First-Date Dudes

Do clothes make the man? Do clothes make the woman? Of course not. But they dramatically influence a Potential Love Partner's perception of you. Remember, their perception is all they have to go on when you meet.When I first researched the ideal love-hunting outfit, I thought (as perhaps you do now) that clothes are more important on the woman. Not so. Men's instinctive ability to "mentally undress" a woman makes a girl wonder if it was worth spending last month's paycheck on that great Versace ensemble.
How curious it is that a woman will ruminate for hours on what to wear on a date, whereas a man grabs the first threads his groping hand hits in the darkened closet. Unless the studies lie, it should be the exact opposite. Men's hunting gear is far more important to make the kill than a woman's is.

"I Haven't Got a Thing to Wear"
(Women, Don't Worry about It. Men, Worry about It.)
Let's turn to science to get the bottom line on clothes. In a University of Syracuse study, both men and women were shown pictures of members of the opposite sex.Some of the men and women in the photos wore chic upscale clothes, and others wore less expensive outfits that ranged from cheap to downright cheesy. The results?

The women were asked six hypothetical questions all the way from "Whom would you choose to marry?" to a rather surprising scientific probing, "Whom would you choose for a onenight stand?" How the male was dressed was extremely important to the women. Many women have an uncanny ability to spot a pair of Gucci shoes on a man a quarter of a mile away across a crowded ballroom. The better dressed a man was, the higher his marks were in all six categories—including onenight nookie. Evolutionary theorists tell us that, even when considering a quickie, a woman subconsciously listens to her genes.

When a man is well dressed, it signifies his ability to provide for her offspring. Even when she's wondering "Should I or shouldn't I tonight?" how well you could care for her and her unborn children is in the back of her mind. Don't blame the woman. She's just instinctively doing what Mother Nature decrees.

DRESS AFFLUENTLY

In spite of millions of years of sexual evolution, men and
women still approach romance differently. Even when seeking a casual liaison (i.e., a one-night stand), do not go out dressed like an unmade bed. Dress as though you were auditioning to be her husband.

Even though you know you look dynamite in your bunhugging Levi's, with many women you'll do much better at a pickup bar in a three-piece suit, even though you're the only man there so well dressed. That does not mean, gentlemen, that you can't dress casually, but forget your cheap and comfy grungies. She might find you cool in your old L. L. Bean tartan chambray shirt, but your comfiest K mart plaid polyester (which looks the same to you) won't fly high with her. Ah, if only if it could be so simple for women. What fun to go shopping for an elegant outfit that you know will knock his socks off on the first date. Unfortunately, Huntresses, your designer suit will be probably be lost on him unless he's a gold digger. You can't believe he won't be wiped out by your new Oscar de la Renta suit? Believe it. The same researchers proved how relatively unimportant a woman's clothes are. Men were shown photographs of women prejudged to be very attractive, moderately attractive, and unattractive. The men expressed interest in having relations with the highly attractive and moderately attractive women no matter how badly they were dressed. No matter how well the unattractive women were dressed, however, overall it was a no-go. Save your expensive clothes to impress your girlfriends or your prospective employer. With men, how you carry yourself, your hair, your nails, your makeup, your grooming, your friendliness—that's what scores.

Let us now proceed into deeper, more subliminal waters. Before we start our journey, however, I ask only one thing of you. Please suspend any preconceived notions of what you should and should not do in a relationship. Much of what you have heard is probably excellent advice for keeping a relationship warm for many years, but that is not our stated mission here. Our ambition is more cunning: It is to get someone to fall in love with you. For that, we need some of the extremely subtle techniques that follow.