What Should I Wear on a First Date to Impress?

Bethany Heinesh

Written by: Bethany Heinesh

Bethany Heinesh

Bethany has ghost-written hundreds of dating articles in the last 10 years for relationship experts all over the United States.

Edited by: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro brings more than 30 years of journalism experience to ensure DatingAdvice articles have been edited for overall clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement. She has worked at The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, The Gwinnett Daily News, and The Gainesville Sun covering lifestyle topics.

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Guys, I cannot stress to you enough the importance of looking good on a first date. Dress to impress, honey. Your date is sizing you up from the minute you walk through the door, and you don’t want to give her any reason to question your hot-guy status.

What is she looking for? Any indication that you are a zero she should drop to find a hero. That’s OK — it’s always better to be looked over than overlooked! Don’t worry, you don’t have to show up in designer labels, wearing alligator skin boots or go to extravagant lengths to win her over.

You simply need to show up to your date looking your absolute best. This means you need to be clean, smelling good and put together well. Take a shower, shave your face (or trim your facial hair), and put on some light cologne or aftershave.

Make sure you have clean hands and fingernails. Wear nice, clean clothes that are wrinkle free and make an effort to match. A long sleeve button-up shirt or polo-style shirt with khaki pants is always a classic.

Wear clean shoes and make sure your car is clean and washed, even if you don’t plan to pick her up. You want to promote an overall appearance that says you’re together, responsible, respectable and self-assured. That’s hot.

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