What to Wear on a First Date

We, humans, are judgmental creatures, and what you wear on your first date will say more about you and your personality than words alone. What you wear will create the first impression someone has of you before you even say hello, so it’s vital that you choose something appropriate for the occasion and give the right signals.

For Men

You might think it’s easy for men to pick out some clothes for a first date, but many women I know have some horror stories of their date for the night turning up in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Needless to say, it was a wrong first impression. More often than not, you will be best served by a casual shirt (that has been ironed, of course) and intelligent pants like chinos, not the ones you wear to the office! Shoes are preferred to trainers but don’t overdo it; some brown or black slip-on Hush Puppies are perfect.

There is a growing trend now for men to over-groom, which can be taken as a bad sign by a woman because it might give the impression that you’ll be a preening prima-donna spending more time focused on what you look like rather than her! With this in mind, be clean-shaven but go easy on the hair product!

For Women

Deciding on what to wear on a first date can be a minefield for a woman so let’s try and break it down a bit. Just like how you may instantly judge a man who turns up unshaven and in a ragged t-shirt, what you turn up in will give him an impression of the sort of person you are and what he can expect from you.

Unfortunately, we are working with stereotypes here. Still, stereotypes have an element of truth in them, so if you wear the tight top to show off your cleavage or a short revealing dress, then the subconscious message you are sending to the guy is that you can easily get into bed. If that’s not the message you want to send, then the crop top with a push-up bra is out of the question.

If you are going to wear a dress, then have it come down to just above your knees, any more, and you start to give the wrong impression. By all means, if you are fortunate enough to have cleavage, you can show it off a bit but only give a hint of what’s underneath!

Another subconscious signal you could be giving to your date is whether you are high maintenance or not. Being liberal with the makeup and adventurous with the hairstyle may give you a sense of empowerment and make you look like a model (which the guy would love!), but it also suggests that you might be high maintenance and require a long time to get ready to go out! Keep the makeup light and highlight your features like your eyes and add a bit of lippy if you want, but be careful with caking on the foundation and blusher!

Sincerely,
High-Priestess Doris