Tailored Meanings: On the Meaning and Impact of Organizational Dress

Dress in organizations is ubiquitous, yet it has been overlooked in organizational studies. Dress can reflect and create a variety of organizational dynamics. This article offers a framework to consider these dynamics. Three dimensions—attributes of dress, homogeneity of dress, and conspicuousness of dress—are identified. Relationships among these dimensions and organizational processes are proposed. Dress is argued to indicate internal and external processes. Dress also can affect individual and organizational outcomes, including employee compliance and legitimation and organizational image and utilization of human resources. A rich agenda for research is proposed.