Within five seconds of meeting someone, we’ve already made judgments about them. Judgments like how smart they are, what their personality is like, how much money they have and so on. Where do these split-second judgments come from? They can come from a variety of places, but a major source is clothing.

Flashy dressers are often labeled attention-seekers. Wearing skimpy or provocative clothing can give off a sense of insecurity. Stained or wrinkled clothes make it seem like you don’t care. All of these are common assumptions.

A study done in the UK and in Turkey emphasized how real these judgments are. More than 300 adults, both male and female, were shown images of people dressed in clothes of varying degrees of quality. Some men wore tailor-made suits while others wore off-the-rack suits. The viewers rated the more well-dressed people as more successful and confident.

Wearing a tailor-made suit every day is by no means the only way to make a good impression. So how can we still give the appearance of confidence while dressing more casually?

First of all, people can tell if you feel comfortable in your clothes. If it makes you feel self-conscious, don’t wear it.

It’s important to develop your own style, while still being conscious of what you might be telling people through your clothing. Dress appropriately for the day. If you’re staying home all day, then by all means, wear those sweatpants. If you’re going in for a job interview, it would definitely be a good idea to wear something a little nicer.

While you don’t want to just dress exactly the same way as everyone else, you need to find that balance of having your own style and dressing to express a positive message.

“What we wear speaks volumes in just a few seconds. Dressing to impress really is worthwhile and could even be the key to success,” says author and physiologist Dr. Ben C. Fletcher. People will most likely to be more open to someone who communicates a positive message through their clothing.

Clothing is a huge part of first impressions. They give a small taste of who you are. It’s important that how you dress lines up with who you are and who you want people to see you as.