I’m a worrier by nature. I worry about a lot of stuff. My worrying is only heightened when I’m getting ready for a date and am trying to find the perfect look.

I personally have fretted over (in no particular order): whether I was wearing too much or not enough eye make-up, if that zit was peeking through my make-up, if my hair was too flat, if my clothes were flattering enough, would he notice my chipped nail polish or that scuff on my boots, do the dark jeans look better with this top than the lighter jeans, is my perfume too strong and are my eyebrows plucked enough?

If you’re a woman, at this point you’re probably nodding your head in recognition. If you’re a man, well, you now understand why it always takes women so long to get ready to go somewhere.

Now, I know that all of these things I worry about are minor, trivial, superficial things. Surely not enough to make a guy take one look at me and say “Never mind.” But, does that mean all of my worrying is for nothing? When it comes to a woman’s appearance, how much does a guy really notice?

After asking around, it turns out, not much. Or maybe I should say they notice certain things, but not nearly to the degree that we females do.

“I only notice the things that are important to me, things I have a preference for,” says Eric Houser.

For example, Eric notices a woman’s hair because he likes long hair. But does that mean he notices whether it’s flat or teased or too straight or too curly? No. All he notices is that it looks pretty.

And it’s the same with clothes. Guys will notice whether what you’re wearing looks good on you and flatters your body, but that’s about it. They’re far too busy noticing the body parts you’re trying to accentuate to take note of which style of neckline you chose.

It’s the same with shoes. They’ll notice your legs in the shoes, but not actually the shoes themselves.

“I don’t know a single male who would say, ‘Dude, this chick had the hottest shoes on last night. I should’ve gotten her number,’” author Steve Santagati writes in his book, “The MANual.” “It doesn’t happen.”

So from now on, all worrying is off. Yes, I’m still going to make an effort to look nice and make a good first impression. But the days of worrying over minute details, like if I chose the right necklace, are over. I’ll worry about dazzling him with my wit and intellect instead.

– Lacey Storer | Stjoelive staff