Do young women prefer casual looks over dress looks?

I'm 24. Woman my age LOVE it when I wear a suit, and often request that I wear them more often.

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

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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.

thanks for the advice....I wish I were still single!!!

I'm usually a lurker, but I'll weigh in on this;

I go to a University in British Columbia, and the style in the region is very very casual, thus going the suited route doesn't work. What I've found is that going a step up from the GAP, A & F and American Eagle in fact helps. Wearing nice fitting denim and occasionally chinos is perfectly appropriate and a hit with girls. Nice fitting sweaters, v-necks and cardigans, and casual shirts, ginghams and such usually is well recieved. With regard to footwear, simple sneakers or boots. Stan Smiths and Clarks DBs are usually my kind of thing. I have found that you get odd looks if you go to trousers, sports coats and suits, but a sharp casual look like you'd see in the SW & D forum is perfectly well recieved and girls notice if your fits are better than the popped collar polo w/ distressed jeans and flip flops in a good way. Thats not to say that there is a formula for this, but the way I see it, in most programs a suit isn't really everyday wear, you will do well though if you wear a suit very well when its appropriate, presentations, conferences etc, that is usually well recieved by the ladies.

Originally Posted by mt_spiffy

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I'm 24. Woman my age LOVE it when I wear a suit, and often request that I wear them more often.
Not just women. Men on this forum love it when you wear your suits. In fact, we wish you wore them more often. And post pics. But to the OP, it depends on what type of woman you're trying to attract. The typical university female will prefer #1 and that's a sad state of affairs for the typical university lady. I find that the female grad students on campus tended to dress better because they were older.

Originally Posted by millionaire75

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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.

They do well with the American ladies. Italian girls ignore them or run away. I've been to Italian discos with Italian friends and it's funny to see how rude the girls are. And these were discos halfway up a mountain outside of small villages. I'm sure it's even worse in the big cities.

Being exotic without being deviant attracts women and Italians in America fit this criteria. You can use your clothes to appear this way if you are clever. For example, wear a necklace made of shells you collected while diving. It will give you something to talk about in a bar and let the girl know you lead an interesting life. You could also move to Europe and use the exotic foreigner routine yourself.

Originally Posted by Douglas

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Why are you still in University at age 25? What are you, slow?
The first terminal degree in many European countries is equivalent to a masters in America so it is not uncommon to have 25 year old students. Based on the OP's use of "university" instead of "college" or "school", I would assume he is in Europe. Or maybe a graduate program in the US. Or maybe he is just one of those guys who loves university and wants to spend 10 years there. Or you could be right and he is slow....

Ha, That did come off a bit depressing, to clarify I meant that to be dressed well in this age group 18-22 you dont have to wear a blazer and proper shoes. In fact, to do so would be a bit of a faux pas. You can wear the college uniform stylishly though. In my case it means either clean well fitted sweaters and an overcoat along with simple jeans or, in the warmer months, a properly fitted T shirt, polo or linen button down and slim unobtrusive shorts. The key is to move away from the garish "popped polo" and superdistressed hollister jeans and move towards a simple, classic look. By stripping down the college uniform to its most simple elements -dark jeans, classic colored V necks, well fitting buttonups and simple shoes- you are making a stylish statement in itself. Its like reinventing the wheel. More James Dean and less Jersey Guido....no offense to jersey residents.

Originally Posted by bluemagic

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I understand your point, but what a depressing statement.

Originally Posted by Douglas

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

You've been embarassing yourself a lot as of late.

Originally Posted by DrZRM

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Seems like every American college campus has at least one "suit" guy, who rolls to class in a suit and tie with a briefcase. I've never taken an official poll, but I don't get the sense that he generally pulls the ladies. I've never really understood this particular fashion choice. Also, I don't think pleated pants are ever going to do most men any favors. That said, there is a middle ground. Most students in the Boston area seem to find the jeans/flip-flops or Uggs (depending on season)/and North Face fleece to be a universally acceptable outfit for all circumstances. Dressing up need not mean dressing in dress slacks and a tie every day. Just paying attention to how your clothes fit will go a long way.

I spent a total of 12 years of my life--as an undergraduate, graduate student, post-doctoral research fellow, and assistant professor--at three different American universities between 1959 and 1973, and I sure don't recall a single "suit guy." Is this a more recent phenomenon?

I don't know if there are any suit guys at the university my stepson attends. I once asked the lad if he would like to start emulating the classic "campus hero" look of yesteryear with, say, a nice tweed jacket, OCBD, decent slacks and shoes. He replied, "People would think I had just come from some sort of theatrical rehearsal."

I suppose I am my company's equivalent of the suit guy.

It's all about the fit, baby. That and some decent man-cessories -> good pair of sunglasses, a sweet messenger bag, a good jacket and a few pairs of decent shoes.

And don't wear anything with a brand logo. Don't buy cheap. It's better to have less than more.

I'll be at university till I'm 30, seeing as I went from the Nursing -> Medicine route to the Nursing -> Mining Engineering and Economics Double Bach route.

I've only seen a few people wearing a suit, and it's usually Masters students or Law students after work. I've seen a few people wear a odd coat for fun, but thats about it.

Your only at college a few years, or if your like me atleast a decade, why not have fun and be casual?

I'll love wearing a suit everyday when the time comes, but I'll also look back and love when I could wear fitted button downs with seersucker shorts and cordovan high vamp loafers whenever I wanted and then change to Trickers, Samurai's and a tartan shirt to go out to a bar.

Girls are going to notice your personality more than your clothes. These things are related though. I help guys at work, and they notice a difference in thier self esteem almost over night, which makes them more talkative, which means they talk to more women. The guys that get alot of tail at uni tend to be the louder, aggressive, arrogant kinds.

Nothing wrong with that. I adhere to that camp.

I would say a college girl being older and more mature then a high school girl would prefer a more dressy look then casual. At least thats the way it was when I was in school, of course things have changed a lot since my day.

I'm 29 and I usually get mixed reviews from female friends who see me in both formal and casual wear. For the most part, friends who are usually accustomed to working in a professional environment usually prefer me dressed up and say that I tend to look more refined and much better when wearing a suit and tie. Others have expressed that I look better when dressing down and wearing denim and sneakers so its hard to say what younger women prefer, especially when it comes to their own profession and background.

I think for the majority of women, usually being dressed up gets the vote but thats from personal experience since I'm working in finance and surrounded by poorly dressed corporate guys on the trading floor.

Originally Posted by Fuuma

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I have no idea, I just try to have them prefer me, the rest is bullshit. I don't subscribe to dressing like others but better, I guess its ok if you're not passionate about clothes.
I think this is great.

Originally Posted by milosh

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I think this is great.

Sounds great, not so good in practical application. Just look at the threads about the Sartorialist photos. People judge us based on our appearance, whether we like it or not. And all of us, to varying degrees, dress to meet society's standards. Fuuma knows this, and I know he adapts his clothing to the settings at hand.

Bear in mind, the responses are directed to a guy interested in attracting women, not someone engaged in a Quixote-esque defense of style and fashion.

Originally Posted by anon

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I think most college-aged women would assume #2 was gay or something.

And this is coming from experience.. my sister in law refuses to consider dating a friend of mine who is a decently attractive doctor because he "dresses too gay."

That seems to be the "American" way of thinking. It's only in the US that I have come across the stereotype that if a man dresses half-decent, he must be gay! In other countries, men - and women - are expected to dress decently whenever they go out of their house ("decent" doesn;t necessarily mean "dressed up", just well put-together).