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A recent study has found that female graduates who wear sexy clothes on their graduation day are likely to be less capable than female graduates who dress professionally by their counterparts.

Female graduates who dress sexily at their graduation were perceived as less capable and it was believed that they performed worse in their degree than their peers who dress more professionally, according to a study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

For the study, the researchers investigated the perceptions of female clothing at university graduations in Italy. Participants were presented with 24 photographs of females who had recently graduated, 12 of these photographs involved sexy outfits consisting of short dresses or skirts, low necklines and high heels, and 12 photographs of females in a professional outfit of a jacket and trousers.

Participants were then asked to estimate the final mark of the females in the pictures and, to rate their sexiness, competence and outfit appropriateness.

Female graduates who dressed more professionally were perceived by participants as having a higher final mark and thesis points and to be more capable than their peers who dressed in short dresses and skirts. Participants also deemed professional attire more appropriate for graduation.

In addition, the researchers exposed an additional group of 573 participants, namely female students, university professors and members of the general population, to photographs of 37 female students who were asked to wear two outfits, one professional and one sexy.

Fabio Fasoli, the lead researcher said, "The intelligence and competence of females are unfairly linked to how they present themselves. A top student who decides to wear a short dress to her graduation is perceived to be less capable than another who chooses to wear trousers and a jacket. It is often thought that how we dress is a reflection of our personality but this may not be the case for women, given that they are constantly scrutinized for their appearance and those unmerited conclusions are drawn about them, including their intelligence and professional capability."

Participants were asked to rate the students' performance, future career success and whether they would have worn the outfits they were presented with. Similar to previous results, participants viewed students who dressed more professionally to be more competent and as having achieved a higher final mark.

Interestingly, female student peers perceived the professionally dressed students as more likely to find a job and to have a booming career than when the same students were dressed in a sexy outfit.

But then, adult participants judged the students wearing a sexy outfit as having an advantage, and having higher chances of success in the job market. When asked which outfit they would have chosen, sexy or professional, male participants were more likely than female participants to claim that they would have chosen to wear the sexy outfit if they were the student.

By Sowmya Sangam