What persentage of people around you, do you think are trying to signal anything with their outfit?
This seems… close to unanswerable? I think it depends enormously on what you mean by “trying to signal anything”. I think there are reasonable definitions for which the answer is very high. (I was going to say “close to 100%”, but then considered that this is untrue of e.g. small children, who may be both incapable of desiring to socially signal things yet, and also not choosing their own clothing. Although in that case, their parents may be trying to signal something instead.) Anybody who is aware that clothing signals things, and is choosing between multiple items of clothing, is very likely (although not certain!) to be putting some consideration, however little, into what their clothes are saying.
I mean trying to signal something more specific than, e.g. dressing according to the norms of ones profession. Anything that the person would expect others to understand as some other information than “I belong here”, or I have X official role.
E.g. haivng a high-vis vest if you’re a rode workier, or wearing nicer cloths if you’re at a dress-up occation does not count. Whereing a t-skirt advertising you like chess counts, if and only if you’re not currently at a chess club, and you chose it deliberatly.
This seems… close to unanswerable? I think it depends enormously on what you mean by “trying to signal anything”. I think there are reasonable definitions for which the answer is very high. (I was going to say “close to 100%”, but then considered that this is untrue of e.g. small children, who may be both incapable of desiring to socially signal things yet, and also not choosing their own clothing. Although in that case, their parents may be trying to signal something instead.) Anybody who is aware that clothing signals things, and is choosing between multiple items of clothing, is very likely (although not certain!) to be putting some consideration, however little, into what their clothes are saying.
I mean trying to signal something more specific than, e.g. dressing according to the norms of ones profession. Anything that the person would expect others to understand as some other information than “I belong here”, or I have X official role.
E.g. haivng a high-vis vest if you’re a rode workier, or wearing nicer cloths if you’re at a dress-up occation does not count. Whereing a t-skirt advertising you like chess counts, if and only if you’re not currently at a chess club, and you chose it deliberatly.