Okay fellas, you’ve all been there. You’re already thinking of yourself as somewhat of the hero since you agreed (euphemism for dragged along) to what will no doubt be a laborious day of shopping. You’ve learned that there actually thirty seven different shades of red, maxi no longer applies exclusively to pad, and floral is no longer just for grandma. You’re a tad wiped out and feeling like it’s time your girlfriend sung you praises for being such a good sport.
Well don’t get too comfortable in your man chair outside the dressing room! You are about to be thrown another bomb that every boyfriend will encounter incessantly throughout their career as the significant other.
Unsuspecting, you are fiddling through your phone searching for something to occupy your free time. And from behind curtain number one emerges your lady in a little black dress that may be just that, too little. Her next words are ones that will soon haunt you, ‘How do I look?’
You examine the dress carefully searching for something nice to say. Butt (yes, I did that intentionally) it’s too late. ‘Why are you taking so long to respond, you think I look awful!’ And then in a flurry of near-tears she disappears back behind the curtain.
It seems like a no-win situation, right? Is honesty the best policy? And beyond even that, it seems that the way and timing of your response is now key also. So how do you deal with these bombs that your girlfriend will throw at you?
Step 1: Remember, she’s your girlfriend, you aren’t hers. You’ve probably seen her in the buff, so she is more sensitive to your answer than anyone else’s answer. Telling her ‘those skinny jeans make your saddlebags look enormous’ will get you in the doghouse, even if you could swear you heard her sister say something similar.
Step 2: Timing is crucial. Respond too quickly and she’ll assume you didn’t even take the time to look. Take too long, and well she’ll assume that you can’t find anything nice to say. This is a tricky one, seeing as it can be a tad subjective. But a good general rule is to do a quick body scan and say something nice.
Step 3: ‘You look nice’ is not going to fly. Perplexed? You’re not the only one. Nice isn’t bad or rude, but to your girlfriend you might as well have said something awful. What she hears is ‘You’re no Christy Turlington.’ Mediocrity is not okay in this situation.
Step 4: Take the bait. She very well just may be fishing for a compliment, and even if she’s not, you will still come out the great boyfriend if you memorize these magic phrases:
‘You look gorgeous, but then again you look gorgeous in anything.‘
‘That color really makes your eyes pop.’
This shows that you are actually paying attention to what she is wearing.
‘How’d I get so lucky.‘
A tad evasive, but more than likely she’ll be too flattered to care.
‘Beautiful, I bet that other blue dress you grabbed will be even more sexy.‘
A great option if you secretly hate what she’s tried on.
‘It looks great, I also can’t wait to take it off later.’
Win, win.
Step 5: Gloat. You’ve not only survived a shopping trip or maybe just a sticky situation, but you’ve managed to make your girlfriend love you even more at this point. Or you have anyway if you correctly implemented these steps!
by Grace Gulley
I flair a little of Carrie Bradshaw in there ^^