Dating Advice & Tips

Dress for a First Date

Dressing like a slob? Didn't your mother teach you any better?!?!!

Sounds cliché, yes, but this basic tenet of Dating 101 is so often overlooked by too many internet daters. I reiterate the importance of first impressions on a blind date. Here is how I look at this and how nearly all of my interviewees feel. If you are going to come to a first meeting looking like a slob, one can only imagine how you will look once you "settle in" and get to know the person. Yikes! The first date slob screams one or more of the following: (1) He or she is a social juvenile with few, if any, social skills. As a result they don't recognize the importance of making a quality first impression. (2) They cannot afford anything beyond a baseball cap, ripped jeans and a t-shirt. And this can be OK because money is not the be all end all. So this is a matter of personal preference in your date. However if your date clearly has a good job, a decent income and lives comfortably and still shows up for a first date looking like this, then head for the hills! (3) If they don't hold themselves to a higher standard, then how can they meet your standards and needs in a relationship with you?

Dress in the 21st century has changed immensely from previous decades. Corporations are dressing down. Executives often sport a more "corporate casual" dress code and the days of suit and tie have diminished. However, successful, confident individuals can still be stylishly casual and emit a high sense of self and present themselves positively. Nowadays jeans are acceptable almost everywhere. But worn, faded (not intentionally) and torn jeans with a NY Yankees t-shirt on a first date shows nothing more than lack of desire for positive self-presentation, and this is a big red flag. Personally, I prefer a woman who takes care of herself physically and is well made up. No, I don't look for supermodels with enough makeup to paint the side of a New York City skyscraper. However, I like makeup on a woman. I prefer a woman who cares about this as well and always looks presentable on a first date. When I meet a woman who cares so much about a first date to show up without a hint of makeup, and has clearly taken no time to prepare for date #1, I am immediately turned off. Note that this is only my preference. Some girls are more of "tomboyish" and look nice while wearing little makeup, but they do care about their appearance and it shows. This is fine if that is your preference. If a woman wears little to no makeup, but obviously cares for herself and the rest of her appearance, then more power to her! The pet peeve here for me is the woman who is very well made up in her dating profile photos and then shows up for a first date looking like she just came from the gym. So when I say dress to impress, this incorporates the whole package: Clothing, makeup (for the girls) and hair. All my life, my mother taught me something very important about professional and social situations of importance: "Better to be overdressed than underdressed". Remember that. Make it your "dating mantra", especially for a first date.

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