Love is Blind is a truly deranged piece of television that shows just how shallow, inane and cruel human relationships can be. I cannot get enough of it. If you haven't seen it, please watch the below trailer.
There is much to absorb from a show in which couples are only able to see each other once someone has proposed: A woman named Jessica lets her very large golden retriever lap greedily from a giant glass of red while whispering, "she loves wine" under her breath like some sort of mental canine hex; her date, the strutting, blabbering 'Rise and Grind' 100 emoji Instagram caption Mark, does not bat an eyelid. Nick Lachey is the host. These are adults saying I love you to a wall. It is dating in dystopia, a valium-induced American Dream of slickly produced desperation, proof that we are just a softly-furnished pod and Nick Lachey's wife quietly calling us an "experiment" away from losing our minds. Free will is a myth, Netflix is watching you sleep.
Anyway, it's also a lesson in what not to wear on a date.
With Love is Blind being a dating show, there are a lot of dates, which means there are a lot of date outfits. Invariably, all the men make the same mistakes, perhaps best demonstrated by the photograph below.
Because, while this is a show in which a select few contestants dress up in full tuxedos to propose to strangers through a wall, the most glaring style transgression is one that men all over the world make. We'll call it: Putting On A Blazer Or Shirt Believing That's Enough To Make You Well Dressed.
Above we see Barnett, a human keg stand, thinking that because he has worn a 'loud' blazer, it distracts from the V-neck T-shirt, bootcut blue jeans and brown Vans.
!["Love Is Blind" Atlanta Screening & Reception](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/gettyimages-1209162144.jpg?resize=980:* ""Love Is Blind" Atlanta Screening & Reception")
Then Damian, the sweet, sweet, triangle-headed dope that he is, in a too-tight blazer, dark shirt, tan leather belt AND tan leather shoes, the real Big Five.
Finally Cameron. You can't convince me that Cameron isn't just a Komodo dragon in a human skin suit, in the relatively minor black shirt and three buttons undone look, a real hometown classic. He also loves a Henley shirt in the show.
What all of these grass-fed beef boys have in common is the lack of clear intent in what they're wearing on dates. It's not about being stylish or not being stylish, as those are subjective terms. One man's tan belt is another man's treasure and all that. But what it is about is the muddled intent. Time and again you see a man throw on an ill-fitting blazer or a shiny dress shirt over jeans and a T-shirt, believing it to be enough to go on a date or out to dinner or, even, for a vodka and cranberry with the boys (or your enormous golden retriever).
This isn't to say you can't wear jeans and a T-shirt on a date. Of course you can. But leave the blazer out of it. On the flip side, you can also wear a suit (no tuxedo please), but that should be your intent. I am wearing a suit, I am not sort of wearing a suit, or apologetically wearing a suit. By all means break it up, mix and match blazers and trousers, wear a graphic T-shirt, wear trainers with your suit, but be clear that you are wearing a suit and choosing to mix things up. Too often you see men use the blazer as some polyester veil meant to mask the horrors of the rest of the outfit. If your shoes are thin-soled pale leather messes and your trousers are puddling round your ankles, a blazer isn't going to cover it up.
The lesson: think about the entire outfit, and how it fits, and leave behind the obsolete notion that a blazer is a catchall panacea when it comes to 'dressing up.'
Also, don't offer your golden retriever wine, even if it is large and healthy and strong. Even if it asks you. It is bad for them.
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