Flemington, NJ, November 5, 2007 -- A national survey of over 600 Americans revealed that men who dress down (wear no tie) are viewed more positively by women than by men.  Furthermore, more men seem to trust a man who wears a tie.

The study was conducted in early October by HCD Research, using its mediacurves.com web site to obtain Americans’ views of images of men who wear ties and men who are dressed down with no tie and an opened collar.

Participants were divided into two randomly assigned groups.  Members of each group were asked to view one of two separate photos of a faceless male figure sporting a white shirt and tie, and a photo of a white shirt with an opened collar. Then, based only on the photo, they were asked questions about what kind of man he might be.

An earlier study (available on mediacurves.com) about bow tie wearers found major differences between images of bow tie wearers and wearers of regular neckties.

This research found fewer differences between the dressed-up person and the dressed down person. The necktie wearer sent the message that he was more likely to be a manager, a little older, and with some more people thinking he was in a high income bracket.  

The no-tie, dressed-down man gave the impression to more people that he was a bachelor and was trying to act younger.  This was in contrast to the dressed-up man who participants viewed as smarter and even a leader.
           
Between the sexes, however, more differences appear.  Men view the dressed up person as more dependable: practical and careful, and also “a good dresser”.  More women view the dressed-down man as likely to be more fun:  Although the numbers are relatively small, more women thought the dressed-down man needed care and nurturing (not a negative) and also adventurous and, yes, even sexy.

What about having the man in your neighborhood or as a friend?  No statistical significance here but consistently more women would like to have the dressed-down man around while the men would prefer that practical and careful dressed-up man as a friend or colleague.

What does all this mean?  The message is clear.  First, it depends who sees you.  If you want to work in an office and talk to men, wear a tie.  If you want to talk to women and want a friend or even a date, open the collar. 

And despite all the talk about new freedom on the job, if you want to appear a little more “solid,” wear a tie.  Of course, this research is about 'neat' dressing down.  The t-shirt and torn jeans version is another story.

For detailed information on this study, please go to www.mediacurves.com The Media Curves web site provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements. 

HCD Research specializes in conducting communications research for the pharmaceutical, food and beverage, financial and entertainment industries, among others.
Headquartered in Flemington, NJ, the company's services include traditional and web-based communications research.  For additional information on HCD Research, access the company’s web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393. 

Editors/Reporters: For more information on the study, or to speak with Arthur Kover, consulting director, HCD Research, please contact Vince McGourty, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 or (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net).