Scrub Up Well.: Science of Seduction

Classical dilemma...you've just started dating a girl and you've invited her over to yours for a casual dinner, but what do you wear? This is tough because you want to look your best but still be quite relaxed because you're at home, it would look odd if she walked into your living room and you're chilling with a tuxedo on. There is a fine line between 'making an effort' and being 'uptight', espeically when you're at home. You want to wear something which says to her 'I naturally look this amazing every evening with no effort so how about it?'. Therefore what I've done is to take the idea of smart outfit for example a shirt, tie, jumper, trousers etc. and strip everything away until you get something in the same vein but more casual. So we've ended up with a simple v-neck jumper and chino's. It's smart but not too uptight and it's relaxed enough to wear at home. It's something you can wear so that when (not if) she says 'you look nice' you can say 'oh this? I just threw this on'. You want to let her know you've made an effort for her yet give the impression that you've not spent hours trying to do it. I've also made a careful choice of colours, black and dark red being 2 of the most seductive and passionate colours of them all as well as being incredibly flattering to wear.

For your upper half I've chosen a thin fitted v-neck jumper, again decent price, can be bought online and can be worn on a number of occassions. I'd say wear nothing underneath apart from maybe a black low cut vest that won't show at the top (not white as this will show through the jumper). The v-neck isn't too low however if you're not comfortable with this then wear a fitted scoop neck white t-shirt underneath this. These kind of jumpers are usually quite fitted around the stomach but remember, black is very thinning, especially in a dimly lit room and you'll be sitting down for most of the night, not doing a belly dance (hopefully) so trust me, if you're carrying a spare bit of timber, she won't notice with this top. It's a good option to give a more slender and sculpted disguise.

For the bottom half I've chosen a comfortable slim chino that has enough elasticity and flexibility to sit comfortably at dinner.The maroon slim chinos by ASOS are perfect and will look great with the black jumper, again keeping your colour palette dark.

As you are at home, you won't be wearing footwear so the choice of socks here in important. Remember attention to detail is everything as girls will analyse you like a hawk, so I've matched the socks to the whole outfit.

Chinos - ASOS - £25

Top - Allsaints - £65

If everything goes incredibly well on your date then you have to be prepared. The same attention needs to be put even until your last garment so your choice of underwear needs to be right. Keep to black or white, with an established men's underwear such as Calvin Klein, Emporio Armani or D&G. Remember with underwear that although the price seems steep (£20 for one pair of boxers), girls tend to pay much more for their underwear so if they can make the effort and spend the money then so should us guys. I understand that some men don't like big labels, it seems too flash. I'm only suggesting this because there isn't always a lot of choice when it comes to fitted underwear and what would you rather have written above your crotch in an intimate moment...'Armarni' or 'Marks and Spencers Autograph'? I know which I'd rather have.

As already mentioned, attention to detail is of prime importance here so if you have some spare cash and want to add some more detail to the outfit then a vintage watch is great and very good value for money. As you may not have had time to trawl through vintage shops, then check out American Apparels collection of unisex vintage watches. This recommended Philop Persio wrist watch with a black face and leather strap, looks brilliant and is only £31.