We had a reader ask the following question yesterday regarding appearance and thought we should address it.

“I have girls tell me all the time that they like how I dress. I dress well but I’m not out to impress anyone, it’s just my style. Regardless, I was wondering what you thought about ‘dressing to impress’ so to speak. Great site by the way and thanks in advance for the feedback! -Timm”

Well Timm, thanks for your question. Girls tell guys all the time that they need to dress better, or wear fashionable clothes, or whatever, so it’s easy to think that it’s an important thing when it comes to winning over the opposite sex.

But I’ll say this time and again, chicks do not have any idea what REALLY turns them on. Do they want you to dress well? If you ask a girl, almost all of them, in different ways, will say yes, but that’s meaningless. Think about this…how many chicks do you know that talk about how much they just want a nice guy that treats them right? And how many of those chicks are with assholes that treat them like shit? Ummm yeah…a lot! The fact is, women are great at having feelings and making social connection and all that sappy bullshit, but they’re useless when it comes to logic and reason, which is something required for accurate introspection – for all you geniuses out there, that means “understanding yourself.” In other words, guys are much better at understanding what they really want than chicks are. So, obviously, the lesson here is that you should never take advice on how to pick up chicks from a chick.

So, what’s the way to figure out if chicks like guys who dress well or not? One word: Testing. Throw on some of your best gear and see if it helps picking up chicks for a month or so. Then, throw on some jeans you bought at Walmart and a shirt that says, “I’m with stupid,” and go out again for a month or so. What I’ve found is that it doesn’t make much of a difference at all. In fact, I do better in my Walmart jeans than I do in most anything else…and that’s mostly because I’m more comfortable in them, and partly because it shows I don’t give a shit. If I’m more comfortable, I’m more confident, and chicks will pick up on that. While cloths do make a difference, don’t obsess about them too much. Your attitude, demeanor and personality and how it compliments your overall style are more important.

Now it’s time for things to take a turn…I basically just said it doesn’t matter what you wear, now I’m going to tell you it does…well, sort of… Let me explain.

Peacocking

Yeah I know it sounds dirty. That term makes me want to throw up in my own mouth, but it’s already been coined by someone, and you may have heard of it if you’ve ever watched “The Pick-up Artist” on VH1. Peacocking means dressing in a way that will get you noticed. The term comes from the way that the male peacock is all pretty and shakes his feather-filled tail to get the ladies. I believe Eric Von Markovic, aka. Mystery, coined the term, and that guy takes peacocking to the extreme. Now, I don’t go as crazy as he does with it (the makeup, the hats or jewelry) but this technique works and is highly effective in attracting and retaining women’s interest.

How I Do It
Like I said, I don’t paint my fingernails or wear leopard-print pants to the bar, just like I don’t walk around with a dildo up my ass, it’s just not my style; but I will wear more subtle things that get me noticed. My favorite is my quicksilver cowboy hat. Now, keep in mind, I live in Southern California; if you live in the heart of Texas I don’t think a cowboy hat is going to go too far in getting you noticed. I can sum up the effectiveness of the cowboy hat with one interaction I had with a chick I boned the first night I wore it out. This chick approached me, we started chit-chatting, and, long story short, we left together. The next morning she saw my cowboy hat and said that was the thing that made her want to approach me. She said she thought to herself, “Who does this guy think he is walking around the bar with that cowboy hat on.”

That is exactly the response you want from your clothes. Of course, I had the confidence to go with it…if I was walking around like I was ashamed to be wearing the thing, it wouldn’t have gone over as well as it did. Wear the gear act the part and be confident doing it.

Conclusion
So, in answer to your question Timm, since I’ve rambled on now for some time, it doesn’t matter what you wear, however, a little branding never hurt a marketer, and that’s what we’re doing when we’re trying to score, marketing ourselves. So, showing off some sort of unique article of clothing or accessory, and rocking it like you don’t have a care in the world, will definitely brand you and make chicks think, “Who does this guy think he is?” But wearing that stupid pink polo shirt your ex-girlfriend picked out for you won’t help you score….ever!