Let me be clear:
I don’t have a date.
I’m just curious.
How do you tend to dress for first-dates in the internet world? I say internet world since you, typically, won’t have a great idea about what style of clothing the other person tends to go with.
Let’s say the setting is a bar in a decently sized city, and people at the location dress in everything from jeans-and-a-tee to business casual, not typically suit-and-tie, though.
Do you ask the other person how formal they’re going and try to match?
Go with the most/least formal? Something inbetween?
(And let’s assume that the ‘bar’ part doesn’t really matter, the important thing is that you’ll find people dressing anywhere from casual to semi-formal)
I’d wear a button-down shirt with a collar over a T-shirt, and slacks rather than jeans. First dates call for dressing up a little bit without being overly formal. Show up in a T-shirt and shorts or ratty jeans at your own risk. (I am a guy.)
I had my “first meet” outfit when I was dating and my “first date” outfit when I had a real date.
First meet, usually Starbuck’s or Appleby’s: flat shoes—I’m nealry 5’9", jeans, red sweater, hair down and makeup. I could go walking in that outfit or on to casual dinner.
First date: heels, hose, short-ish skirt–depending on where we were going. I liked making an occassion out of a date and most men appreciated my efforts to make it special.
It depends largely on the where, but I find that a nice pair of jeans, heels, and a cute top will take me nearly anywhere in Boston, without being wildly over or underdressed.
If I’m going straight from work, change “jeans” to “black pants”.
It depends on where you’re going. There’s nothing wrong with asking, “are jeans ok or should I kick it up a notch?”
It will tell a lot about the person you’re dating. One response might be, “Wear a nice shirt and pants and hard shoes” for a casual joint and another might be “Oh, please…wear whatever you like. Just be comfortable.”
Suppose I should answer my own question, though I don’t have a really good answer.
My answer is I have not, and do not, plan to go on date. I suppose, if I had to, I’d go with as formal as I’m likely to find, though I’d try to match the other person if at all possible.
