How you dress for dates says a lot about the way you feel about your date as a person. It can also tell your date a lot about your expectations for the evening. You don’t want to give the wrong impression and you don’t want to show any disrespect to your date.

Style

It is a good idea to show off your personal style to some degree. You don’t want to put on a different face and pretend to be someone that you aren’t. This is not the best way to get to know someone. You do want to tone down any over-the-top style so that person can have a chance to get to know you without being distracted by your outfit.

Occasion

What you wear should also be tailored to the occasion. If you’re going out to dinner in the evening, you should dress nicely in order to show respect to your date. For women, this usually means a dress or skirt. For men, it usually means wearing a nice pair of slacks and a jacket. If you show up in a sloppy outfit for a dinner date, you’re telling your date that he or she is not important to you.

If you are dressing for a casual afternoon date, you can wear jeans and tennis shoes as long as your clothing is clean and in good condition. Even wearing a t-shirt is fine as long as it looks good with your outfit and is well taken care of. Never show up on the date with holes in your clothes or with a dirty shirt.

For an outdoor date, wear rugged clothing to show that you are into the occasion. A picnic or hike in the woods requires jeans or other clothing that will hold up well.

Accessories

Even if you are trying to tone down your style for a date, you can still have a lot of fun with your accessories. These can even be something interesting to talk about when conversation is running slow. Try wearing funky sunglasses, vintage jewelry or hair clips that are interesting to look at.

If the weather is cold, make sure to dress accordingly. It may be tempting to wear something revealing even in cold weather or to skip the coat in order to show off your outfit, but this is not the way to have a good date. If you do this, you will be uncomfortable and may have a bad attitude throughout the date. This is not an attractive quality and it will not lead to having a good time for either of you. In respect to your date, make sure that you are comfortable and will not be complaining about feeling cold all evening.

If you are a woman, make sure you don’t take revealing dressing too far. This can give your date the wrong oppression about you. While it is the style right now to dress very revealing, you need to convey to your date that you are worthy of respect.