Potential signs that she approves of how you’re dressed
Sorry guys. No matter how much effort (but not too much effort) you put in to how you present yourself, you will never, ever stop a room the way a woman can. And that’s fine. But when those of us with a Y chromosome get it right, sometimes the women around us let us know they approve. Their response often depends on how well we did, and they’ll also let us know if we didn’t quite nail it. Your experiences may vary. Results may or may not be typical. Above photo credit
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“I like your pants” -> “as she removes them”
Sooo I’ve been under the impression that hearing ‘I like your jacket’ is a good thing. Now you’re telling me it’s only slightly better than her walking over and ‘fixing’ you?
I’m gonna have to go reevaluate things.
Last one I got : “I’m really digging those socks!” made my day!
The cashier lady at Walgreens the other day told me, “You look spiffy. There’s just really no other way to describe it, other than spiffy.” After I thanked her and told her I try to look good sometimes, she said that I must look this spiffy every day. Baby, I know. I got into a pretty lengthy conversation about men’s footwear with one of the sales ladies at Banana Republic after she asked me about my Timberland Earthkeeper boots.
I also get complimented by female cashiers at Whole Foods a lot. I guess it’s easy to impress when 98% of the guys around wear ratty flannel shirts, biking capris, worn-out Chaco sandals, and haven’t encountered a razor since last century.
The biggest compliment, though, is being treated with respect. I won’t even go shopping at a department store these days without wearing a tie and jacket, because I know that if I wear jeans and t-shirt I will be 1) completely ignored, or 2) followed around the store like a thief. When I dress nicely, I am politely asked once if I need any help finding anything, then left to my business until I need to check out.
The angriest I’ve ever been in public is when I was trying to shop in the suit section in Nordstrom a few years ago. I was in desperate need of a suit and willing to spend a pretty penny to get one, but it was in the middle of a scorching hot summer and I was working as a full-time stipend volunteer so I was wearing my standard summer uniform of shorts, polo shirt, and flip-flops. The sales staff literally actively ignored me to help other, older customers. I’ve never been so infuriated. Needless to say, I’ve never shopped at Nordstrom since, nor shopped anywhere else wearing shorts and flip flops.
Nothing about shoes? I don’t think I’ve met a woman who didn’t appreciate shoes, and when they compliment yours, it’s usually a good thing.
hm. :O usually i just ask salespeople for help and they help me with whatever i need, no matter what i’m wearing
The limitations of an MS paint graph. I think it is a good thing, and much better than fixing you (space was limited for creating distance)… But I do think it’s an easier compliment to make. “I like your pants” requires pushing more chips into the center of the table.
I agree with you and disagree with the ratings. Not sure where Joe is located, but “you look cute” ranking over, well, just about any of these, but definitely “I like your jacket” seems off. Also, I doubt Joe meant this as a to-scale ranking line.
And now my comment is awkward since Joe responded before me…
How about a girl saying a nice watch and/or shoes on the scale?
Oh, some of it is to scale, but let’s not think TOO hard about this…
As an aside, there are at least 2 interpretations of a person adjusting your tie, smoothing your jacket, etc.
The first is that your tie is wonky and your jacket needs to be steamed.
The second is that there is nothing wrong with your tie or jacket and the person in question is just looking for an colorable excuse to be physically close to you. Like social grooming as a sign of affection.
I have to agree with your comment about more respect – or seemingly so. I also get more smiles from women (most important of course) but also from male colleagues and pay grades above me. And it’s simple stuff – like layering colors and textures with that awesome JCrew Factory Tweed. I can’t believe that dressing just a notch better can give you a little edge in whatever form.
I’m surprised a woman would compliment you on your watch. In my experience, women (and actually most men as well) rarely notice watches unless there’s something particularly unusual or eye-catching about them.
I’ve long been curious about the watch thing. It is usually touted as the only real jewelry that most men will (and arguably should) wear, other than a wedding ring (when applicable) and possibly cufflinks.
I remember an article in one men’s magazine several years ago stating that it was one of the first things a woman checks out when approached by a man, right after shoes and hair (if I remember the order correctly), yet when I asked several female friends, they almost all indicated that they didn’t pay attention to a man’s watch. Perhaps it depends on the woman and her own motivations?
I think it has to do with both seeing the watch, and whether it stands out. Wearing a long sleeve shirt can cover the watch and she may not even notice it. Also, plenty of guys wear watches, but only occasionally do you see one that just makes you say “Wow, that’s a nice watch.”
But alas, I’d think the watch is one of the last things a woman will look at. Now, if you’re wearing clothes she likes, and you happen to have an awesome watch on, it sure doesn’t hurt…
Perhaps we should ask the lovely Beth from the Ask A Woman section what she thinks about watches or what women tend to focus on or notice in general about a guy.
I think the problem with notions like this (“watches are the first thing people notice,” “a watch says a lot about a man,” etc.) is that it’s largely rhetoric coming from male watch enthusiasts who seem to assume that other people have the same eye for watches that they do.
I can tell you that recently, and in a rather short period of time, I’ve gone from being a “utility watch” person (i.e. I wear a watch but don’t otherwise care about them) to being more of a bona fide watch enthusiast (I now have a modest collection of affordable watches). Before I got interested in watches and started learning about them from websites and forums, I couldn’t have told you the difference between a Timex and a Rolex, much less between a Rolex and a Patek Philippe, or a Seiko and a Citizen. I was essentially blind to watches, the same way I could never distinguish makes and models of cars before I actually started driving. My brain just wasn’t tuned to that frequency.
I’m willing to bet the majority of people, men and women, have a similar blindness toward watches. They can see that a person is wearing a watch or not, but other than that, nothing registers unless there is something particularly noteworthy about it. I’ve observed this on watch forums. In threads like “What watch gets you the most looks,” watch enthusiasts report that it’s not their “nice” or expensive watches that attract attention, but their flashy or unusual ones.
For watch enthusiasts, especially male ones, a watch is a status symbol that immediately sends social cues about its wearer. But for most people, a watch is just a thing you strap to your wrist to tell the time. Unless a particular woman happens to be knowledgeable about watches, I doubt she will even notice them.
I think the best compliment a guy can get is when a girl looks you up and down with a smile, compliments how your clothes fit you, and says “I wish my boyfriend would dress like you” in front of the boyfriend!
Also, I dont wear a flashy watch (the Timex 1600 from J Crew) but several people noticed it over the weekend while I was dressed to the nines for a wedding. I got several compliments from people about the details of my outfit including watch and pocket square, I think it just takes a certain type of person to notice the details
Where is the “You look so sexy tonight” comment? Or is that off the charts?
Was just checking this blog for birthday ideas for my boyfriend, and wanted to weigh in on watches. I definitely notice them on men, and know my girlfriends do too. So few men wear them anymore, thanks to cell phones. Thus a classic, utilitarian watch (nothing very showy) becomes a positive, noticeable masculine accoutrement. When I ask for the time, and a man looks at his watch, rather than digging in his trousers for his cell phone, it’s very attractive.
Credited. Or she’s a golddigger, in which case you should get the cheapest Rolex you can find (she may not even recognize PP, Omega, etc.) and make sure your french cuff on your left arm is tailored a little shorter so that your watch is out nearly all the time.
Agreed about the second interpretation. It’s sort of like chimps grooming each other 🙂 . Sometimes I think she’s also thinking “Nice. He wore a tie. I wish my husband/boyfriend would wear a tie sometime…”
Good to know. 🙂 There are definitely watch-wearers and watch-appreciators lurking among us, male and female. It just seems that we are in the minority these days.
I think a woman notices a man’s watch at the same level that we might notice her purse. Sure, you know it’s there, you can probably tell what brand it is and if it generally goes with the outfit, but that’s about it. Only another woman would be impressed by a nice purse.
I’ve actually gotten the “see’s her ex across the room & immediately takes you over to introduce you to him” on my very outting with a girl before; didn’t realize she was introducing me to her ex till much later on. Feels good man.
Tailored tux really doesn’t need any signs of approval. Its hard to top.
I approve of the image you used for this post.
Yup. When a woman notices and comments on my watch it sets off the gold digger alarm.
Got to watch out for that. I would much rather have a girl completely forget her ex is in the room because I’m there with her, than see her try to show me off, meaning there’s still enough feelings there for the other guy that it would matter.
Adjusting your bow-tie is definitely a good sign.
Definitely could be an excuse to get close and touch
I wear a Breitling (gift from my father) and everyone notices it and offers me complements. Literally every time I wear it someone notices it and recognizes it as a Breitling. Sometimes I don’t wear it because I want to lay low. But in any case, I have never felt people notice it because it is gaudy at all. It really is a beautiful piece of jewelry, the only piece I wear.
Maybe its just me, and forgive me everyone as I know I should be biting my
tongue, but it seems like your replies are geared more towards stroking your ego
than contributing useful information to the subject at hand. Why are you trying
so hard to impress people? And it’s not “complements”, it’s “compliments”.
Your Breitling complements your outfit, of which you receive compliments for.
“But that’s just me and who cares?”
see’s < sees