Meet The Parents | What To Wear

The time has come to meet your honey’s parents.  You’re both thrilled and petrified. Although we’re sure they’ll love you as much as he does, you want to put your best fashion foot forward on this momentous occasion.  We teamed up with style experts Tog + Porter to show Linx readers how to look fabulous for this huge occasion.

The first step in deciding what to wear is to find out what the setting is. Are you gathering for a casual brunch?  Drinks?  Dinner?  One thing is certain, no matter the setting: keep your look polished and demure.

Tog + Porter stylist Camilla Basse says a floral dress with strappy sandals and a solid cardi or white skinnies with a silky top in a soft tone are winning combos for a brunch date. 

For him:  jeans with a casual button up and blazer.

For cocktails or a more formal dinner date, we suggest a lace dress with neon heels or classic black heels if you get the feeling they’re a little more on the conservative side. A flirty floral dress with long sleeves is another option for a more covered up approach. Pair back to striking strappy metallic heels to add some wow factor.

For him: a pair of slim cut trousers, a button up and blazer OR a killer suit, which like Clooney never goes out of style. (Yeah, we totally stole that line from Sex and the City)For killer suit inspiration, have your man borrow a page from Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s GQ spread.If you need help prepping an outfit to meet your beaux’s parents or friends, you know where to turn. You can now book your face-to-face skype session with a Tog + Porter stylist online here.

Ask Amy | Advice Given

Vanity Fair has given Linx in Menlo Park so much exposure. Lots of you are writing me from around the world wanting to find love through Linx. While we can’t work with many folks as they are out of country or state due to a variety of reasons, I am dishing out a lot of gratis advice to new admirers of Linx. One lovely Harvard educated woman in Chicago asked me where to meet the men in her hometown.

Hi Amy,

Thanks for your response! I am having a really hard time meeting men!  Do you have suggestions about where else I could try?  I am trying not to be picky,
but I can’t help it.  I’ve gone out on tons of dates and men usually really like me when they first meet me, but I haven’t yet felt that special spark.

Amy Says…..

While I am not familiar with the matchmaker scene in Chicago there are lots of ways to increase your dating pipeline. I might consider trying an online site like rightstuffdating http://www.rightstuffdating.com/  Given that they are based on the East Coast, I have a feeling there are some good guys part of it. For those that don’t know, they work with the Ivies and have been around for decades as an online dating option. Sort of an archaic website but a way to increase those odds in being potentially matches to like-minded matches.

I would also consider joining (should you have time) as many coed clubs as you can: meetups around a common interest, coed book club, coed running club, etc. Center yourself in places where the TYPES of guys you would like to meet would be at. Want to really increase those odds, start your own meet-up.

Mid West men are the best! Head out the to burbs too (Lake Forest, etc). Sure many will be married but plant yourself in coffee shops and say HELLO to everyone around you. Open yourself up to new connections and exude an air of confidence and one that is friendly and happy. People want to be around that type of person, thus you never know who you will flirt and rub elbows with.

Now that it is nice weather, get out to the lake every second you can. Run along the lake, read at the lake, go on Craiglist and see if they have activities for singles at the lake. Beach volleyball is a great activity as an example. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaches_in_Chicago