What to Wear on a First Date

By Suzanne M.

I have been asked to join some fellow Canadian bloggers who write a blog called True Love Bites, available at http://www.truelovebites.ca

It is a relationship blog, with a twist of humour, which explores a wide range of topics, including "First Dates". Which got me thinking about what people wear on a first date, fashion wise.

Do they dress fancy? Casual? Deliberately dress down? Or try to find a balance... "Business Casual" has so many definitions it is truly undefinable.

So perhaps the best term for this scenario is "Date Casual", which is to say casual, but the clothes is usually freshly cleaned, the person is recently shaved, showered, etc - which unfortunately means that some women will rush home after work, shower, shave their legs, do their hair, pick out clothing, and then rush back out to meet the 6:45 date. While men, depending on the person, may simply go straight from work to their date, wearing the same clothes they wore since 8 AM, with a 5 O'clock shadow, etc.

Check out the video below for example (which was shown on a recent post on True Love Bites) and notice how the two people meeting for the first time end up talking about his sports jacket (and WTH does she not know what a sports jacket is???) She shows up wearing a jacket that looks like a cross between a trench coat and a fuzzy bathrobe, but somehow the topic ends up being about his idiotic sports jacket.




Yes, the video is more about the concept of Augmented Reality Dating - but even though their reality is augmented using their contacts, they still feel the need to "dress casual but professional" on a first date. So it really comes down to first impressions.

Too Professional - Might make the person seem too boring and rigid.
Too Casual - Might make the person seem sloppy and lazy.
Just Right - Somewhere closer towards a happy medium, hence "Date Casual".

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH "dating casually" or "casual dating", which refers to people who go out on dates with many different people, but don't actually form long term relationships with them because they just want to try lots of different people on like someone shopping for shoes.

So for example lets look at the images below.

Overall very casual, but the blazer jacket makes it slightly more professional.

A blend of casual and professional, but looks pretty boring. Too much grey.

On the left the scarf makes her look more professional and artistic, but still flirty.

On the right the large bag and loss of the scarf makes her look easy and sloppy.

And because this is a Canadian website we should also talk about what happens during the winter. Do you sacrifice being warm for the sake of fashion? Or do you manage to combine smart fashion with something that keeps you really warm? Like a parka, poncho, knitted sweater dress, etc.

Below, some samples of ponchos.

I even saw a guy recently outside wearing a poncho while he was playing Pokemon Go. So it is both fashionable and practical. In other news it is snowing outside my window...

In more other news here are some posts from True Love Bites. Check 'em out!

Augmented Reality Speed Dating Platform
Politics, Love, Trumpites and Dealbreakers
Five Tips for Restaurant Dates
Marriage and Popping the Question
The Girlfriendzone
Jian Ghomeshi, the Sexual Predator and why "Not Gu...
Promocode for Couples Archery Lessons in Toronto
The Lavishness of Hobby Specific Gifts
So-Called "Nice Guys" and the Real Reason Why "Nic...
Ashley Madison's Phoney Accounts
10 Tips for Dating Asian People in Canada
TrueLoveBites.ca - New Domain Name
Badoo Sucks and I will tell you why
Valentines is coming, Rose Colour Meanings + Bizar...
Monogamy Vs Monotony
How to get a Boyfriend - Chinese Wisdom
Funny Text Message Breakups
7 Great Romantic Getaways in Canada
Attractiveness, Kissing and Oral Health
Would you date a deaf person?
5 Ways to Spot if your Date is a Serial Killer
Halloween is a great time of year to meet New Love...
The Instant Connection
5 Ways to Spot a Serial Dater
Exercise and Common Lies people post on Personals
Do's and Don'ts of Dating Vegans and Vegetarians
Attractive Things Men Do
Dating Academic Cheaters
An Essay on Cheating and Breaking Up
An essay on the foolish things girls do for a guy....
Happy Valentines Day!
March 15th - International Breakup Day
5 Valentines Gift Ideas
Learning Your Lessons when it comes to Dating
Christmas - The Relationship Breaker???
Jealousy Fuelled Rage and Temper Tantrums
Advanced Kissing Skills 101
You Are More Beautiful Than You Think
67 Ways to Save Money and still go on Dates
Should I Text Him Flowchart
A Good Boyfriends knows what to do...
The Coffee Date - Poetry by Maria Jones-Statham
The Pre Date Phone Call - Screening your Dates Bef...
Lets just stay friends...
Chewing Gum = Prepare to get Kissed
Advice for First Dates
Best Breakup Line Ever!
Building Stronger Relationships Towards LOVE
5 Tips to Become a Lady Magnet
How to Find Happiness and True Love
Lots of Single Chinese Women can't find a husband
Breaking Up With An Overly Attached Girlfriend
College Relationships
Three Dates Equals Sex
How to Fake It and get into their Pants
What to talk about during a First Date
The Fake Out
How to Ask a Woman on a Date
Are cooking classes really a good place to meet a ...
Worst Dating Gifts Ideas
10 Things You Should Never Say To Your Boyfriend
What to Wear on your First Date
Love, Dating and Long Distance Relationships
In the beginning...

"a fashion accessory for idiots"

A friend of mine recently referred to the iPhone 7 as being "a fashion accessory for idiots".

I don't think he is wrong either. Apple is basically the equivalent of the worst sweatshop clothing manufacturer you can think of. They use cheap labour in South Korea and other Asian countries to make the phones, use technology from Samsung, add their own proprietary charging ports and make it deliberately annoying for iPhone users to charge their phone.

The new iPhone 7 takes it one step further. Now the headphones also uses the charging port as the plug. They got rid of the normal audio jack completely.

Which means you have three choices:

Option 1: Wear the ugly and battery powered "AirPods", shown below:

Option 2: Use an adapter just so you can use a normal audio jack, shown below.

Complete with moron talking about how great it is.

Option 3: Use the headphones that come with the iPhone 7. Which are ugly. So ugly I am not even going to show them here.

As fashion accessories go, Apple seems to be shooting themselves in the proverbial iFoot, by deliberately making their stuff unfashionable.

Take this idiot below with an Apple iPhone 7 Plus strapped to his face. He might look cute with his well-trimmed beard, but the average person doesn't look like that when they have something like that strapped to their face. Instead they look like a complete idiot.

Complete Idiot with iPhone 7 strapped to face.

This is the silly thing too. Since the iPod came out, Apple's primary goal has been to promote their products as being "hip and fashionable" to the younger generation. But the people in charge of the company have started to become old and out of touch with what is fashionable. They think the AirPods wireless headphones shown further above are worth $219 CDN, despite the fact that they are ugly and only store a 5 hour charge. That isn't fashionable or convenient. That is ugly and inconvenient.

Which brings me to another thing my friend stated, that technology is all about more convenience. People buy toasters and microwaves because they are convenient and easy to use. Same reason why they buy washing machine, automobiles, etc. They have a purpose that makes their life more convenient.

In the world of fashion we also have things that are convenient...

#1. High Heels - a convenient way of making yourself look taller in a world which is prejudiced against short people. (Don't pretend it isn't true. Height-ism is a real thing.)

#2. Black Dress - a convenient way of making yourself look both thinner and sophisticated with very little work involved.

#3. Handbags - a convenient way to carry your stuff around, which frankly is a sign we have too much stuff. I personally prefer backpacks, but hey, personal preference.

Etc

But the iPhone 7 is supposed to do a bunch of different things, in theory, which are supposed to make your life more convenient - but is not.

Getting rid of the standard audio jacks is not convenient. It is annoying.

Forcing people to buy AirPods for $219 is not convenient. It is highway robbery.

Trying to get people to try virtual reality headsets is not about more convenience, it is about not looking like an idiot. It would be easier to promote Victorian wigs as a fashion accessory than to try to convince people to wear their iPhone on their face and look like a complete idiot.

Seriously, we should totally bring Victorian wigs back.

Having to powder your Victorian wig wouldn't be very convenient I admit, but it is at least fashionable. It also makes a person look taller, so if combined with high heels...

Oh and for fun check out these High Heels: The Bullet. Perfect for the femme fatale look.

Raccoon Fur Collar in China

Okay so I found this photo randomly.

And I was like wow. Raccoon fur. That is a bit like wearing rat fur or squirrel fur. Or any other kind of rodent.

So apparently wearing rodent fur is a thing in Asia. I admit, it looks good, but I think it is rather strange to be wearing rodent fur.

Meanwhile in Canada we are obsessed with removing raccoons humanely and setting them free in the wild.

Especially when you consider how adorable and cute raccoons are. Definitely not something to be wearing.

Super Long Legs - Anastasia Strashevskaya

On the right is a photo of a Russian fashion model named Anastasia Strashevskaya.

Anastasia Strashevskaya reportedly has some of the longest legs on a female model in the world. 42 inches.

Proportionally speaking. She is 5'10" tall (70 inches) but her legs are 42 inches of her 70 inches height. That means 60% of height is in her legs.

There are other fashion models around the world with really long legs - including one from Houston Texas who stands 6'5" tall (77 inches) and was once told she was "too tall to be a model". Her legs measure 51 inches.

So the model from Texas is taller and has longer legs, and has proportionally longer legs too. 66.2%.

But whatever. This isn't a contest to see who the biggest freak of nature is. (Or is it?)

Anastasia Strashevskaya does have some pretty long legs and they do seem to be helping her modelling career.

The model from Texas, not so much.

There are similar models from Britain, France, Brazil and other countries with legs ranging from 42 to 49 inches long, all with varying heights and different proportions. Clearly some of these models were drinking lots of milk as they were growing.

More calcium = longer, thicker bones. Huzzah. Milk is also a great source of protein. Learn more about Why Calcium Rocks!

How to Dress like a Manly Man

By Monique Bellamont - March 2016.

Ack!

It is that word many "manly men" shy away from - metrosexual.

Which we women find silly because it reveals that many men are so homophobic that they refuse to deal with anything that is remotely "gay".

As such men's high fashion has suffered over the decades to the point that men really can only wear suits and uniforms. Anything too risque and they feel they are being emasculated

However done right, men's high fashion doesn't have to look metrosexual.

What it should look like however is:

Rugged.
Cool.
Capable.

And a touch of James Bond doesn't hurt.

As such high end clothing for men really needs to flatter a man - building a bridge between "uniform / suit" and "rugged casual wear".

Check out the image below to see what I mean. The men in the photo below, all wearing clothes from Toronto-based company Kish Wear (see http://www.kishwear.com/), look rugged yet sophisticated. And this is what men want when it comes to high fashion. They want to look professional, yes, but they also want to look like they could doff a cowboy hat and ride off into the sunset at the same time looking heroic while they do it.

 Now as a single woman who dates a lot I have to imagine waiting in a coffee shop for the guy I met off POF to show up.

And then he shows up wearing a black bow tie, wearing a white shirt, suspenders, a black jacket with fur collar (I am describing the photo on the right here) then I am going to be instantly impressed and have the following first impressions.

#1. This man is intelligent. He is smartly dressed.

#2. This man knows how to dress properly and takes care of himself. He probably bathes daily, does his laundry regularly, and might even wear cologne on special occasions.

#3. This man probably knows how to treat a lady. If he treats himself well, then he probably treats others well too.

#4. This man has a job / career. He wouldn't be able to afford this quality of clothes if he is still living in his parents' basement.

#5. He looks like Viggo Mortensen. Part of that is just the hair and beard, but the clothes completes the package.

#6. Retro. And anything retro is cool. So that is automatically a bonus.

Thus, first impressions, I would be very happy to meet a man dressed like that. Whether his personality matches mine, that is another topic, but the first impressions means that I will be taking this man seriously and he will be having my undivided attention while I sip my latte and contemplate a second date.

Below are some photos from Kish Wear's 2014 Winter Collection available at http://kishwear.com/lookbook/winter-2014