My Survival Guide For Online Dating (based on experience)

V day is fast approaching, what some might call the most romantic day of the year… but for me, I’ll be spending the evening in my pjs, most probably sprawled out on the sofa enjoying some sherry… alone, because alas modern dating these days is just too much of a minefield for me to want to navigate.

I thought I’d put together a bunch of gorgeous outfits for those of you who are celebrating either Valentines or Galentines this year, along with some ‘survival guide’ online dating tips I have learned, from experience, over the past year.

 

Tip 1 – A bit of healthy stalking is fine!

If you’re online & app dating, always google image-reverse-search before you meet.  This might sound a BIT stalkerish but it’s important to verify the fact that there’s actually a real human being waiting for you at that bar!

I’ve heard far too many horror stories from girls who were left alone at the bar before realising they’d been well and truly catfished.  I’ve found this also means you can get a proper look at what they look like now.  There have been a couple of times where I’ve researched an uncoming date to find they’re tinder pictures are many years old, and it’s nice to get a better sense of the person and be fully prepared to recognise them once you walk into the bar.

 

Tip 2 – Avoid this mistake.

Ok one of the things I get most nervous about before a date is walking into the venue and looking like a complete wally, looking for someone I don’t fully recognise yet.

On one of my dates last year, I found my date in the pub, smiled, waved, walked over to him before realising my ACTUAL date was sitting on a table a few rows behind.  Can you imagine my horror!  So my tip is to have a discussion beforehand about what either of you are wearing, or where the person is sitting if they get there first!  Mine’s usually something along the lines of ‘I’ll be the really short blonde, wearing…., looking lost at the bar’.

This has also worked not in my favour though, haha!  Another date text ‘I’m the bearded guy in the navy shirt, to the left of the fireplace’.  I’m ashamed to admit I’m not incredible at my left’s and right’s and so got them mixed up, and there happened to be another guy with that exact same description on the right.  Again, very embarrassing.

 

Tip 3 – Let your hair down

My third tip would be to enjoy it!  I feel like some people are so nervous about dating new people & spend so much time either worrying about if it’s going well or if they look okay, to actually enjoy it.

Similarly, online dating it seems is all go, go, go and it can get rather repetitive (the small talk of what you do, where you live, what your hobbies are etc) so let your hair down and make it fun.  If conversation starts slaking, I like a quick fire round – Britney or Christina, Coke or Pepsi, Tea or Coffee, Music or Books etc, it’s a great way to learn about that person and find new things to talk about!

 

Tip 4 – Learn something

It’s guaranteed that you’re not going to find true love on every bumble date.  This can seem a bit crushing if you’ve made a lot of effort for it, or if you really like that person and it’s not requited, but, here’s what I do.

I truly believe that people come into your life for a reason, and that each person has something to teach you.  This makes app-dating a lot more enjoyable and puts a whole lotta less pressure on the date.  At the end of each date, I think about all the conversations we had & the things that stood out to me and I try and take something away from it.

It could be something quite obvious (for example, one date taught me about how we see different star constellations depending on where we are in the world, which I didn’t know & found fascinating) OR it could be something a little more deep; one guy taught me (unknowingly) that I would really benefit with more of a routine in my life, or another taught me (unknowingly) that I am loveable and a real hoot, I just need to give myself more credit.

This could also be something along the lines of, he taught me what I really don’t want from a relationship.  E.g I had a 15 minute debate on one date with a guy about pubic hair.  I learnt that I never want to date that someone small minded and therefore I’ll save more time dating assholes like that in the future, voila!

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I really hope some of these tips will help some of you also navigating your way through the dating app maze.  I would LOVE to hear some of your tips, leave me a comment down below with something you’ve learnt from dating!

I also really hope you enjoy the outfits I put together for this post.  I wanted to really experiment and push myself out of my comfort zone with these by adding lots of colour, prints and clashing textures and I’m chuffed with how they came out!  If you want to watch the full Date night Lookbook, it’s down below!

Big thanks to Kyle Galvin (instagram) (website) for working with me on this – he’s a bit of a ledge!

What’s your favourite outfit and what are your best dating tips?

Lots of love,

Katie x

7 Comments

  1. Natz
    February 4, 2018 / 11:48 am

    I also use dating app, I wouldn’t say I’m a serial dater, but I’ve been on few dates already. My tip is deffo text for few days to a good week with a guy, just to see if there is a connection. This way I dodged the bullet few times already; at the beginning he seemed perfectly fine, but later on it was obvious he was either weird, had a strange behaviour or just couldn’t carry a convo (my biggest fear on a date is awkward silence).

    • KatieSnooks
      Author
      February 4, 2018 / 12:18 pm

      Oh yes great tip!! I’m not very good at doing this myself but it would have saved me a lot of time if I had haha! Thank you xxx

  2. Lena
    February 4, 2018 / 1:14 pm

    Def search them online/stalk their fb and whatnot. Funny how some fail to mention that they aren’t really single! Lovely lookbook Katie, really like the retro style in all of them, and your hair.

  3. February 4, 2018 / 5:15 pm

    Love that last outfit! I like the idea of a quick fire round, although tbf I only used a dating app for a few weeks. I went on one date and got scared how to end it (do you hug, do you kiss? Who knows!) so I just ran away. I actually ran! Shame.

  4. Sam
    February 5, 2018 / 3:41 pm

    Im currently trying to psyche myself up to start dating again. 3 years single and basically 9 years since I last went on a date. I have no current pictures of myself and pretty much have anxiety attacks over the guy on the first date admitting I’m “fatter/older/uglier” than my picture and walking out. Or discovering I’m boring … I wonder why I keep putting off going on a date?!?

  5. March 6, 2018 / 11:35 am

    Thank you so much for the tips. I have never tried dating apps, I always think there are so many scammers out there and I’m too naive to know. You looks so stunning, love all outfits.

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