Purposeful visual deception

November 26th, 2022

My first thought was — of course I know him. I recognize his face, I mean we pass each other every day in the hallway at work. But do I really? He looks so familiar, and yet I cannot place and combine his face with a name that I surely know. Only after a good few seconds, suddenly a revelation — yes, that is Tom from accounting. Why wasn't I sure of that?

And what about this woman? She surely looks familiar, I am a hundred percent sure we know each other, and we talk to each other almost daily. So why can’t I place her name with a face that I see in front of me? I mean, the name comes to me, but that cannot be her, can it? Oh, yes — that is Sylvia from quality. And where the hell she suddenly got those stunning legs?

I had an experience like that time after time during a company function last Thursday. We were told to dress up in suits for men and in evening dresses for women. We were supposed to look nice for the presentation and motivational speech and dinner. And everyone obliged. Obliged in a way that made me confused and looking from a person to person wandering in confusion and thinking “who is that? Is that really her/him?”.

It is absolutely stunning what an evening outfit can do to change a well-known and familiar appearance of a person. I knew those people, I see them daily for years. We talk to each other and pass each other in the hallways or somewhere in the office. Everyone is always dressed professionally and smartly there — but as soon as suits and dresses and high heels are involved, they all looked so different.

And looked better, I think. Yes — a lot can be achieved with a suit and a tie and moussed-up hair or a short dress with high heels and make-up and gown or a cleavage. Of course, that is done only on special occasions, usually involving family and friends — not often seen in and by coworkers. And I’ve done the same — I was positively stunned when I saw myself in a mirror before leaving home on Thursday — I looked good, strangely unfamiliar and possibly a little uptight, but so good nonetheless. So I involved myself in a visual deception just like the others and not only liked the results, but I also realized that I am good at it as well.

Very good to know it. It is something that might be mundane to others but is a revelation to me. And it seems I like surprised like that.