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Mr. Macchiato Wow, this is a great point about the high cost of dating (for girls):
[W]hen girls go on dates there are a lot of hidden costs to looking "good" i.e. getting nails done, expensive hair treatment, shoes, bags, dresses, make up, perfume etc ..... so even though the girl may not "pay" on the actual date ... a lot of money is invested in being presentable on a date ...
7/16/2008 2:24 AM uckv143@xanga
Ladies, is that true for you too? How much money does it cost you to look good on an average date... and what's the most you've ever spent prepping for a date?
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Comments (95)
i would say.. $40 at the most. $20 for nails and then $20 for a cute top or dress.
Oh yeah! Well I live in the Philippines but what I'm gonna do is convert it. I will need $4 for my nails, uhm, $6 for my hair and $4 for my make up.. So that's only $14... But in our currency, that would be around Php700.. It's very costly. and that's only for nails hair and make up. A dress would cost around another Php700.. So Php1400. But uhm, I guess still, this would depend on where my date is taking me.
Uhm, well I don't go out and buy anything new when I go on a date. And I don't like long nails so I don't get them done. And I have a lot of clothing already so why buy more? If it was like an anniversary I would probably spend money but other than that nothing more than I would normally pay for my make up etc.
Though having said that I don't think I have been asked out in the last three years :|
And besides! On a date I always pay my half!
Well I would agree...sometimes you want to look really nice for that person, and then you feel they look right on past.
Yay, a date is more reason to buy cute things! It depends on the type of date and where were are going. If it is a first date to a nicer restaurant then it would probably cost me close to $100. A trendy dress alone could cost that much, not to mention accessories(shoes, jewlery) a mani, and a pedi. As far as hair and make-up, I don't go out of my way, but I have it together. I don't spend that much time getting ready, unless you consider and hour a long time! Yay for getting all dolled up!
I definitely agree. It costs alot to look good!!!! I'd include gym membership in that price too. Plus, the cost of healthy foods because it is higher than the costs of junk food.
heh. I'm not that kind of girl so I'd say 10 minutes tops? That's the amount of time it'll take for me to find something to wear & match with the right accessories.
I don't bother buying new things just for a date 'cause I don't see the need. I also don't put on makeup, not just because I don't know how but also because it feels fake. I'd rather be me & have the guy like me for who I am & what I look like. I don't want to "put on a face" for him. That's ridiculous.
Again, I'm not the usual girly kind of girl so I'm just saying this is what I do.
However, I might put a lot of thought into what I wear & I might even get dressed/ready an hour before...
it depends on what kind of date it is -- fancy restaurant one or just going to the movies is different. if a girl needs to spend that much money on looking good for a regular date, she must be pretty high maintenance. i'm an anti-girly girl, i'm all for putting on whatever's in the closet and using whatever i have.
I don't really spend any money.
I wear what I have and if they guy doesn't like it, they can deal with it =]
I don't see a point to spending a lot of money on something like a date..
I don't spend anything. I simply wear whatver combos are already in my closet and use whatever make-up or whatnot that I already have. I don't see the point in doing myself up too much, because that's not being "who I really am". And to set myself up for him being dissapointed in some change he may perceive at some point down the road when I let me be the real me, is just not smart. Yes, I dress nicely. But I don't ever have fake nails. Maybe if I'm tired of the same old stuff in my closet I might go out and get something new and the date may be the catalyst for that, but I would have eventually done it anyway.
Zero dollars spent. Unless it's a date to a special event such as a holiday party, then I might buy a new dress. No special hair or nail costs for me. Prep time: 30 mins average, longer again if it's a special event. I'm not much of a girly-girl.
I usually make the reach for money to pay my half, but to be completely honest, if a guy makes me pay my half and is weird about it, I probably won't call him.
I probably spend a lot of money, however, I don't go out and buy make up and clothes for that particular date. It's accumulated.
No, for me there is just alot of time invested in choosing what to wear, since it is the WRONG time to try anything new when it comes to makeup. Haha.
I get french manicures once in a blue, (I am left handed and mentally challenged when it comes to painting my nails :P ) but since it's summer, not right now since I do alot of outdoor stuff in the summer and it's a waste of money and no one is hiring 16 or 17 year olds. My guy is just going to have to deal with my rugged side. ;)
As for pedicures, I just paint my own toes. (I succumed into getting a PedEgg and it's great, you see)
They're going to see you when you're at your worst if it works out right??
I don't really invest money in preparation for a date. I just invest alot of money in clothes and shoes in general :)
<3
Well, I definitely wouldn't spend much of anything. Even when going out with my boyfriend, I wear clothes I already have and maybe some light makeup. So, ladies who think they need to get uber-dressed for something like that are silly.
I can't believe people actually get their hairs and nails done! I just put on my makeup, shower, make sure everything is clean, etc. So basically, it costs nothing. But then again, I the last date I went on was with this guy that turned out to be gay, so what do I know?
I don't really think that holds true for me. I hardly ever buy clothes special for an occasion, and whenever we have a special date, it's usually just a jeans&t-shirt occasion, like eating pizza and watching movies. The only times I ever had to make an effort was at the high school dances, and that only involved brushing my hair a little better than normal, since I don't really believe in makeup...
Dang...we're supposed to spend money to prep for dates? Maybe that's my problem...
I think if I was going somewhere special I'd spend money on a date. Otherwise, why? I have decent clothes and stuff. If I was going on a date and had been putting off something like getting my hair cut I may do it, but either way it's something I needed to do anyhow.
This is not true for me. If it's just a date, I don't go get my nails and hair done or any of that stuff. I don't do that on a regular basis. I did that kind of stuff for prom, but other than that, no. I can do that myself.
I'm kind of guy-ish on this. I don't take a long time to get ready, and I can still look good. I don't wear makeup, normally, so that cuts down time significantly (and money, because I'm not spending 100's of dollars on buying that stuff). I wear whatever nice outfit I want to wear that I already have. I would never go out and buy something JUST for a date (with the exception of dances, but I do try to wear those dresses again).
Yeah, my dates are not very expensive. I always offer to pay though, so if they let me, then I do pay something, but...yeah. :)
an average date? it's hard to say. i don't run out and buy a new dress if i have a date. so do i calculate the average cost of the dress to-date... or do i amortize the cost over the expected life of the dress?
again... i don't buy make up to wear just on dates. it's the same stuff i wear to the office. i kick it up a notch if we're going out for dinner or drinks, but it's not a dedicated purchase.
i spend a lot of time on my hair for dates, but are we doing time=money? and can i use the equivalent pay rate that i get paid at work? cuz that's some pretty big coin for half an hour of primping.
and every girl knows... it's the accessories that tie the whole look together. so how do i calculate the cost of my bracelets, earrings, necklace, handbag, shoes, etc...
girls who would take the extra effort to look smoking on dates, in general, look pretty damned good even when they're not on dates. 90% of the stuff they use to look good on a date are a regular part of life for them. they don't have a special kit of date gear. so it's virtually impossible to really calculate the cost of prepping for an "average" date. whereas a girl could easily calculate the cost of prepping for a special occassion (prom, semi-formal, family reunion... whatever, you get the idea).
Wow. People get mani/pedis for a date?! The only time I've ever done that is when it as a gift from someone.
I paint my own nails. I do my own hair. I can apply my own make up. I wear nice clothes that I already own and would have purchased regardless of whether or not I had that date. The ONLY exceptions I can think of are high school dances, weddings, and other formal events.
This is not to say girls don't invest money in their personal appearance in general, but the thought that girls spend a lot of money for one date seems, quite honestly, frivolous to me.
And any decent guy will think you're beautiful whether or not you spent $50 getting ready.
Why is the word "good" in quotes? For that matter, why is "pay" in quotes? Neither case is an example of unusual usage. It's like one of those people you use air quotes in every other thing they say.
Anyway, besides special events, what kind of girl isn't already going to have a suitably nice outfit most of the time?
Hair treatment? Makeup? New shoes? New bag?!? Ok, maybe getting the nails done.
It sounds like this girl only goes to high school proms for her dates. Or maybe some bizarre millionaire's dating circle for gold-diggers. Real life dating usually don't work that way.
@krissierae08@xanga - i agree!!! if the man doesn't like the fact that i'm frugal enough to go on a date with him just as i am (using my regular clothes and makeup that i bought some time ago for job interviews) then perhaps he's not the man for me in the first place....
i refuse to spend any or very little money on a date, especially when he asks me out. i have been known to pay my own way into movies ($9.50 here) but i usually only do that if the date is not going well and i know this is going to be the ONLY date...
and ladies, we KNOW if this is going to be the 'ONLY' date, don't we?
like beachblondie, i will paint my own nails and wear my existing clothes...
The most I ever spend on date was $500 but that was a prom date so thats ok.
On average date, I don't spend much. I normally use and wear whatever I already have.