ProverbWisdomItalian origin

Vesti un ciocco, pare un fiocco

Meaning: Fine clothes can make anyone look good.

Literally: Dress up a log and it looks like a bow

Example: “Con quell'abito elegante sembra un'altra persona. Vesti un ciocco, pare un fiocco.” — In that elegant suit he looks like a different person: fine feathers make fine birds.

Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, and 3 more languages

  • English: Fine feathers make fine birds.
  • French: La belle plume fait le bel oiseau (literally: Fine feathers make fine birds)
  • Spanish: Como te ven, te tratan (literally: As they see you, so they treat you)
  • Japanese: 馬子にも衣装 (Mako ni mo ishō) (literally: Even a packhorse driver looks fine in good clothes)
  • German: Kleider machen Leute (literally: Clothes make people)
  • Dutch: De kleren maken de man (literally: Clothes make the man)
  • Polish: Jak cię widzą, tak cię piszą (literally: As they see you, so they describe you)
  • Korean: 옷이 날개라 (Osi nalgaera) (literally: Clothes are wings)

Origin: Dress up a log and it looks like a bow: ciocco (log) and fiocco (bow) rhyme.

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