“Thin slicing” is the idea in psychology that we can find meaning and make inferences from minimal amounts of information. And there is probably no better predictive piece of clothing than the shoe. A good pair of shoes will immediately elevate your wardrobe, and a bad pair will sabotage a first impression faster than anything else you wear.
This defendant told me his mother told him not to wear these Gucci slippers to court. He probably should have listened to his mama-
And absent podiatric issues, lawyers really shouldn’t be in tennis shoes in court.
You can tell a lot about a person solely based on their shoes. In a University of Kansas study participants were successfully able to predict age, gender, income, and attachment anxiety of shoe owners based solely on pictures of their favorite shoes.
Shoes are the one piece of clothing that change the wearer physically. By adjusting your height and stance, shoes put you in a physically different position and affect your psychological position as well.
Shoes are also the piece of clothing that can make you most uncomfortable. Poor fitting or poorly made shoes make you uncomfortable, and when you’re uncomfortable it shows. You fidget, you walk funny, you’re distracted, you frequently switch positions when standing, and you give non-verbal signals that others pick up. Unfortunately, these are the same signals that liars put out. How is a jury to know if you’re lying or merely wearing uncomfortable shoes?
The net-net: buy the best pair of shoes you can afford, and make sure they fit you properly. Keep them polished and in good condition. It will send the right message to everyone in the court.
To close, a plug for the professionalism seminar next week. I’d love to see you there-
Best one yet! As this horse girl sez, no hoof no horse. Must keep the hooves looking great. :) Especially, in court!