An immense amount of meaning and messages are communicated through the use of
clothing (Dorrance, 2011). How a person interprets these messages in their process of forming
impressions of others is related to the theory of person perception. People are said to use person
perception by relying on externally available information, rather than relying solely on inner
representational resources (Clark, 1997; Smith & Collins, 2009). For example, using a person’s
clothing to make inferences about them. Even though an individual may not be providing verbal
communication, their physical appearance is providing nonverbal external cues. In clothing
literature, the nonverbal cue of clothing style has often been a variable of analysis, and
researchers on the topic have manipulated styles of clothing to see what each one communicates