If you’re a business professional with a corner office—or someone who aspires to be one—you might not want to have to think about the meaning of colors when getting dressed. The to-do list is never-ending, and many colleagues and departments within your company need your high-level thinking skills. The cognitive load of fashion choices can feel like… one more thing that isn’t all that important. Yet one expert says tapping into the color psychology of clothing can actually give you a leg up in the workplace.“The workplace is one of the highest-stakes color environments a person inhabits daily, and it can impact the most amount of people,” states Michelle Lewis, a color psychology expert, certified color analyst, author and the founder of ColorAnalysis.com and The Color Institute. “Every interaction—a client meeting, a board presentation, a performance review—carries weight, and color is already communicating before the conversation begins.”She explains that the brain processes color before language, so your clothing hue can actually send signals before you even describe your credentials or title.
“High-level thinkers who understand this stop leaving that signal to chance,” Lewis, the author of Color Secrets: Learning The One Universal Language We Were Never Taught, tells Parade. “They make deliberate choices that support the outcome they’re working toward—and in doing so, gain a meaningful advantage that most people in the room aren’t even aware is happening.”Intrigued? You may wonder, what colors do successful people wear? Below, Lewis explains power colors for leaders and high-level thinkers. She also shares the best colors for high-level meetings and how to dress to impress for every situation.Related: Color Psychologist Says Wearing This Color Makes You Appear Instantly More Confident
The 5 Colors Color Psychologists Link To High-Level Thinking
High-level thinking is a coveted skill in the workplace, and some clothing color choices can exude these vibes before you even open your mouth. Lewis describes five colors that make you look smart, and why high-level thinkers often wear them (perhaps, ironically, without even thinking about it).
1. Blue
Lewis notes that research consistently documents that blue projects trust, credibility and calm authority. She points to 2009 research in Science, which indicated a direct link between blue and creative cognitive performance.“Blue lovers naturally embody that same orientation,” she explains. “They think before they speak, process before they act and create the kind of calm internal environment where ideas can breathe. In a professional context, blue signals calm, deliberate thinking—qualities that build instant credibility.”
2. Deep navy
Lewis says this color deserves its own space. “Deep navy takes blue’s authority and deepens it,” she says. “In my own production work dressing executives and public figures on camera, deep navy consistently builds audience trust and loyalty faster than almost any other color.”She explains that deep navy carries blue’s effects, but the saturation adds a hint of seriousness, signaling that you’re a dependable, credible person.
3. Deep green
Lewis describes deep green as one of the most underused colors in professional wardrobes—and one of the most effective.
She points to research suggesting that it can reduce heart rate and stress, producing a calming effect on the people around someone wearing it.
“In my work, deep green consistently builds audience trust in a way that feels very warm and authentic,” she reports. “People drawn to green are the stabilizing force in any room: kind, clear and acutely attuned to the people around them.”
4. Gray
Specifically, Lewis says that warm or mid-tone gray is good for removing emotional responses in the wearer, which high-level thinkers may need to do at times.
“For example, it can be necessary when deciding on layoffs or figuring out how to pivot in a work crisis,” she shares. “It carries no chromatic stimulation, which means it creates zero perceptual friction while communicating seriousness and objectivity. It’s the visual equivalent of a well-organized mind that has removed everything unnecessary.”
5. Black
Lewis says it’s important to talk about the psychology of wearing black, which, she reminds us, is technically not a color.
“It absorbs all frequencies of light rather than reflecting any of them,” she explains.
One 2004 study found that achromatic colors, such as black, consistently elicit no emotional response in observers. Lewis notes that this feature puts black in a distinct category, separating it from colors that can generate positive or negative feelings.
“What black does generate is a perception of sophistication, seriousness and efficiency,” she says. “High-level thinkers who wear black consistently are often using it as a cognitive strategy—removing the daily wardrobe decision entirely so that mental energy stays where it matters.”
Lewis points to Steve Jobs‘ famous black turtleneck as an example.
Related: Color Psychologist Says Wearing This Color Makes You Appear Instantly More Approachable
The ‘Decision Fatigue’ Factor: Why Geniuses Wear Neutrals
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Decision fatigue in successful people is a common experience. Knowing what colors mean and using that information when getting dressed every day can help soothe it.For starters, it might help to understand precisely what people mean when they talk about this concept.“Decision fatigue is the documented psychological phenomenon where the quality of decisions deteriorates after an extended period of decision-making,” Lewis explains. “High-level thinkers make hundreds of consequential decisions daily… and for someone whose thinking is their greatest asset, that adds up.”She notes that understanding the color psychology of clothing is an underrated professional tool.
“When you understand what each color communicates—and you’ve made deliberate, pre-decided choices about your wardrobe based on that knowledge—getting dressed becomes a pre-decided system rather than a daily question,” she shares. “That preserves the mental energy that actually matters.”
The color analyst says the most intellectually driven people she’s worked with have wardrobes that are “intentional, limited and mapped to specific outcomes.” Often, these wardrobes go big on neutrals.
“The most intellectually driven people tend toward minimalism in their wardrobe for the same reason they minimize unnecessary meetings, notifications and commitments—every input that doesn’t serve the mission is a cost of time or energy,” she tells Parade. “A neutral wardrobe—gray, black, white, beige—is a pre-made decision system. The combinations are predictable, the signals are consistent, and the cognitive load is essentially zero.”
Importantly, Lewis shares that neutrals aren’t passive choices in color psychology.
“Each one carries a distinct psychological signal that a high-level thinker can deploy deliberately,” she adds. “The question shifts from ‘What should I wear today?’ to ‘What do I need to communicate today?’ Once you’ve mapped your neutrals, color choices become deliberate and strategic…the wardrobe starts working for you rather than requiring something from you each morning.”
Related: Color Psychologist Says These 5 Favorite Colors Are Loved by Especially Intuitive People
The Power Projection: How Others Perceive Your Palette
High-level thinkers may have preferred colors. But different times call for different hues. To help you dress for success, Lewis shares colors that make you look smart in various situations.
The Psychological Signal
Navy
High-level meetings
Approachable and open
Black
High-focus work days
Precise and objective
White
Creative brainstorming
Trustworthy and calm
Green
Relationship-building and team environments
Confident and commanding (“Wear intentionally and sparingly,” Lewis advises.)
Orange
Collaborative creative sessions
Related: Color Psychologist Says These 7 Colors Are Worn Most by Introverted People
The 3 Colors High-Level Thinkers Usually Avoid (And Why)
While people often focus on power colors for leaders, Lewis notes that it’s also important to understand which hues high-level thinkers usually avoid. She says these movers and shakers think twice before donning any of these colors.
1. Bright saturated yellow
Lewis warns that bright saturated yellow can evoke a neurological restlessness, something high-level thinkers don’t need taking up real estate in their heads.
“Yellow also connects to aposematism—the biological warning signal system hardwired into human perception—meaning its brightness triggers alertness rather than receptivity in the people around you,” she adds. “In a room where your judgment needs to land clearly and calmly, yellow is working against you.”
2. Highly saturated orange
Lewis explains that this color creates warmth and social connection. There’s a time and a place for it, but she says formal professional contexts are not usually one of them.
“Authority and clear judgment need to be unquestioned,” she shares. “Orange creates equals rather than hierarchy. For a high-level thinker whose decisions need to carry weight in a room, that social leveling works against the moment. Orange is a genuine asset in collaborative and creative settings, just not in the boardroom.”
3. Washed-out or very pale versions of any color
Highly saturated oranges and yellows aren’t the only culprits. Lewis reports that washed-out or pale versions of colors can more subtly (but consistently) undermine your credibility in professional settings.
“A faded, low-saturation color reads as uncertainty—someone who started to make a statement and thought better of it,” she says. “They can also read as non-serious and lighthearted, leaning into a lack of credibility due to the white tint of the color.”
The color analyst urges high-level thinkers to avoid indistinct tones because they unintentionally “signal the kind of ambivalence they spend their professional lives working to avoid.”
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Related: Color Psychology Experts Say These 5 Colors Are Worn Most by Authentically Happy People
Sources:
Michelle Lewis is a color psychology expert, certified color analyst, author and the founder of ColorAnalysis.com and The Color Institute. She is also the author of Color Secrets: Learning The One Universal Language We Were Never Taught. Blue or Red? Exploring the Effect of Color on Cognitive Task Performances. (2009) Science. Adaptive Effects of Seeing Green Environment on Psychophysiological Parameters When Walking or Running. (2019) Frontiers in Psychology. Relationship Between Color and Emotion: A Study of College Students. (2004) College Student Journal.Hence then, the article about color psychologist says these 5 colors are worn most by high level thinkers was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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