What matters more, looks or smartness?

Looks!“The best way to disguise mischief is by dressing smartly.” I don’t remember who exactly said this, but one thing for sure is, that this statement is practically true and used by every Tom, Dick and Bosco to get what they shouldn’t have got in the first place. See, people are easily swayed by one’s attire; that is why you will never find thieves or con artists wearing shambles—these guys are always dressed for the occasion. Another look at the unreliability of smartness is by scrutinizing people’s relationships. All men, rich or broke, will smarten themselves up if they are chasing after the affection of some nice girl. Generally, in a suit, all men seem as if they have money in the bank. Poor girl may unknowingly fall for the broke guy only to realize later that he borrowed the tuxedo for a date. Many companies too have fallen for the smartness syndrome and ended up with incompetent employees, simply because they dressed better during the interviews. Don’t get me wrong; smartness is a good thing, especially for an individual. It would be suicide for you to attend a corporate meeting when you’re wearing sweatpants. However, what I’m saying is that, if you want to really know about someone, do not concentrate more on what they are wearing, but instead, concentrate on their looks; things like gestures, eye contact and composure will help you know about someone’s real character. Some of you have probably heard of the interesting couple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi—this interesting uninvited couple gate-crashed the Obama’s inaugural dinner at the Whitehouse last year. How did they do it? They simply dressed like other invited guests and passed through the security check. Had Obama’s security been careful enough to look at who their guests actually were, and judge them by their faces and not their attire, this couple would have been hurled back to their neighbourhood. An extreme opinion suggests that, we all look like ourselves when we are naked—I can’t agree more. Furthermore, in one of his parables, Jesus uses “wolves in sheep’s clothing” to refer to hypocrites… not just any hypocrite, but those who disguise themselves in quality Versace jeans hoping that their character will be the last thing on other people’s minds. Dressing smartly should be an added advantage. Being you, looking you is what matters most. mugishaivan@yahoo.com