Straight Eye for the Straight Girl Episode 1

Imagine... being able to delve into the minds of young eligible bachelors and find out what exactly rocks their socks.

Imagine... no longer needing to fret over what to wear on a date, knowing exactly what men want to see you wearing.

Imagine... no more!! For I give to you - Straight Eye for the Straight Girl! - straight guys give you the low-down on their individual lists of the 5 outfits that set their heart racing.

This series will be running over a number of weeks, and the first young man we have for you today is none other than...

me.

Simply because the other dudes I have commissioned for this noble task are still not ready to unleash their top fives.



Before I begin, I am obliged to emphasize that in no way do the lists represent the collective or perhaps even majority opinions of the male race. A lot of men prefer minimum clothing, but we're not like that ;D. Thus, the following is purely the writer's personal opinion and should not be construed as authoritative.



Alright... it's partay time! Following tradition, I present to you...

The 5 Outfits I Think Ladies Look Fantastic In



A Crisp White Fitting Shirt with a Pencil Skirt



In my world, there is absolutely nothing that blows the mind more than a sophisticated lady in a tailored pencil skirt and a crisp clean white shirt. Nothing. Paired with black patent leather pumps, this is one outfit that'll really get mens' hearts pumping (pun intended and emphasized).



An Emerald Green Satin Dress

This luxurious satin green emerald dress simply exudes class and sophistication in the most understated of ways. As beautiful emerald green is, you don't see a lot of women sporting the color. Thus, this is currently a top choice for any woman who wants to stand out in a crowd.



A White Dress

A simple white dress should be a staple in every woman's outfit. No other outfit has the equal propensity of being able to transform the average woman into a pure, alluring neo-goddess. The dress should be minimally detailed and constructed from light cotton/silk.




Summer Dress


By now you may have noticed that I really like women in dresses.

The summer dress is essentially an outfit you can go crazy in and still look elegant - spice it up with a belt and white gold earrings, enhance it with open toe slip ons and matching bangles - do whatever makes you feel light, confident and carefree as every woman should in the summertime. Opt for light pastel shades and avoid over-flamboyant designs.




Jeans + T-Shirt


There is probably no straight man on the planet who doesn't like the look of a girl in a pair of nice slim jeans and a fitting white top - simple, clean and chic.




Are you young, eligible, male and have a penchant for writing? Actually you don't even have to be young and eligible. As long as you're male and enjoy writing, Straight Eye for the Straight Guy would like to showcase you and your top 5 on the site. Submit your entries (complete with accompanying pictures if possible) to rudi_cheu@hotmail.com

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Update

Here's a little sneak preview of some up and coming articles in store for all you readers of Straight Eye for the Straight Guy:

• Overdressing/Underdressing
• Accessorizing
• Behavioural Hallmarks of the Confident Man (and Woman!)
• Special Feature Series: Straight Eye for the Straight Girl (you don't want to miss this one!)
• And much, much more

Straight Eye for the Straight Guy also cordially welcomes any requests on specific topics - just leave a comment on the site.

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Behavioral Hallmarks of the Confident Man (and Woman)

Shake it like a Polaroid picture!

Not your booty (although a post on how to do that may not be too far away), but rather your hands. Everybody needs to perfect the art of a good, firm handshake. Going step-by-step, the first thing you should do is extend your arm confidently (it's always good to be the person initiating the handshake) and offer your open hand to the other individual.


As he/she proceeds to grasp your hand in return, grasp his/her hand neither so loosely that you feel that your hand is in danger of slipping off, nor so tightly that your handshake partner appears to be on the brink of tears. The perfect handshake is always a confident, firm shake accompanied by a genuine, generous smile.

Smile (often)

Here's a couple of things really smart people have said about smiling:

"A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks." - Charles Gordy

"People seldom notice old clothes if you wear a big smile." -Lee Mildon

"I've never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful." - Author Unknown

"The shortest distance between two people is a smile." - Author Unknown

"Beauty is power; a smile is its sword." - Charles Reade

"Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important." - Janet Lane

I don't think I have anything to add to that.

Posture
Kurt Cobain could slouch all he wanted to and still get mobbed by thousands of adoring ladies. You can't... probably cause' you ain't no rock-star (if you are one, please get in touch).

Leave the slouching to the professionals.

One of the hallmarks of a confident man is excellent posture. Now I'm not talking about head up in the sky, back-bent-so-far-back-you-look-like-you're-doing-the-limbo posture. Excellent posture is characterized by what the medical community terms as 'neutral spine position', whereby the 3 curves of the spine {cervical (neck), thoracic (middle) and lumbar (lower)} are present and in proper alignment. Follow this link for medically prescribed exercises towards achieving perfect posture.

Look into my eyes
Ladies hate men who don't listen. And when someone is talking and you don't look at him/her, that's how things will seem. Now that's a mystery solved, innit!

To be an effective listener, you need to do more than examine her nose, mouth, hair and sneak a little glance at her chest every 5 seconds or so while she's talking to you. When you do the latter, I can promise you that more often than not, she's fully aware of it. They know what you're up to, but to save you the embarrassment, they often just let it slip.

Oh, she knows, alright.

To truly let someone know that you're listening and that you're sincerely interested in what they're saying, look into their eyes throughout the course of the conversation. Yeah, literally. Stare into their eyes if you must! (but be sure to keep a comfortable distance so as to not intrude within their 'personal space'.) That way, you'll be racking up the brownie points cause' no girl doesn't appreciate a guy who actually cares enough to listen and take the time to properly understand her.

Touching you, touching me

Before anyone even thinks about suing me for advocating sexual harassment, I have to make one thing clear - I said touching, not molesting.

During a conversation, a brief hand on the other person's shoulder/arm can do wonders for making a great first impression. Touching and being touched releases oxytocin, the hormone commonly associated with enveloping feelings of calmness, love and healing. Therefore the person you've touched will associate such positive feelings with your presence, going a long way in making a fantastic first impression.

A BRIEF hand on the other person's shoulder/arm (it also helps if you don't sport a 'whats-up-baby' expression while doing it.).

However, be sure to limit touching to a person's shoulders, arms, and upper back, as touching other parts of the body may potentially overstep sensitive physical/cultural borders. For example, the touching of someone's head may be interpreted as a belittling/patronizing act and the touching of a woman's lower back/legs/etc may (and in most cases, probably will) be interpreted as an act of harassment. And don't even ask about bums (little wink-outs to a few female friends of mine who enjoy the practice of bum-smacking - I don't know why, but apparently exceptions are often made when the smacker is a girl.).

Complimenting

There is a very real difference between complimenting and flattering somebody. The synonyms for flattering are sucking-up, grovelling, smothering a person with empty praises... whereas complimenting somebody is the art of subtly looking out for positive details about a person's appearance or demeanour, and letting them know that you care enough to have noticed. Nonetheless, when complimenting, it's essential to be genuine. You'd be surprised at how easily someone can tell if you offer them a compliment that's not from the heart.


Women often complain men don't compliment them enough. So guys, let's fix that.

If your girl is wearing an especially dazzling dress, don't just smirk and smile inside at how stunning she looks in it... tell her. If she's just come back from the hairdressers and her locks are looking lovely, tell her. If your wife has put in weeks of effort at the gym in order to lose that post-pregnancy belly, tell her... tell her just how much you love and appreciate her and all the little things she does for you - sometimes that's all a lady wants... and needs to hear.

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Ladies & Designer Brands: A Killer Combination or a Living Abomination?

Author's note: This article is specially dedicated to the treasured, highly appreciated female readers of Straight Eye for the Straight Guy.

Ladies - since the time of the cavewoman, females have had it in their blood, and arguably as a prerogative, to want to look good and feel good about themselves. Pre-historic women fulfilled that need by adorning and perfuming themselves with varieties of exotic fauna in all the colors of the rainbow. Even the first woman, Eve, carefully selected her Garden of Eden frock from among the best, greenest, most supple vegetation available that season, while Adam just plucked his leaf from the nearest shrub and stuck it on himself in pure straight man fashion.*

A primitive Native American woman rockin' it.

Modern, well-to-do women satisfy similar instincts by dressing up in the finest and most exquisite array of clothing available on mother Earth, specifically, the high-fashion, designer brand.

Now. Assuming that part of the reason women dress themselves up is to attract the opposite sex, today we embark on a discourse specifically designed to answer one burning question. Straight Eye for the Straight Guy interviewed a range of eligible young men and asked them:

"Women who enjoy wearing high-fashion designer brands - turn-on or turn-off?"

“I like women who wear brands like Prada and such, but it might be bad for their own safety. We live in a world today where robbers and thieves are all around so girs like that’ll need a boyfriend or somebody who can protect them.” - Abrahame, 22, Student.

“I think the practice of wearing brands is indicative of a girl who is very ‘high-maintenance’. I personally wouldn’t go for such a girl. I'd prefer a more average down to earth person.” – Alvin, 20, Student.

"I don’t like women who wear brands just for the sake of wearing the brand. Women like to compare themselves with each other – you see one woman wearing Louis Vuitton, and another will follow by wearing Prada – it's just competition as to who can afford the more expensive brand. I mean, do people even genuinely think that brown LV pattern looks good? " - Steven, 34, Businessman.

A certain anonymous fellow went so far as to divide brands that women wear into 3 categories – red, yellow and green, the colours representing different alarm levels corresponding to the specific price range of individual brands. For example:

(Brand – Alarm Level – Course of Action)

Chanel, Burberry, Louis Vuitton – Red Alert - State of Emergency, run.
Zara, Topshop, GAP – Yellow Alert - Proceed with caution.
Unbranded – Green - PROCEED AT ALL COSTS.

"It doesn't really bother me, as long as it suits them. Like, some girls can have high-end brands all over their bodies, but still look awful. While a really pretty girl can look awesome simply wearing a plain GAP T-shirt and jeans. But I probably wouldn't be intimidated by a girl in a Dior dress and Jimmy Choo stilettos... it depends on the occasion I guess." - Ryan, 22, Law Student.

"Well, I think clothing should be appropriate for the occasion. I mean, you don't have to be clad in designer brands every single time you go out, but let's say you see a girl walking down the street and she's all dressed up in Chanel, Burberry, etc - branded goods do come with a mark of quality and it adds a certain gloss to a woman's appearance. Honestly I don't really pay attention to the brands a woman is wearing, I pay attention to how good her clothes look on her. And I won't decide on the 'high-maintenance' part until I actually get to know her." - Teck How, 22, Single-if-you're-hot.

"Being myself, although I like elegant things and women who know how to take care of themselves, women who enjoy wearing designer brands scare me off. It's probably because I stereotype them as high-maintenance, shopping addicts. A female friend of mine once told me that ladies want to marry a man who can support them financially, as in a man who can pay for their shopping! I was like, "Wth, what's the low/average income guy gonna do then?"

Women of this kind usually have good fashion/style sense, so they'll expect you to look equally as good around them to complement them. Even the romantic experience with this sort of woman would be different. Handmade gifts to touch the heart will probably piss them off and be received as an indication of you being tight with your wallet.

So, yeah, its a turn off." - A very long answer by Franch, 22, Student.

"To me, it's not a matter of what she wears - it's how she wears it, tak kisah designer, pasar malam or standard clothes" - Shazlan, 23, Female enthusiast.

"I think it really depends on the woman's perspective towards designer brands. If they grew up wearing designer diapers, they're probably used to it and there's nothing much we can say. But if they do it to feign richness when in fact they aren't, then it can be a complete turn off..." - Anonymous, 21, Bohemian Stranger.

The responses seem to show a mixed set of opinions regarding the question at hand. However, a popular consensus seems to indicate that most men appear to be tolerant of women who are into designer labels for the sheer appreciation of the aesthetic value of the products, instead of women who go the way of the designer simply as a status symbol. In that sense, it isn't inaccurate to argue that for every man who negatively stereotypes a woman for wearing labels, there are also a substantial number who in fact associate designer labels with attractiveness, confidence and capability.

In conclusion, ladies, wear what makes you feel comfortable, what makes you feel good about yourself. If that Vera Wang dress is the only thing standing between you and true happiness, then by all means, go for it. After all, at the end of the day, it's all about being happy with who you are... isn't it? Leave your 2 cents as a comment.

*Historically inaccurate statements

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