Weekly Voice Insights #68 — What We Wear, What We Feel, and How It Shapes Our Voice
In Biarritz, during rehearsals for La Traviata, there’s an Instagram clip from our sitzprobe. A sitzprobe is a music-only rehearsal—no staging, no costumes—just the orchestra in front and the cast grouped behind them. From the outside, it looks relaxed. People wear whatever gets them through a long day of music-making.
In this clip, I’m wearing a dress shirt and my boots—clothes that help my body settle into the work. The boots give my legs a clear sense of where to stand and where my weight settles, and they help me feel where my back is aligned. The shirt has a splash of color and style, and I feel comfortable and confident in it.
Over the years, I’ve worked with colleagues who feel just as grounded in sneakers and a t-shirt. I’m not one of them. My voice responds to very small physical cues. The body reacts to what it’s wearing before the mind ever comments on it.
Many singers talk about how putting on the costume helps them “feel like the character.” That’s true, and it’s valid. But for me, waiting until Production Week—when we finally move to the stage with costumes and props—was always too late. I needed earlier physical information. I wish I had understood this sooner in my training. I didn’t realize how much clothing can support—or confuse—the body’s ability to organize breath and alignment.
During the Traviata staging process, I rehearsed in a jacket because it gave me a clearer sense of how Germont carried himself—far more than a t-shirt ever would. The shoulder structure, the inner pocket, even the slight weight of the fabric changed how I held my upper body. Those details helped me find the role physically, not just vocally.
I’ve seen a shift in recent years. I’ve seen highly trained singers arrive in very casual clothing—short shorts or loose tank tops that expose more than they may realize. I’ve also seen outfits that simply don’t fit well: jackets too tight or too loose, vests riding up, shirts untucked. These small details matter. But it’s a different physical message. The breath they practice in that outfit isn’t the breath they’ll need in a fitted costume. In a concert tux, the collar and tie create a very different sensation through the neck and upper body than a thin undershirt ever could. None of this is moral judgment. It’s just the reality of how clothes influence the instrument.
There’s another part of this that isn’t only physical. It’s respect. In a formal rehearsal with an orchestra, a conductor, and colleagues, I’m not going to wear what I would wear at home watching a movie and eating snacks. That kind of clothing puts my body in a casual stance—and it also signals a relaxed, informal energy to the room around me. I’m not talking about being dressed to the nines. It’s simply acknowledging the level of work that’s happening and the people involved in it.
My years in Paris taught me this without anyone saying it. Not everyone walked around in elegant clothes, but you could see that people put thought into what they wore. They chose something that suited their style and helped them feel ready for the day. I lived in the 19th arrondissement, a regular neighborhood, and even there the same pattern appeared. I remember a storefront near my apartment—a mix of bakery and general shop—with mirrored panels on the outside. People would pause before going in, check their reflection, adjust a collar or a sleeve, and make sure they felt presentable before asking the shopkeeper for a baguette. It wasn’t vanity. It was a small gesture of consideration. A thoughtful detail that said, “This moment matters enough for me to show up well.”
Another observation came from a very different part of my life—when I was a substitute teacher in the Clark County School District in Las Vegas. They called us “guest teachers,” but the students still called us substitute teachers. I remember a group coming in, seeing the regular teacher was gone, and cheering, “Yay! Sub!” It was funny, and very honest. After working at one school for several days, a few teachers finally started talking to me. One of them said, “We thought you were administration.” I asked why. They said, “Because you wear a tie.” I didn’t dress that way to be taken for anything other than what I was. I did it out of respect for the students. What I found interesting was that when I walked through the hallways, it was sometimes hard to tell who was a teacher and who was a student. I think the students noticed that I chose to dress differently for them, and they responded to it. I wasn’t trying to impress them. I simply chose something that showed respect.
This connects to something simple you can observe in your own life. At your next meeting—the kind where people pay closer attention, not just a quick stop-by-the-office conversation—look at the speaker who holds the room. Notice what they’re wearing. Everyone has their own style, so this isn’t about being “dressed up.” It’s about whether they chose something that anchors them physically. A ring, earrings, a scarf, a well-fitted shirt, a specific pair of shoes—whatever helps them settle before they speak. The choices people make often tell you something about how they want to show up in that moment.
Clothing isn’t only about how I feel in my body. It’s also about how I meet the people I’m working with.
The same thing shows up outside of performance. When I’m preparing to speak or present in front of others, I think carefully about what I’ll wear—not for appearance, but to help my body do its job. Supportive shoes, structured fabric, a shirt that sits well through the shoulders: these aren’t “wardrobe choices.” They’re technical decisions. The small details matter, just as they do with breath, alignment, and clarity.
If you’re presenting to stakeholders, coaching a team, or walking into a room where steadiness matters, the clothing you choose will influence your physical readiness. It’s not about formality. It’s about giving your body correct information. Clothing tells the body what kind of moment this is. The voice follows that information.
Clothing is not decoration. It’s part of the instrument. It helps the body understand the work ahead, whether that’s singing Verdi or explaining a plan to senior leadership. Our voice doesn’t operate in isolation. It operates inside the body we bring into the room.
"First, say to yourself what you would be; then do what you have to do." — Epictetus
We don’t control how a rehearsal unfolds or how a meeting goes. But we do control the choices that set us up well—the deliberate details that help us feel organized and ready. Clothing is one of those details. A quiet one, but often an important one.
Related Posts
Weekly Voice Insights #40 – Small Practices, Big Shifts — Building Vocal Presence in Daily Life
https://dyavwithelias.blogspot.com/2025/05/weekly-insight-40-small-practices-big.html
Weekly Voice Insights #37 – Voice, Resilience, and Embodying Intention
https://dyavwithelias.blogspot.com/2025/04/weekly-insight-37-voice-resilience-and.html
Weekly Voice Insights #45 – How Presence Is Experienced—Not Just Seen
https://dyavwithelias.blogspot.com/2025/06/weekly-insight-45-presence-is.html
Further Resources
Enclothed Cognition (Adam & Galinsky, 2012)
How what we wear affects attention, confidence, and internal state.
https://utstat.utoronto.ca/reid/sta2201s/2012/labcoatarticle.pdf
Considerations for Maintenance of Postural Alignment for Voice Production (Arboleda et al., 2008)
A vocal-pedagogy classic on how alignment and balance influence healthy voice use.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16978836/
The Influence of Posture and Balance on Voice: A Review (2018)
A literature review showing how posture affects laryngeal behavior, breathing, and resonance.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/564d/f21f9a9aa35f5576d253d03f16cc8b821b5c.pdf
Singers’ Postural Alignment and Vocal Quality (2021)
Open-access study linking postural habits with measurable vocal outcomes.
https://www.scielo.br/j/acr/a/4kSTtQmHFWXdvtjCMwQJymp/?lang=en
Elias Mokole | Keynote Speaker, BA & Beyond 2025
Voice, Breath, and Clarity | Developing Your Authentic Voice Newsletter
Please subscribe here:
https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/develop-your-authentic-voice-7337908264820453378
