical with your colours. You don't want to stray from navy or a black or a grey – you don't want to go too crazy.”

She said that agents should evaluate what they were trying to achieve and avoid overdressing or underdressing, with the same principle applying to accessories.

“You go, ‘okay, maybe I won't wear the Rolex, or maybe I do wear the Rolex’. Or ‘maybe I do wear the tie, or maybe I don't wear the tie’ depending on the demographic that you are looking at.”

Wear clothes that suit you

Gold said agents should not only reflect their clients in their clothing, but also choose outfits that suit their colouring and personality so they can be the best version of themselves.

She said agents should try to match their outfit colour to their hair, skin tone or hair colour, which may take some experimentation.

“For example, if you are someone who has very light features, you might not want to go for a super dark colour, very contrasting, you might want to go, a lighter blue, for example.”

“If you've got darker features, I do think that sometimes the darker colours of the suits are nicer than something very light.”

She said agents should also factor in which was actually intuitive, because if you do have blonde hair and blue eyes, you're probably not going to be necessarily gravitating towards a very dark suit.

“Then if you are someone who has tan skin and dark hair, you might actually find that you do [prefer] those jewel tones and things like that.”

“I would say making sure that you know what colours bring out your best features and also make you feel good – that's really important.”

Be presentable

Gold said that while agents should choose an outfit that suits them, they should also look out for the more minor details that can throw the entire look off, like a suit that doesn't sit properly or wrinkles in clothing.

“Paying attention to the small details, being well-groomed, all those things I think culminate into a whole outfit when you are getting dressed,” she said.

“I would say as a foundational thing, making sure you have clothes that fit you well, that are properly presented, that's really important,” she concluded.

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