I mentioned last week that I’d gone on a date…and it did not go well. I mean, he was nice and picked a good restaurant. But, I knew before we met in real life (since we’d originally met online…of course) that it wasn’t going to be a good match. And my suspicions were confirmed that night.
So, we soldier on, but I’m going to take this opportunity to talk about dressing for a date. It’s always a little tricky to figure out what’s appropriate, especially for what is essentially a blind date, and even more especially if you’re going somewhere you’ve never been (i.e., everywhere I go in Georgia). I can’t really help with a specific date outfit in a generic blog post (but feel free to email me anytime you have questions about dressing for an event, and I’ll be glad to weigh in!). I can, however, comment on what is most important to any good date impression – confidence.
First dates are inherently awkward and nerve racking. No matter how many I’ve been on, I still feel some sort of nerves every time. But, confidence helps – when I feel good about myself, namely my appearance, I’m a little more at ease and can focus on the myriad other things stressing me out.
It’s really easy to pick an outfit that boosts your confidence – build it around your favorite feature! I know we can list a billion things we each don’t like about ourselves, but I think everyone can find at least one thing they DO like about themselves (and if not, please let me know and we’ll work through that together).
For me, I like my legs. I mean, they aren’t Carrie Underwood’s, but even as my weight has fluctuated over the years, I’ve always felt good when wearing a skirt. So, you’ll pretty much never see me wearing pants on a date. Plus, I love looking as feminine as possible when going out for the first time (that’s not a rule – just what I personally really like. So no condemnation if that’s not your jam.)
Maybe you really like your arms, a la Mrs. First Lady, and sleeveless tops are your go-to. Maybe you’ve got J-Lo junk in the trunk and your favorite pair of jeans makes that really pop. Or maybe it’s something even less obvious like your forearms – a stack of bangles highlights a pretty wrist.
Whatever it is, chances are, if you like it, other people will, too. And there is nothing so attractive – to either sex – than confidence. So, embrace yourself and highlight what you love! You’ll be better off for it.
To showcase this outfit, I included two full shots – the one on the right has much better lighting and more accurate colors, but I cut off the shoes when taking it. So, you get both. I was pleased with this outfit – feminine and flirty, but still casual enough that I didn’t look like I was trying too hard (because, honestly, I definitely was not). My only complaint was that I wore this infinity scarf on another first date, and I hate associations like that. Oh well. Can’t win ’em all.
What do you like about yourself? Do you dress to accent that when you’re wanting to make a good impression/feel good about yourself, or is that something you can start to work on?
