DATING APPS have made the turn-around time from initial meeting to going out on your first date moving at the speed of click. Most of my friends match a guy on Tinder and wind up on a date with him that night. The problem is, your work attire is probably not as cool as your sexy date night attire (and if it is, please let me know what your career is — I’m interested). So, a guy asks you what your evening plans are while you’re at work/out for the day and you’re free and down to meet, but, you have no time to go home and prep – what do you do?
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Ladies: 5 Tricks to Prep for an Impromptu NYC Date
Grab an outfit update.
There are 9 Zara locations and 10 Urban Outfitters locations in New York City. Both brands constantly have sales making it possible to buy a new outfit for under $50. The bonus here is that Urban Outfitters has charging stations for your phone. I think the number one rule about going out with a stranger is to have ample cellular juice – a source of safety and an exit strategy should the date be awful (experience shows, he may very well be awful).
Sign up for a workout class.
A new outfit only gets you so far. You probably haven’t showered in a few days and you’re maybe hung-over (probably hung-over). Signing up for a workout class might sound like the worst idea, but it is the best idea. First off, if you sign up for subscription-based workout service, ClassPass, that day, you can find a class anywhere in the city starting at every 15- minute interval AND you’ll get your first 2-week trial free. I’m a big advocate of working out – you’ll sweat out all your toxins as a last-minute detox, but more importantly, most studios have showers and a bevy of free products (lotions, shampoo, tampons, you name it). Showering is key. They also almost all have no-lock required lockers – so you can “forget” that bag of your old clothes at the studio overnight and pick it up the next day.
Do your hair.
As noted, most studios have blow-dryers, so you’ll be okay, but if you have money to throw around, New York is swarming with blow out salons like BloDry and DryBar. It’ll run you $40 for a blow out, but check Groupon first; you can probably buy a discounted pass.
Sephora run.
In times like these, I use Sephora as a giant makeup bag, so make a quick Sephora run. Sephora lets you try all of their products in store, so you can put on a full face of makeup for free. They also offer makeup sessions with their makeup artists, which you can book on the spot. These are technically free, but you’ll have to buy $50 worth of product to qualify – which is great if you needed new makeup anyway.
Book a table.
I suppose if this guy is a gentleman, whatever that means, he was meant to pick the date spot, but I’m a firm believer in having some say in the night. Last minute reservations are hard to come by in NYC and sites like Yelp and OpenTable don’t exactly scream sexy. Turn to lesser-known Resy, a reservations app with a far cooler selection of restaurants and bars. He might have chosen the dinner spot, but you should run the nightcap location (assuming he wasn’t awful – but hey, you still have a fully charged phone). 