first date: dress down or dress up?

dress down, but not too scruffy.

Casually sharp.

I usually like a first meeting (I have in mind people contacted through dating websites, a big part of my life for over a year now) after work, which makes it into a realtively casual thing, but leaves me in my smart work clothes rather than my super-casual (aka scruffy) other clothes. I have nothing in between.

where are you going? and how do you usually 'express' yourself with dressing? clean is important :-) and you really cant go wrong actually unless you stink or look and feel uncomfortable.ie: dont go out and buy something you wouldnt normally wear.

I usually err on the side of "dress up" for first dates. If only because most of my clothes are so Dirty Dronerock Girl that I think they'd scare the average boy off. Depends on how much I like the person. If I REALLY like the guy, then I'll even wear my Special Pulling Bra and everything.

It doesn't much matter as long as you have the proper shoes.

But yeah, err on the side of dress up and blame it on having to look nice for work if you end up overdressed. Wear a nice vintage piece if you have one.

But Kate, given that you want a Dirty Dronerock Boy more than anything, surely adjusting dress away from the DDG look is a major mistake?

Alas, if I could ever DATE a Dirty Dronerock Boy, it might succeed...

But Dirty Dronerock Boys are unfortunately seldom interested in dating Dirty Dronerock Girls. They date brainless Hoxton model types. Erm... I live in Hoxton, isn't one out of three enough? Alas no, and I pine without my DDB.

If I knew what Dronerock was, and wasn't a few decades old to be a boy, I'd volunteer. I could probably manage the dirty part.

If you go to karaoke, Do not start with "We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off" and everything will be ok. However "Nasty Girl" may work in your favor if the groove is there...

go to a very fancy ballet and dress up as much as humanly possible! if not that, well, being a little overdressed can't hurt.

Martin, all will be explained by Kate: Dirty Dronerock Boys: Shag and Destroy

I suppose the classic dronerock boy look was Spacemen 3 circa Playing With Fire late 80s.

I guess this is an obvious and excessively sensible answer, but wouldn't it depend on where you are going, what you are doing, and what you know about this person?

When in doubt, Ned's "casually sharp" seems like a good general rule.

The person I most recently went on a first date with had already seen me in jeans and an old shirt, and had also already seen me wearing my idea of club clothes, as well as something that was more "casually sharp." I think I settled on casually sharp. I can't even remember which pants I wore, actually. She wore a great sleeveless red dress with a high neck-line, and open-toed shoes with her nails painted red: sexy and modest at the same time. I was impressed. We were going out to dinner. She was dressed well enough for any place I could afford.

this depends so much on where you are going! and what the person is like.

dress as yourself.

dakatine must follow up and tell all details of date!