Fashion Fridays: Valentine’s Two Part Special, “He Said”

My best friend came up with this clever idea for Fashion Fridays: a “he said”/”she said” issue of what you and he wish the other would (or would not) wear.  So I took a very formal poll, you know, Facebook/Twitter/interviewing friends, and asked what my men friends wished their wives/girlfriends would wear more often (barring lingerie, we all know they start there).  Then I did the same thing in reverse and polled my girlfriends/social media about men’s fashion.

Today we tackle what outfits or items of clothing he loves or hates.  Next week, we’ll tackle what you wish your man would (or wouldn’t) wear.  I’m sure I will get some comment that this is sexist.  But I believe that looking nice for your husband or wife is really important.  Especially since men are so visual and what they see can affect your love life.

Let me start off by saying this is the hardest Fashion Friday post I’ve ever written.  Mainly because no one is the same and you get answers all over the map.   So I think the two primary themes are this:

1.  Make an effort.  I had several guys say “just look nice” or don’t look “dumpy.”  Which translates into making an effort.  Wearing clothes that fit – not too big or not too small.  Showing you wanted to look nice for your night out or your Saturday of running errands in town.

2.  Communicate.  When some of my friends interviewed their husbands after being pressed, the answers of what he liked were as varied as the couples.  To keep a little sizzle in your marriage, find out what your husband likes you to wear and make an effort to wear those things sometimes (especially on date nights!).

With that said, I had a few specific items of feedback for Don’t Wear This:

1.  Sweats.  This was my most frequent response.  As my girlfriend said when we discussed this, you can wear cut yoga pants and a little tee and be just as comfy but look much better than you would in sweats.  Kill the sweats in your wardrobe.

2.  Ugly shoes.  This comes in all forms.  I heard “don’t wear Uggs,” and my hubby doesn’t like it when I wear flats that, in his opinion, look like houseshoes.

3.  Clothes that don’t fit.  These responses were from both ends of the spectrum.  I heard comments about bad underwear lines or tops that don’t contain your body any more.  But I also heard men that didn’t like oversized “tent” dresses.

I certainly had a few specific items of Do Wear This:

1.  What I give you.  Men really like it when you wear what they’ve purchased you for your birthday or Christmas.  Maybe this is a dress or maybe it’s a necklace, but wear your presents, especially around your man.

2.  High heels.  Now while I heard from my male friends that they like their women in heels, I also had a few married friends close in height to one another that would prefer no heels.  Nonetheless, heels won the day overall.

3.  Dresses.  Again, this wasn’t not universal, but I think this goes to the point of making an effort and looking feminine.  This can be as simple as a little day dress for Sunday morning or a cocktail dress for an event.  Especially if you are married to man who likes legs and you wear pants a lot, consider donning dresses for date night.

(Dresses courtesy of Nordstrom.)

4.  A top that shows a “little.”  This was not for everyday wear, but for date night men responded that they’d like to see a little cleavage (not surprisingly).  There are tasteful ways to do this.  See these two examples which, if worn with the right bra, could be classy but also a little sexy.

(Blouses courtesy of Ann Taylor.)

5.  Hair down.  I got feedback about hair length, but I also heard “wear your hair down.”

What about you?  Have you and your hubby talked about this?  Do you know what he thinks you look best in?