What To Wear On A Casual First Date

We've all seen those romantic yet unrealistic movie scenes where two people get dressed up in glamorous dresses and sky-high heels or expensive suits to impress each other. Then, they attend that magical first date at a ridiculously fancy restaurant and engage in charming banter while sipping on expensive drinks and barely touching their pricey meals. As lovely as these first-date scenarios seem on-screen, they aren't typically practical for real-life people with real jobs and lifestyles.

In the real world, casual first dates can be super fun, low pressure, and won't break the bank. Some cute-yet-casual first-date ideas include going out for breakfast, playing games together at an arcade, attending a trivia event, and bowling (via Parade). These ideas can help you bond with your date without feeling too awkward. Of course, once you plan your first date, you'll need to start thinking about your outfit. When attending a casual first date, you shouldn't overdress, but you should still put effort into your look. If you have a first date coming up, we have some fashion ideas for you.

Nothing screams "cute and casual" like a pair of denim jeans that beautifully fits your body. For instance, a TikTok user named Katie wore a flattering pair of jeans with a ripped detail for a casual pizza date on a Friday night, per TikTok, and she looked perfectly stylish for a low-key first date. Plus, jeans are comfortable enough that you won't feel like you have to keep looking down at them to make sure they still look right throughout your date. So, what type of jeans should you wear?

You should wear whichever jean style you feel most comfortable and confident in, whether that be figure-hugging skinny jeans, intentionally looser-fitting mom jeans, legging-like jeggings, or dramatic flare jeans. Any of these jeans should be appropriate for a casual first date as long as you feel good in them and wear them with a stylish top. While any wash can be attractive, dark jeans are famously flattering on everyone (via Stitch Fix), so they'll never fail to help you look great. And if you want to look slightly more dressy while staying within the jeans category, you should consider wearing black jeans for a more elegant look. Or, try a pair of embellished jeans for a bold yet casual and flirty statement.

You should always be genuine on any first date, treat the conversations honestly, and never act like someone or something you're not, per Eharmony. So, you should think about your casual first-date outfit the same way. A wide variety of tops pair well with jeans, so you have many options for shirts that show your style. For instance, if you hate flowers, you shouldn't wear a floral top in hopes of exuding a girly vibe to impress your crush — you're better off just being true to yourself, even on the very first date.

If you like to keep it simple and sleek, you can't go wrong with wearing a flattering black crop with your jeans. On the other hand, people who enjoy bright hues shouldn't feel pressured to mute their styles. There's nothing wrong with wearing a vibrant top on your date; if your date appreciates your style and enjoys your personality, they should have no problem with you wearing vivid colors. Or, if you have a loud, bold personality, flaunt your daring style by rocking an animal print top with jeans. Moreover, if you have a favorite color that you adore, wear your favorite color to feel happy and confident!

You should aspire to be as comfortable as possible on a first date. Yes, we mean you should feel comfortable around your date as you talk and get to know each other — but we also mean that you should feel comfortable in what you're wearing. For instance, feeling way too chilly when the wind starts to pick up, making you shiver in your T-shirt dress during what should be a cute walk in the park could suck the fun right out of your first date. Meanwhile, sweating in a fuzzy sweater while sipping on a steaming hot latte might make you feel ultra-uncomfortable on a casual coffee date. So, if you plan to go on a first date during the day, it's your best bet to dress in layers to ensure comfort (via The Everygirl).

A cute way to rock the layered look on a first date is to wear a cardigan. These garments look good with many ensembles, and you can easily slip them on and off if you start feeling too cold or warm — they won't make your outfit look too dressed up or down. For example, a light cardigan will complement a flirty garment for a charming walk along the beach, while a cozy confetti dot-style cardigan adds more personality to white T-shirts and jeans for various casual dates.

According to Clarks, you should never forget about comfort when selecting your first-date footwear because wearing shoes that don't feel good will negatively affect your experience. Therefore, you might want to skip the high heels, as they might seem too dressy for a casual date and make your feet hurt. A style-savvy TikTok user shared a video featuring a few adorable outfits for first dates. Two of the ensembles had cute-yet-casual white sneakers, and the others featured stylish black boots. Nice sneakers and boots are fun and appropriate footwear choices for casual first dates.

If you're looking for something a little more elegant than sneakers or even boots but not as fancy as heels, you should consider flaunting a pair of ballet flats, which are back in style, thanks to the balletcore fashion aesthetic. Plus, they pair well with jeans. "It's an easy way to make denim pieces feel more feminine," Tyler McCall, a writer and "Gossip Girl" historian, told Refinery29. However, if you adore heels and genuinely want to wear them, comfortable-chic styles like wedges or block heels are more fitting for casual dates than pretty-yet-painful stilettos.

So, don't be nervous when choosing your outfit for your next casual first date! While these tips should help you, being yourself and having fun matters most.