First dates are scary, even if you’re not looking for a long-term relationship. You’re putting yourself out there and your date can’t help but make judgements on what you wear. It’s simply a fact of life, but you don’t need to go in unprepared.

There is no magic mantra that you can spell out and the best dress would pop out of your wardrobe. Also, there is no generic formula or approach that suits everyone and all situations. You have to approach your first date bearing in mind all the little details. You cannot have a general solution to your first date problems.

How to dress for a first date? This is a question that almost every woman, as well as every man, will have to deal with. If this is your absolute first date, as in the first in your life, then you are in for some really scary shudders, shivers and jitters. Even if it is your first date with a certain man, you will be quite worked up.

The first thing you should do is relax and take one baby step at a time. Here is a guide that will help you to be perfectly dressed for the first date.

• First, take into account where you are going. You may be going for a dinner, a movie, theater, a party, a ride or for a picnic. You need to dress according to the demands of the first date. You cannot wear your best gown if you are heading for a picnic. You cannot just put on your tees if you are going for a fine dinner. You cannot wear the worn and torn jeans if you are heading to a classy party. However, if the party is one where you are expected to swing your head and let your hair down, then don’t put on your little black dress or the sequins. Considering where you are going for your first date will automatically do away with most options in your wardrobe.

• Second, you have to take into account what you have, unless you wish to go out shopping for your first date. Categorize your wardrobe according to the statement that a dress makes. If you are going to a classy place, don’t wear something that is funny. If you are going to a party, chic is always in and bland is always out. Adhere to this simple rule, fancy places demand fancy dresses, casual places demand casual and normal places demand normal attire. If you follow that rule, you will never go wrong with your choice of dress for your first date.

• Once you choose the dress, you will have to choose the right shoes. You may not have a pair each for every dress you own. Hence, you will have to pick one that goes with the dress. As important as that is, you would also have to see which pair you are most comfortable with. Don’t wear heels, even if a dress demands, unless you are comfortable with it for your first date. Remember, your poise while wearing heels during normal days or nights will be seldom replicated on your first date and you may not be just as comfortable or confident.

• You can opt for some accessories, from bracelets to earrings, a necklace to hair accessories. But you should not overdo it. You shouldn’t have to fidget with anything that’s on you. That also applies to your dress and shoes. If you have to fiddle with anything on you, then your first date may just go downhill. Having said that, some men do not mind women fiddling or fidgeting, it just tells them that the lady has been conscious about the first date and had attempted to look their best for the man.
Now that the approach has been discussed, it is time to discuss some specifics about your getting ready for the first date. Also, there are some rules which you should never break nor bend.

• Choose a color that suits you perfectly. Don’t opt for red, orange, black, white or purple just because someone has told you so. Try out a black dress and see if your skin glows, if the best parts of your body are accentuated and if you are looking stunning. Try red, purple, white or any other color that you want, from cyan to gold, and ask yourself if it suits you perfectly. Choose a color that you are most pleased with.

• Never wear something that you have never tried before. In that same vein, you should never experiment with style, fashion or any dress and accessory on your first date. Opt for what is tried and tested, proven to be good for you and safe.

• Never try to do something that is out-worldly for you and what you will not be able to sustain. If you wish to transform your first date into several dates and potentially a relationship, then doing something that you cannot keep doing will only peg the expectations at an unmatchable pedestal.