Ask Him: What To Wear on a First NYC Date?

Hi everyone!

Hope you are enjoying our new weekly line-up of fresh and fashionable posts  However, we thought no week could be complete without some sort of advice column targeted towards the fashion forward community we know and love.  So every Tuesday we are going to bring you advice from one of our new and fabulous male contributors, Brian Campbell.  Brian will be taking your questions and answering them every Tuesday for your reading pleasure.  You can email him your questions at askhim@cmarchuska.com.

So who is this Brian Campbell you ask?  Well, first off he is a born and raised LA surfer/entrepreneur who recently spent 4 years in NYC following after a model and successful fashionista who captured his heart.  Now he spends his weeks jetsetting back and forth between Manhattan and Malibu with the occasional trip to London or the South of France.  We met Brian at our first eco-fashion green show during Earth week 2009 (video coverage below).  Ever since we have kept in touch and are completely ecstatic about his offer to be a contributing blogger for our weekly postings.  Alright Brian - show us whatcha got

CMar Reader: Hi Brian - I recently moved from LA to NYC for a job.  I still haven't had a chance to update my wardrobe for the fall weather here on the east coast, but already have a first date this Thursday.  What is appropriate to wear on a first date in NYC without giving the guy the wrong impression?  Thanks so much - Anne

Brian: Hi Anne, and welcome to NYC. As you can probably already can tell, the city is a bit different to that of LA, especially the weather. Being a girl, and new to town can be a daunting prospect seeing as NYC is seen as an open playing field for single men. In order to make sure you're not giving a guy the wrong impression on a first date (I assume you mean you don't want him to think you want to sleep with him) from a wardrobe perspective entails not giving the guy the opportunity to lust over you. You want to keep him interested in you as a person, not a target. This obviously does depend on the guy also, whether he is there for a genuine 'get to know you better' purpose or whether it's one thing that he has on his mind. That, I'm afraid, is a very difficult thing to be able to determine from just a first date, so it's more of a case of you being the one who controls the situation. This is where your attire can possibly make a difference. Class, elegance yet slightly conservative without showing too much skin, would be the way to go from my perspective. You don't want to cover up completely, yet you don't want to reveal too much which can allow your guy's imagination to run wild.  Short and simple here are some rules to follow:

Rule # 1: Cleavage is a definite no-no on a first date. Keep the guy's eyes off your chest, and on your eyes. Some girls fail to realize the power that eyes can have over a guy.

Date Night Look on Jules Kirby (Monika Dress by c. marchuska) Photo Credit: Erik Dong

Rule #2: Keep skirt length to slightly above the knee, no shorter.  Guys are looking for smart sophisticated women.  Less is not more in this situation.

Ultimately, this should lead to a successful first date, and if you like him, who knows, it could lead to many many more. Good luck with the date on Thursday Anne, and I hope that what I have said helps you a little more to prepare.  Thank you for writing in and let us know how the date goes!