Chapter 6
Grooming Guidelines

Grooming is important. Women will decide if they want to get to know you based on the way you dress, smell, feel and look. These tips will increase your chances of being approached by a woman who finds you attractive.

Iron your casual and dress shirts and pants. Use starch and an ironing board. There is no such thing as permanent press. That was a marketing ploy to sell more shirts to men. The dryer is a poor substitute for an iron. Better yet, if you don't have the patience to iron, clothes can be taken to the dry cleaners where they come back perfectly pressed.

A white cotton undershirt is not considered a casual shirt. That's why they call it an undershirt.

Purchase some up-to-date casual clothes. Something between the business suits and torn t-shirt and Levis. Most major department stores have a personal shopper. It doesn't cost money to use their services, and they will work within your budget.

If you don't have a clue as to what color and style to wear, buy the book, Color For Men, by Carole Jackson, then take a woman to go shopping with you.

Buy new underwear and throw away the old, stretched out baggy shorts. Nothing worse than old white, stained, torn up briefs. Women like color and style under those pants.

Stay away from all brown clothing. Brown is not sexy, exciting or enticing. Think of a peacock. He wouldn't be caught dead in brown. He wouldn't get any action from the female peacock. You're pretty safe if you wear silk shirts in a classy muted color, or brightly colored cotton shirts with collars. Stay away from plaids, flannels, and polyester shirts that look like they have a TV test pattern on them.

Have a crease in every pair of pants, except Levi's. If you're unsure how to put a crease in your pants, the dry cleaners are specialists at this. They don't charge extra for this service while they're getting out the wrinkles.

Wear your pants at your waist line. Wearing them below the waist is not attractive. A very unsexy look. If you have a belly, get bigger pants. Find your belly button. If your belt isn't on top of it, you need a new pair of pants that fit, or pull them up, and keep them up with suspenders.

Have pleats in all your dress pants. Don't be stuck in a time warp when it comes to pants style. Too many men are wearing too-short polyester pants with no pleats and no class.

Wear only new belts. They're not that expensive. After a year, get a few new ones. You don't have to wait until the holes are stretched out. Be sure the buckle is shiny and unworn and there aren't numerous indentations in the belt if you've gained or lost weight. Match the color of each belt to the color of your shoes.

When wearing a tie, make sure the bottom of the tie touches your belt buckle when standing straight.

Polish your shoes regularly, and get the heels replaced when worn. Women look at the condition of your shoes. They notice their condition and correlate it to how you will treat them. Isn't it funny how women think?

Wash your sneakers. (I know you're thinking, No way.) There is nothing sexy about scuffed and muddy tennis shoes. They are made to go into the washer. Just air dry them and you're back in business.

Wear fresh, classy, non-holey socks. Wear colored socks when not doing athletic activities. White socks go with those clean tennis shoes.

Have a very thin wallet. At the most, keep it to the size of a bi-fold. Better yet, use a credit card holder for your wallet. Nothing worse than a huge bulge sticking out of the right rear end of a tight pair of polyester pants. Your wallet is not a file cabinet. Clean it out and keep it thin.

Have a sports and a dress watch. The sports watch goes with those clean sneakers and white socks. The dress watch goes with everything else.

Smile all the time. If you have a mustache, this is particularly important because mustaches make men look as if they're frowning. Trim your facial hair, including nose hair, so women can see your lips. If you want a lady to kiss your lips, she has to find them first.

Speaking of your smile. If you've been a smoker or coffee drinker, or have teeth yellowing from age, consider investing in a new white tooth smile. Your dentist can whiten your smile in a couple of sessions and you may find a lot more women wanting to kiss you after the transformation.

If your teeth are crooked or missing, consider visiting an orthodontist. It's never too late to have straight teeth. This is a very sensitive issue for women to bring up, so ask her opinion

Use hand lotion. She wants smooth and baby-soft hands across her face and body. Women don't like it when they get their stocking snagged on your palms. In cases of extreme emergency, slather your hands with Vaseline and cover them with white socks before you go to bed. You'll have new hands in the morning.

Clean your finger and toe nails and keep them trimmed.

Keep your hair clean. If you wear a toupee, make it an expensive one or give it up. If anyone can tell its a wig, take it off and let that bald head feel the soft roaming hands of a woman, because believe or not, a bald man's head is like a solar powered sex machine. For you guys who try to brush that long strand of hair over the top, forget about it. Keep it short and classy.

Don't wear your favorite men's cologne, wear her favorite men's cologne. You're wearing cologne to attract her, so make sure she's attracted.

Quit smoking. If you smoke, your breath stinks, no matter how much gum or mints you chew. It's on your clothes, your hair, and your mustache.

Brush and floss the first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and after every meal, even if it means you carry a toothbrush and toothpaste with you. Purchase a tongue scraper and take all the bacteria off your tongue twice daily.