Field Guide № 08 · Date night
Dress for a date.
Put the date in your calendar, let Clottr build the outfit from your own closet, then try it on and score it the night before. On the day, there's nothing left to decide.
01
Put the date in your calendar.
Add the date to your phone calendar the way you'd describe it to a friend: what, where and when ("Drinks with Sam, wine bar, 8pm"). With your calendar connected, Daily Fit takes the event into account when it picks that day's outfit from your closet, matched to the forecast. Event details stay on your device.
Prefer to plan it by hand? Open the Calendar in Clottr and plan an outfit for that day yourself, with or without an event. Either way, the outfit is decided before the day starts.
Not sure what to wear for the type of date? What to wear on a first date has a formula for coffee, drinks, dinner and activity dates.
02
Set the level, one notch up.
A first date sits one notch above what you'd wear to meet a friend. If you want to be specific, open the AI stylist and describe the plan: "First date, drinks at a wine bar, 12°C (54°F), relaxed but put together." It checks the forecast and builds looks from pieces you already own.
Your Style Preferences set the range it works in: your formality range, color leanings and the fits you prefer. If you've never filled them in, five honest minutes there make every suggestion better, the date one included.
03
Read the outfit it proposes.
Look at the outfit as a whole first, then piece by piece. Is it a notch above your everyday? Is there anything in it you'd be adjusting all night? Each daily suggestion comes with two or three alternates, each built around a different main piece, so swipe if the first one isn't you.
The rules engine behind it scores every outfit on seven dimensions: color harmony, proportion balance, formality match, style coherence, pattern mixing, occasion fit and seasonal fit. For a first impression, look hardest at proportion and color: they're what someone takes in before you've said a word.
04
Try it on.
Open the outfit and try it on. Virtual try-on renders the whole look on your own photo, so you see the colors and proportions together on you rather than as separate pieces on a screen.
The question to ask isn't "is this perfect". It's "would I feel like myself in this". If the answer is no, swap one piece and try again before you change everything.
The render is an approximation for judging the look, not the fit: it doesn't tell you your size or exactly how a garment will fit, and it can occasionally change the face a little or blend layered pieces. Running it again usually fixes that.
05
Rate it before you commit.
Run the outfit through Rate My Outfit. It scores each of the seven dimensions out of 10, gives the look an overall verdict, names the formality it reads as (casual, smart casual, business) and lists where the outfit works.
Then it suggests fixes for the weakest dimensions: add a layer, change the shoe, swap a piece. Take the fixes that make sense for the date and ignore the rest.
Know when to stop: if the verdict is good and the remaining fixes would cost you comfort, you're done.
06
Save it and lay it out.
Save the outfit as a fit with a name you'll recognize, and plan it on the day in the Calendar. Then lay out the real clothes, shoes and layer included, and check that everything is clean and ready.
In the morning, look at the forecast again. If it changed, swap the layer or the shoes, not the whole outfit.
What to expect: about fifteen minutes the evening before, and nothing to decide at 6pm on the day.
Tips & gotchas
Before the date.
Decide the night before.
Confidence on a date mostly comes from having decided. An outfit chosen calmly the evening before beats one chosen at 6pm in a hurry, every time.
Test it sitting down.
Put the outfit on, sit, reach across a table, walk for five minutes. If you touched, tugged or fixed anything, change that piece.
Don't buy for the date.
You almost certainly own the outfit already. If you're tempted anyway, run the piece through Should I Buy first: it shows which similar pieces you already own.
Match the photos.
The person you're meeting has seen your profile. Dress like the person in your photos, on a good day. More in what to wear in your dating profile photos.
For men.
The usual traps are new shoes and a work shirt worn straight from the office. Wear shoes with a full day in them, and undo the top button.
For women.
The usual traps are a hem or strap you'd be adjusting all night and heels you haven't walked in. Sit, reach and walk in the outfit at home first.
Keep reading
Guide
What to wear on a first date
A formula for coffee, drinks, dinner and activity dates, for men and for women.
Guide
Plan your dating photos with Studio
See each outfit on you first, then take the real photo.
Feature
Rate My Outfit
Seven style dimensions, scored, with fixes for the weakest one.
Blog
A first-date outfit from clothes you already own
Five looks for men and five for women, from a normal closet.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I don't own anything that works for a date?
You probably own more than you think: a clean pair of dark jeans or trousers, a plain knit or shirt and clean shoes cover most first dates. If something really is missing, Shop My Gaps names the categories, colors and formality your closet lacks, and Should I Buy checks a piece against what you own before you pay for it.
Can Clottr plan outfits for both of us?
No. Clottr plans from your own closet. What you can do is find out the plan and the place, and dress for those.
Does Clottr know the venue?
It knows what you tell it. Put the kind of place in the calendar event, or describe it to the AI stylist ("a dim wine bar, smart casual"). Look the venue up yourself to see what people wear there.
Can I build the outfit around a piece I want to wear?
Yes. Put that piece on the canvas, add the rest from your closet, try the whole look on and score it with Rate My Outfit. Save it as a fit and plan it in the Calendar for the day.
Plan the date outfit.
Join early. Discounted for life.