Your Image on a Date

Got a date and want to know what to wear? There are some simple style rules that you can follow that will prevent you from putting someone off at ‘hello’, but most of your success on a date is based on your own Image of yourself.

I know you have good intentions and really do want to make a good impression. Often at crucial times like this however, when you feel the pressure, when you want to look special and want to have success, you can consciously or unconsciously over-compensate or under-compensate.

Over-compensating is when you feel you need to dress up to compensate for something you believe you don't have. So, you believe your figure isn't slim enough, you don't feel you are tall enough, or you want to appear more creative. So you wear something that hides your waist to the extent that you lose it altogether, you wear clothing that is longer but it swamps you rather than elongates you, or you wear an unusually bright colour that takes over and thus dominates the conversation.

Under-compensating is when you feel the need to dress down so as to take away the attention from yourself. You want to hide out, or not appear too confident, or not to show that you may be interested in dating. If you are shy then you may be drawn to this option as a way of creating a barrier.

Both of these don’t work. They both distort your personal image and don’t naturally enhance your aesthetic - your colour, form, and presence.

Essentially under-compensating devalues who you are. It takes you down a peg or two on the 'attraction list', whereas over-compensating can push people away. If you don't value yourself, then why would you value others? That may be the question on your date's mind, as well as are you really worth it?

Your clothing is a form of non-verbal communication. 75% of a first impression is based on how you look and only 2% on what you say. You are a walking talking advertisement for You, and your clothing can communicate much about who you are and your intentions, whether your choices are conscious or not. People, mostly unconsciously too, judge you according to what you wear and the image that you project. They evaluate your status, your intelligence, and your worth without even realising, then respond to you according to their findings. They also use your image as a guide to whether you would be a potential dating match for them.

Next time you go out on a date, rather than wondering whether the person you are meeting will like you, focus on what messages you are sending out. What you will notice is the more you show yourself authentically and dress your aesthetic, the more you will attract a match. They know from what they see and from what you are projecting, without you even opening your mouth to say a word, that you are someone they would like to get to know better!