Strong & socksy
Fashion psychologist casts her eye over what Leo & Co are wearing...and gives her verdict
Wear your own style. It’s too hard to keep up the pretence of being someone else
PROF CAROLYN MAIR, LEFT, YESTERDAY
LEO Varadkar is a conscientious professional with an eccentric side, Bono is down to earth, Roy Keane is an alpha male who is maturing and Mary Lou Mcdonald is alluring.
That’s the view of award-winning fashion psychologist Carolyn Mair who revealed how we dress says a lot about our personalities.
Professor Mair – in Ireland for a campaign by department store TK Maxx on the empowerment potential of individual personal style – believes clothes provide a unique way of expressing ourselves.
The author of the Psychology Of Fashion looked at some of our best-known personalities and decoded what their fashion choices tell us about them. She said the Taoiseach may appear conservative but his fondness for showing off a zany sock is a signal of his more “quirky” personality. Prof Mair added: “Wearing a wellfitting, tailored suit – as Leo Varadkar does – is associated with being reliable, professional and conscientious. His clothes are appropriate for his role as leader of the country.
“He shows his personality through his socks, showing off his quirkiness, which is very cool. Socks for men can be like shoes for women.
“You might see a woman in a business suit and then look down and see these incredible shoes and go, ‘Wow’.” She said Ali Hewson and Bono adopt a “mirroring” style when it comes to clothes – when she’s smart, casual or formal he is too.
Prof Mair added: “They know their style and consider the occasion and context. They may choose different silhouettes, but the style is the same.”
Ali – who founded ethical fashion brand Edun – mostly wears black.
Prof Mair said: “There are only a few pictures of her wearing a deep cerise or midnight blue, but mainly black. She works in fashion. People who work in fashion wear black, it’s like the uniform. Black, loose and androgynous, which is Ali’s style, is very much fashion.”
She added: “Bono is really down to earth, he has never changed his style. He dresses like a rock star and he carries it so well.
“He looks genuine and he’s an activist, so he’s not flamboyant. He doesn’t seem excessive, which given his activism would be inappropriate.”
Roy Keane’s recent adoption of corduroy and a beard shows he’s moving from rebel to reliable. But he’s still an alpha male.
Prof Mair said: “It’s a real country look. Perhaps he is trying to show a more reliable, fatherly side. It could be a sign of maturing – separating himself from his sports personality and
moving into a different role as a TV personality. Beards are very fashionable and this one is definitely alpha male – the fullness and thickness suggests plenty of testosterone, which women will find attractive.”
Mary Lou Mcdonald’s frequent choice of red is a sign of a person who feels attractive and, as a result, is attractive to others.
The Sinn Fein leader uses colour to convey a message – often through jackets that match the event.
Prof Mair added: “Colours are interpreted according to socio-cultural
learning and we see her in green jackets, which is patriotic, or red, which is for winning.” Prof Mair said she is also fond of red lipstick, adding: “Red is attractive. It is perceived as attractive and then people see us as more attractive.
“If you’re on a date wearing red, men will spend more money on you, they tip waitresses more if they’re wearing red. Even on a dating website, a red background will result in more hits.
“If you want to be more attractive, wear red.”
Prof Mair chose actresses Sharon Horgan and Amy Huberman as Irish women of distinct and confident style.
She singled out Amy’s choice of outfit when meeting Prince Harry and his new wife recently.
She said of the gold dress: “It’s gorgeous. It’s special. Her usual feminine style, with a richer edge to it for the occasion. It’s an event dress, suitable for royalty.”
Prof Mair added Catastrophe star Horgan’s clothes show she is “vibrant, fun, dynamic and definitely her own person. She is obviously confident, a woman who clearly knows who she is”.
She said Roisin Murphy’s style is beyond fashion and into performance.
“She is interesting, multi-talented and has lots of sides to her.
“Music is just one way of expressing who she is, clothes are another. She combines the two.”
Murphy is what Prof Mair describes as the opposite of “twinning” – a new fashion trend where you copy the exact look of a celebrity, or dress the same as a friend. She said it is “a sad indictment of us losing our own identities.” She added: “Twinning is the opposite of individualism, where we all dress the same and look the same.
“I think it has come about through cosmetic surgery, where people are morphing into the one person.
“The concept of beauty is that beauty is rare, so if everyone looks the same what is beautiful?”
It’s a trend that has come about due to social media, where people clamour to get “likes” and is an easy option for those too lazy to think about style.
Prof Mair said: “You’re just a fashion follower then and without leaders, we’d never have David Bowie or Grace Jones.
“It’s good to take a little bit of the style,and adapt it to your individuality, but not direct copying. That’s not creative and it’s hard to maintain.
“It’s all perpetuated by social media, where people post up photos of their outfits and we copy them until we look like these celebs – but what is that saying about ourselves?
“Wear your own style, something you feel confident in.
“It’s too hard to keep up the pretence of being someone else.”