As Easter term rears its ugly head, more of us are spending hours upon hours in the library revising for exams or writing dissertations. With less time to go out with friends, we don’t have as many opportunities to get dressed up and show off our best outfits. Maybe for some students, the lack of pressure is relieving. For others, the library becomes their runway.

Talking to people around me, the attitudes towards dressing up or down for the library are definitely mixed, and maybe that’s because I’m a bit of a mixed bag myself. A lot of my favourite outfits are uncomfortable to study in when I contort myself into strange positions over my laptop, and so I often find myself ditching my cuter clothes in favour of T-shirts and long skirts which don’t even go together. On the other hand, I love the feeling I get when I put some more effort into my appearance. It’s like I’ve prepared myself to make the most of my day, and now I’m going to go do it. Unfortunately, it’s hard to do that every day, especially when I’m feeling sluggish and stressed.

A friend of mine is a miracle worker in that way. Every day, their outfit is coordinated, their makeup is done, and there’s a clear theme to both. When I asked how they have the motivation to put so much effort into their appearance, they told me something which I already knew: it’s much easier to get things done when you feel like you’re ready for the day. Not only that, but coordinating a themed outfit every day is a little boost of creative joy in the morning. Reluctantly, I put together a cute outfit the next day before going to my lectures. The worst part? They were entirely right. I felt so much better for it.

“When we put on the kinds of clothes which we associate with hard work and concentration, we get into the right mindset to do it”

It’s been scientifically proven that the kind of clothes you wear affect your cognitive function in a phenomenon labelled ‘enclothed cognition’, with one study by Adam Galinsky and Hajo Adam finding that wearing lab coats increased the focus of test subjects. Reading this, I could practically hear the voices of all my older relatives telling me that you'll act more professional if you wear professional clothes, like suits and dress shirts. I suppose it makes sense that when we put on the kinds of clothes which we associate with hard work and concentration, we get into the right mindset to do it.

This mindset may have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, though, as more and more work was done remotely, and for many people comfortable loungewear became just as associated with work as dress shirts and suit trousers. I know many people who do work almost exclusively at night or right after they wake up. It is not uncommon for me to make fun of my flatmates for waking up at 3pm only to find out that they’ve been working for 4 hours already, but haven’t changed out of their pyjamas. Is it possible my flatmates have been conditioned into working more efficiently in their PJs? Maybe getting up and getting straight to work without the decision fatigue of getting dressed is the way to do things. Not to mention how comfortable it must be compared to sitting down in jeans all day.

“I think ultimately, you study best in the clothes that make you feel most comfortable”

Even my own ‘work clothes’ are not traditionally professional in the way that most studies I’ve read seem interested in. My cargo trousers and T-shirts have no association with focused working – neither do my long skirts and cami tops. I think ultimately, you study best in the clothes that make you feel most comfortable. Paradoxically, that doesn’t necessarily mean they have to be the most comfortable clothes you own – they just need to make you feel good about sitting down and doing your work. But let this be a sign: if you haven’t tried getting dressed up for the library, give it a shot! Maybe try a suit and tie – or a lab coat, if you’re feeling eccentric.