TL;DR: People feel a sense of kinship, familiarity, comfort, and belonging when they see someone who looks like them. Beyond dressing alike, a study that analyzed over 130 personality traits in a sample of millions of couples found little evidence of opposites attracting.
A recent study published in Evolution and Human Behavior found that people are more attracted to those with a similar appearance to theirs. Someone who looks like you will spark a sense of kinship, causing you to feel familiarity, comfort, and belonging. The law of attraction states people are drawn to those who dress similarly. The clothes you wear impact your energy and how others perceive you. People are attracted to like people, which explains why people who dress smart gravitate towards well-dressed people. People who aren’t well-dressed are attracted to others who aren’t well-dressed.
Implications for dating prospects
In this context, a not-so-recent phenomenon will persist in 2025 and beyond. It involves men using ostentatious clothing to attract women and stand out from the not-insignificant competition. This phenomenon, known as peacocking, is quite common among men and strongly correlates with the woman’s perceived level of attractiveness. Men choose attractive women to whom they will display their desirable traits. Forms of this behavior are not limited to clothes. The man might be extra friendly or helpful or do his best to make the woman laugh. They might show off affluence by wearing expensive clothes or driving a flashy car. They could dominate the conversation to show off their intelligence. The list goes on. However, the behavior still depends on whether the woman is his type. He will display this behavior to a moderately attractive woman of his type rather than to an extremely attractive woman who’s not his type.
How and why men flaunt desirable assets
Men display this behavior through well-crafted social media profiles and dressing up for dates. Looking presentable is the best way to make a good first impression on a date according to 69% of singles, and dressing nice on a first date is a must for 94% of women. While most people will dress up for a first date, guys who want to impress a girl will make extra effort.
As of October 2024, there were 5.22 billion social media users globally, equal to 63% of the total population. That’s a lot of competition. If you look carefully, a guy’s social media profile can be a good example of flaunting, from bragging posts to carefully selected profile photos taken from the best angle. If women make up more than half of his network, he’s even likelier to flaunt.
Attraction beyond clothes
It’s a myth that opposites attract. A study published in 2023 that analyzed over 130 traits found little evidence of opposites attracting. Partners were similar in terms of 82%-89% of traits. Researchers used 95% confidence intervals, a tool allowing one to conclude a fact is true with 95% certainty. Partners were most similar in demographic traits. With a convergence score of 1 revealing 100% similarity, the year of birth had a score of 0.9. Political and religious views and financial satisfaction also correlated highly.
FAQ
What are other, less obvious signs of peacocking?
When guys realize an attractive woman is in their presence, their body posture will change, but this shouldn’t be the only occasion they do this. More than 16 million Americans suffer from chronic back pain, which contributes to as many as 83 million days of lost work.
You may have noticed beautiful girls working at stores and charity booths. Men are likelier to buy a product that they don’t need or donate to a charity they never knew about if a girl who “needs their help” approaches them. This is the “knight in shining armor” syndrome.
How do clothes impact success?
If you’re trying to get motivated to exercise, put on your workout clothes. They will signal to your brain, “You’re ready; let’s go.” Similarly, wearing a beautiful dress or suit tells your brain you’re ready for success, whatever the situation.
