According to several psychologists and specialists in color psychology, our clothes influence, often without us realizing it, the way others judge our seriousness or our intelligence. In recent studies and articles, a small group of hues comes up very often among people perceived as reliable. A trio of colors, in particular, stands out.
These three colors are blue, black and white. For psychologist Ferreiro, quoted by the Spanish daily ABCblue evokes stability, confidence and security, but it warns: “Even though this color means all of this, it can also convey coldness or distance, so if one day you feel like that, it is very normal that you go towards blue“, says Ferreiro.
Blue, black, white: what these colors convey
At work, a navy blue suit or sweater often gives the impression of reliability. In many cultures, this shade refers to stability and calm, which fits with the codes of professional credibility. In everyday life, this shortcut also works: a lot of blue, we spontaneously think “posed” and “thoughtful”.
Black is often perceived as “intelligent” because it evokes sobriety.
“Those who dress in black generally represent elegance and sophistication, when done with style. If you wear it all the time, it can make you feel sad, depressed, cold and lonely. Sometimes it can generate distrust towards the one who always wears it and it has a very authoritarian power“, explains Ferreiro.
White is associated with purity and a very ordered image.
What psychologists say about “intelligent” people
Rather than decree that a color “proves” a high IQ, experts call for nuance. “Colorimetry studies the physical perception of color and provides a guide to making decisions that help us“, explains Sandra Burgos in
ABC. In other words, a person perceived as intelligent often chooses shades that create harmony and coherence with their skin, their hair, their eyes, more than a blue or black taken at random.
Ferreiro also explains that in consultation, she looks at the whole thing: cleanliness of clothes, hairstyle, facial expression. A person dressed in black sends a different message depending on whether they appear neat and confident or unkempt and exhausted. Social perception linked to colors is only one index, and that intelligence is measured with validated psychological tests, not with the shade of a t-shirt.
Choose your colors really intelligently
The theory of “twelve seasons” taken up by Sandra Burgos helps to personalize this blue-black-white trio. It combines skin tone (warm or cool), value (light or dark), and saturation (soft or bright) to find the shades that make a face luminous. A deep midnight blue will flatter cool skin better than a very harsh optical white.
The idea is not to copy the wardrobe of “intellectuals”, but to use these codes to serve your image.