Whenever I go to a venue party, I see girls take on two different extremes in terms of outfits. Say it’s a pajama-themed party. I’ve seen girls rocking the onesies, and I’ve seen girls in about next to nothing (not to say they don’t look hot though!) I always have a dilemma—should I go for humility or go for hotness? I wanted to investigate what Greek guys really thought of what girls wore. I wanted honesty. Not the “I-know-I-should-say-this-so-I-can-be-the-next-HerCampus™-cutie” answer. What kind of girl makes their head turn? Should I be wearing a top that says “I’m a fun girl, and not ashamed of it!” or a top that is more conservative that lets them know, “I’m playing hard to get”? The results were just as unexpected as they were revealing.
When asked about which physical characteristics they notice first in a girl, the answers varied. Many of the guys had difficulty choosing just one feature. I concluded that although guys are attracted to certain characteristics, it really depends on the particular girl:
Now, us girls put a lot of work into our appearance. What we choose to wear speaks for us before we even begin talking. So naturally, we take our outfit selection process pretty seriously. I selected three pairs of pictures in which the outfits were similar—whether it was the style, the color, or the message the outfit conveyed. However, one outfit was slightly more “revealing” or “louder” than the other. Little did they know all of these girls are major sex symbols; ranging from Blake Lively to Kim Kardashian.
I asked the guys which girl they’d rather talk to at a party based on their outfit.
Case #1:
Why guys liked A: “I like girls wearing denim and she seems to have better posture and longer legs.”
Why guys liked B: “She is better dressed—classier.” Another guy added, “the jacket on [A] throws me off…she seems like she’d be too old for me.”
Case#2: Why guys liked A: “She looks a lot more confident in herself.” Another said, “she shows more and she’s tan.” However, one noted, “I would talk to her at a party…but if she dressed like that at Church or class, I wouldn’t.”
Why guys likedB: “[A] has too much pink…she’s too tan.”
Case #3:Why guys liked A: “It’s more fun and tasteful.”
Why guys liked B: “It looks classy. The dress on [A] is a bit much.” One Greek guy stated simply, “I liked black.”
What I realized was that they were more focused on the girl’s posture and body rather than the outfit! I kept having to reiterate, “what do you think of the outfit though, by itself?” And the boys couldn’t separate the two—they could only see the girl as a whole picture. They didn’t really notice the details, or if you chose pumps over strappy sandals.
Guys simply like it when you wear things that flatter your figure and aren’t too crazy. However, I figured out that there was one common thread within all of there responses: Confidence! If you have confidence, you can rock just about any outfit.
