Do Your Clothes Make You Invisible?

We've got spring flowers and trees in full bloom here in Delaware, but the nutty weather and the tragedy at Virginia Tech have cast a pall over what is usually such a refreshing time of year. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of you who have been touched by either.

On a lighter note, a trip to the zoo with my kids last week allowed them to burn some energy - and it reminded me of a simple lesson that inspired today's article. Hope you like it.

Prom, wedding, graduation, formal affair - want a beautiful hair style for your special event, but not sure what would work? Stop fretting! "The Top 25 Formal Updos for Hair You Can Do" can help. From the best styles for your face shape to step-by-step instructions to do it yourself, you can add a lot of glamour to your formal attire without spending a fortune at the salon. See for yourself how easy this is with "The Top 25 Formal Updos for Hair You Can Do":

http://www.dianaprefers.com/formalhair.html

People have long been fascinated with the idea of being invisible. From the old "Invisible Man" movies and TV series to Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, there's something alluring about being able to walk around unseen, to observe how people would behave if you weren't there.

The thing is, you don't really need to BE invisible to have people treat you like you are invisible; you just need to dress in certain ways and they'll act as if you're not there.

It was spring break, and my little ones were off from school and restless. I called my sister, LeAnn, and we decided to brave the chilly, windy weather and take our kids to the Philadelphia Zoo for some fun. After hours of strolling around and seeing the animals, petting the goats, and feeding some ducks, we were ready to go. But we weren't ready to go home; instead, LeAnn wanted to go to the mall. So in jeans and with wind-swept hair, we headed to the King of Prussia mall.

My daughters and neice at the zoo
My daughters (left and center) and niece with goats at the Philly Zoo

Now there are malls, and then there are MALLS. The King of Prussia mall, second largest in the United States after the Mall of the Americas in Minneapolis, falls into the latter category. It has the usual mall stores, like Gap, H&M, and Banana Republic, but it also has luxury retailers like Versace, Tiffany's, and Louis Vuitton. The mixture creates two distinct levels of clientele: those who dress like they can afford to shop at the luxury shops, and those who dress like they have no business venturing into that corridor of the mall. In our casual attire and still smelling a bit like the pachyderm house, we qualified for group number two.

In many of the discount stores, it didn't matter. We received cordial greetings and decent service. But in Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale's, we were ignored. Or at least we were until my younger daughter started playing with a jewelry display, drawn to the pretty baubles like a crow to a shiny object. Then I rated a very crusty look from the well-coiffed woman behind the counter.

It was nearly the same in Charlotte Russe, a trendy discount chain store largely aimed at the late teen/early twenties crowd. While the staff was friendly, their teenage shoppers weren't. Trolling behind my preteen daughter and niece, I had two shoppers step right in front of me like I wasn't even there and not apologize, and then I had to listen to the dramatically impatient sighs of a 16 year old who must have decided that the 30 seconds I spent looking over an accessory display was 25 seconds too long. The only way she could have been more obvious is if she'd put her hand on my back and shoved.

All in all, it was an interesting exercise that demonstrated yet again how quickly people "judge a book by its cover" -- or in this case, by what we wear. Want to be invisible? Just wear something that's not up to the level of attire of the crowd you're with and they'll ignore you like you're not even there.

It's been a while since I've gotten a "You SO don't belong here" look, and I might have been insulted if I hadn't found the whole thing so telling. If I'd been properly groomed and dressed semi-formally in a nice skirt or pants and heels, I would have been treated well wherever I went. But because I wasn't, I was ignored or barely tolerated by some.

Now obviously, my life isn't over because someone gave me a dirty look. I'd have been dead long ago if looks could kill. But it's always interesting to see how people interact with each other, and how strangers can impact your day - or even your self esteem -- with just a smile or a frown.

Have a good-looking guy smile and flirt with you for no apparent reason? It could be a good day. Have a bad-looking woman look you over like you just slithered out from under some rock? It could set the tone for a bad day. Have people give you crusty looks all the time? It's enough to give you a complex.

So think about that the next time you're tempted to throw on "any old thing" and head out the door, or if, like me, you go one place and end up at another: people judge you by how you dress. So if you want to make an impression, dress to impress. Otherwise, you may become all but invisible.

Need some other tips on how to dress to impress? Download a copy of WARDROBE MAGIC

http://www.wardrobemagic.com

to see how easy dressing well can be.