Written by Menswear Style in Tips & Advice on the 23rd October 2017

A new study by online fashion retailer, Psyche, reveals that how you dress can significantly impact the number of matches you receive on the dating app. To find out if dressing the part actually helped online daters, Psyche set up two separate Tinder profiles and ran them for a period of two weeks each. Apart from the photos used, the profiles were identical and targeted an 18-35 age range and 20km distance from a central Manchester location.

Using the same model, each profile displayed a different approach to personal style. One showcased the ‘well-dressed man’, styled by Psyche in designer clothing, the other a ‘laid-back’ look with no focus on clothing or style. The experiment showed that ultimately, clothing does make the man, with a 400% increase in matches for the well-dressed Tinder profile who received 72 matches over the two-week period, compared to just 18 matches for the laid back profile. "This confirms what we’ve always known at Psyche” said Managing Director Steve Cochrane. “Dressing well affects how people view you, especially when it comes to making a first impression”.

Ask the dating experts 

With over 1.6 billion swipes a day on Tinder, daters need to ensure that it’s their profile that has potential dates swiping the right way. Research shows that Tinder users check their accounts up to 11 times a day, with an average of 90 minutes per day spent checking out what the app has to offer. In the 5 years since it’s launch, Tinder has created more than 8 billion matches and is proving to be the go-to dating app for busy singles who are looking for love. We asked dating experts what they think is the secret to Tinder success and if they were at all surprised by the results of Psyche’s Tinder test. Saskia Nelson runs the UK’s first dating photography business ‘Hey Saturday’ and believes that online daters can see more than just what’s on the screen when you take pride in your dating portfolio, “People aren’t just looking to see what you look like in your photos but they’re actually looking for clues about what kind of lifestyle you lead to see if your lifestyle matches theirs, or more accurately the lifestyle they aspire to lead”.

Dating Guru, James Preece, also commented on the experiment; “It is no surprise to me that dressing well boosts your chances so much. Clothes can give you the advantage to stand out from your competition as they completely change the way others view you”. Preece looked at another key decider for those swiping on the app - smiling. He explains “The successful photos also have another big difference to the others - he is smiling in them. This is essential if you want to get matches. With online dating and apps, women don't have much to go on so judgments are very quick. They'll automatically reject anyone who looks too serious or unhappy".

First impressions are everything 

Tinder puts your photos front and centre, it’s the only thing that a potential match will see before deciding which way to swipe, so getting the right profile pictures is vital. It’s also important to stand out from the crowd, when you consider there are around 50 million active users across the globe, a standard gym mirror selfie or group holiday shot really won’t make the cut. As the Tinder test shows, you need to put your best self forward when it comes to taking the perfect profile picture. Look smart and choose a photo that represents who you are, once you have a selection of great pictures of you, then start adding in ones that showcase your social life and holiday shots. Luckily, you’re not alone when it comes to presenting the ‘best you’. In 2016 Tinder launched their Smart Photos feature, a new algorithm that maximises your match potential. Smart Photos alternates which of your photos it shows first, analysing results and reordering to show the most popular ones first. In it’s testing phases users saw a 12% increase in their matches, proving that it really does pay to take the extra time to optimise your dating profile.

Dating Guru James Preece provides quotes on First Impressions Style and we look at the Psyche research which shows how you can Increase Your Chances of a Tinder Date by 400%.