Do young women prefer casual looks over dress looks?

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

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I think its very middle class to consider dressing well to be 'Gay' I feel like it really comes from the blue collar attitude of the middle class.

Being well dressed and being gay are two totally seperate ideas in the upper class, and also in the lower class, IMO.

I'm not sure I agree 100% but I know what you're saying. I think the whole "dressing well = gay" is a distinctively American phenomenon. Think about the way European men (especially Italians) dress and how good they look and let's be honest, how well they do with the ladies. Then drop those guys in a typical bar in the US (and yes, I'm including NYC and major cities) and see how fast they get labelled as g*y. Americans in general seem to equate sloppy with "rugged" and having nothing to say because your too dumb as "the strong silent type."

Originally Posted by bmulford

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Its a case of extremes; dress like everybody else and you'll broaden your target audience - but be indistinguishable from your peers (at least based upon your appearance).

Brand Image: Corner mall, repleat with dry cleaners and pizza place. You're convienent and if you don't work out, there's another one down the street.

On the other hand, wear a suit and dress as if you were already a successful MBA, you'll dramatically shrink your market. Most will see you as terribly affected (even if they don't know to call it that) or at best, not in-step with your peers. You will however stand out, and to those who have a 'thing' for well-dressed men - you'll be highly noticable.

Brand Image: Sinead O'Conner. not everybody likes you - but everybody will know who you are and what you're doing. Most wont get it - your friends will mock you - but you'll be unmistakably individual.

So the trade-off is to fit-in and be invisble, or stand-out and narrow your prospects to those few who appreciate your message.

The question then becomes; Are you up the challenge of being a stand-out and everything that goes with it?

You have been writing some extremely interesting posts lately.

I dont visit trashy bars, i prefer to visit the ones in places where being well dressed is appreciated, sometimes it commands a slight premium over a dive bar, but it works out much better in the end.

I know exactly what you mean though, my friends typically like the bars that its cool to walk in, in a t-shirt and jeans....i usually go out in a suit, so i get a lot of "who the **** do you think you are" looks from the guys, and "hmm, i wonder who that is" looks from the women.

The type of women that frequent those bars arent exactly the kind i like to get to know, i prefer the girls who like higher end places.

I'm in the same situation, especially after way too much SF influence, and while there are certain things that I would absolutely not wear to class, there are other things I'll wear which could be considered gay, or dressing up, and which 99% of my classmates probably haven't heard of or couldn't care less about. It's all about how you feel in your clothes. I would feel ridiculous wearing some stupid AE polo anywhere, probably as ridiculous as some frat boy would feel sporting high end made in Italy ****. Unless you're going totally overboard and wearing a suit to class everyday I think dressing well in college can certainly give you an advantage with college women, and if anything it will certainly make you stand out. But you're probably going to get some (jealous!) looks and maybe some comments, and if you can handle that, wear whatever you want. The fact that a lot of good looking girls go for guys dressed in Abercrombie and baggy jeans should tell you that it doesn't matter that much what you wear, it's how you project yourself and how confident you feel in your clothes.

All that said there's also the Polo Ralph Lauren look I tend to covet - loafers, tweed jackets, etc. I see no reason why that wouldn't be appropriate and stylish on a university campus.

The only thing I definitely wouldn't wear to class is a suit. I would feel pretty ridiculous...but anything else IMO is fair game.

If everyone is wearing a suit and you are wearing jeans and a t-shirt you stand out, and unless you are very confident then not in a good way, the same is true the other way round. Girls go for the guy that is able to dress well within the norms of the group they are in. In fact I seem to remember reading a pretty stupid paper on the topic.

That doesn't mean you have to dress exactly like everyone else, you need to pick up on the core elements, which will be jeans and t-shirts probably, but then you can do your own thing from there, you don't have to wear douchebag pre ripped jeans, find some nice ones, ditto t-shirts and then you could wear a jacket with them or whatever that you actually like, maybe not a dress code people here would endorse, but you will fit in enough to avoid putting off the ladies.

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

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I dont visit trashy bars, i prefer to visit the ones in places where being well dressed is appreciated, sometimes it commands a slight premium over a dive bar, but it works out much better in the end.

I know exactly what you mean though, my friends typically like the bars that its cool to walk in, in a t-shirt and jeans....i usually go out in a suit, so i get a lot of "who the **** do you think you are" looks from the guys, and "hmm, i wonder who that is" looks from the women.

The type of women that frequent those bars arent exactly the kind i like to get to know, i prefer the girls who like higher end places.

So I guess you haven't been hanging out at Bill's Olde, Mcguinn's, Killarney's or Spigola (lol)

Spigola isnt too bad its the go-to bar for the older italian crowd. Bills Olde is such a **** hole, lol i avoid that place like the plague

I prefer triumph, A&B, Mediterra, ect

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

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Spigola isnt too bad its the go-to bar for the older italian crowd. Bills Olde is such a **** hole, lol i avoid that place like the plague

I prefer triumph, A&B, Mediterra, ect

The girls at Spigola (and Santino's) are VERY hot but they are all with guys wearing Affliction t-shirts.

Scientific proof that college women prefer the jeans and t-shirt look:

Clothing and Personal Attractiveness of Adolescents Related to Conformity, to Clothing Mode, Peer Acceptance, and Leadership Potential:
Anna M. Creekmore, Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal


The personal attractiveness of 228 high school students and the attractiveness of their clothing, as assessed by college student observers, were related to awareness of, and conformity to, the modal dress, to various types of peer acceptance, to participation in high school activities, and to leadership potential. Significant correlation coefficients indicated that attractive students generally wore attractive clothing, and were aware of, and conformed to, the modal dress. The attractive students were also more likely to be accepted by their peers, to be selected for important roles in the high school situation, and to be more active in school activities than students assessed as less attractive.

Ok, so not really scientific proof, kind of an old paper and this sort of social science is always a bit... but it fits with what I would suspect from other reading.

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

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I think its very middle class to consider dressing well to be 'Gay' I feel like it really comes from the blue collar attitude of the middle class.

Being well dressed and being gay are two totally seperate ideas in the upper class, and also in the lower class, IMO.

Truth.

Millionaire, I stick to princeton.

You'd probably do well in Cherry Hill, Princeton, Bridgewater, NYC, and Philly.

Santonis isnt too bad ethier, but only if i'm bringing someone there, i wouldnt go there to meet anyone. You cant even talk over the music. Generally speaking you're wasting your time picking up girls in Hamilton bars unless you're a gotti kid look alike. I've been friends with alot of those girls over the years, but i never date them, they're usually attracted to garbage. I did myself a huge favor weeding those girls out of my life.

Whatever you dress as, you gotta own it, and have a friendly attitude.

I always go for the girls who like well dressed guys, which for me is spanish, Black, Asian and upper class.

Originally Posted by millionaire75

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I'm not sure I agree 100% but I know what you're saying. I think the whole "dressing well = gay" is a distinctively American phenomenon. Think about the way European men (especially Italians) dress and how good they look and let's be honest, how well they do with the ladies. Then drop those guys in a typical bar in the US (and yes, I'm including NYC and major cities) and see how fast they get labelled as g*y. Americans in general seem to equate sloppy with "rugged" and having nothing to say because your too dumb as "the strong silent type."

But think about how much American girls fawn over European guys.

Originally Posted by youngscientist

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If everyone is wearing a suit and you are wearing jeans and a t-shirt you stand out, and unless you are very confident then not in a good way, the same is true the other way round. Girls go for the guy that is able to dress well within the norms of the group they are in. In fact I seem to remember reading a pretty stupid paper on the topic.

That doesn't mean you have to dress exactly like everyone else, you need to pick up on the core elements, which will be jeans and t-shirts probably, but then you can do your own thing from there, you don't have to wear douchebag pre ripped jeans, find some nice ones, ditto t-shirts and then you could wear a jacket with them or whatever that you actually like, maybe not a dress code people here would endorse, but you will fit in enough to avoid putting off the ladies.


This is the key point. I am a junior in a fraternity at University in DC, not the most stylish town. In my first years I dressed a little bit over the top, Shirt and tie very often jacket tie as well. Well fitted stuff but definitely above the norm. I mean, I went to a preparatory school so I didn't really know much different. Over time, however, I have moved more towards simple looks: Jeans (APC NS), fitted polos and Ts, simple sweaters, and clean shoes (desert boots, Katahdin Iron Workers and PF Flyers). Over time, I moved to a more simple sharp look. Since this switch there has been a major jump in the number of compliments from both women and men.

Essentially, I wear the same thing every other schlubby guy wears, the difference is fit and quality. Most of that instruction came from SF. You want to look just like the rest, but the best of the rest. You just wanna be the most equal.

Originally Posted by bs3009a

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I wear the same thing every other schlubby guy wears

I understand your point, but what a depressing statement.

Why are you still in University at age 25? What are you, slow?