The pandemic changed many things in our lives, but perhaps the most lasting is a new approach to home working and for most of us, more relaxed office wear.

This week we learned about ‘dressing with intention’ and the impact it can have on our productivity. Psychologically, if you get dressed in gym wear, your mind will switch to exercising – the same applies to loungewear or wearing super casual clothes to the office.

A fascinating 2016 study asked 186 female undergraduate students to take a simulated university examination. Participants were randomly assigned to three groups, which consisted of wearing make-up, listening to positive music or colouring in a face on paper.

The results showed that female students who had put make-up on received higher grades compared to those who didn’t. In addition, these students outperformed counterparts with positive mood only.

Now we’re not suggesting that we get up and dress to the nines, but there’s a very interesting correlation between good self-concept and higher production levels.

Team HLN work remotely, and our editor Laura is going to test the theory by getting up and ready every day for a month to see if it improves performance. We thought we’d share our research for outfits that will make us feel put together for any work occasion.