Dating and meeting new people does take some effort. You can’t just roll out of bed with no make up, head out to a bar, a friends party or a speed dating event with a long face and expect to meet a cute guy. You need to exude confidence and a sense of fun – after all, laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone. You also need to look good and make the most of yourself. While some people can pull off a retro look or a totally unique style, others prefer to look good in the latest styles of the season. If you’re not sure, play it safe and follow these fashion tips for spring 2008.

1. This spring the colors are all bright and bold. Yellow, orange, rose, lavender and silver are all hot choices.

2. Sheer Tops and shirts are essential items this spring. Paired with a summer tank they can create a sexy look for spring as well as summer.

3. For fabrics think flowers! Floral prints are in, be they big and bold or small and subtle, either way they’re great for cute spring dresses.

4. Tie Dye is a fashion trend that is making a comeback from the 70’s. Steer clear from cheap Thai or Indian imports though, the idea isn’t to look like a backpacker!

5. Thin Belts look great with almost any outfit or style.

6. High Waisted pants, skirts, and even shorts are de riguer this spring, the low slung look is out.

7. Sequins are in this spring! Dress, tops, tunics, skirts… you name it, if it’s got sequins you can’t go wrong.

Dating Advice by Justin Parfitt, CEO and Founder of FastLife International, the world’s largest speed dating and singles events service. Hosting speed dating events in 43 cities, including Speed Dating in New York, NY and Speed Dating in Atlanta

Some people like buying everything they can online: it is true that a worldwide market place leaves you with unlimited options in terms of style choice and pricing. The internet is a consumer’s comparison shopping dream!

A growing trend is buying diamonds online. New retailers, such as Ciara diamonds are springing up everywhere. Diamonds are one of those universal things most people love, and as a staple of our culture it is a must-have for any groom-to-be popping the big question.

Not everyone dates a geologist or gemologist though, so educating yourself properly on the quality of diamonds is extremely important. Make sure you know what you are getting, and ensure yourself with an appraisal that the diamond in question was worth the investment. Figure out what is important to you, or the person on the receiving end of the little black box: shine or size. Sometimes a very small tradeoff in clarity of the diamond can mean you can afford a large size gem stone. A small decrease in clarity is often not even visible to the naked eye, so know what you are looking for when asking for “the best of the best”. A bigger diamond may sparkle just as much, or more, than the tiny flawless one you could get instead.

Surfing the net for sexy gadgets I came across some freakish things; this doesn’t really qualify as a gizmo, but it’s interesting nonetheless:

Imagine someone finally popped the question, you are planning your wedding and running around town looking for the perfect dress you will only wear once. After trying on pounds of poofy silk and still not having found “the one”, you could give this a shot:

A purple wedding dress made of….. 12.500 condoms! Just enough for the wedding night.

When taking a break from dress shopping, look into unique wedding gifts for your wedding shower or reception. Just because you want a unique gift for your guests, or decorations for the venue, does not mean you have to resort to condoms, unique wedding gifts are easier to find that you think and can really be anything that is customized or has some special meaning to you and your family.

If you’re still looking for decorations, here is an interesting chandelier: made from penis-pumps… I suppose you may need once you’re half way through the wedding gown, which at that point should look lovely as a cocktail dress.

That’s my quirky input for the day… it’s nice to see some people can approach weddings from a humorous perspective!

I was inspired to write this post after reading what KnickersBlog.com wrote about the top five mistakes men make when buying lingerie for women.
Lingerie is a nice gift idea, but because the idea itself has been tried and tested you need to consider what you can do about the actual item to make the event more special and unique.

As Knickersblog.com also mentioned: don’t drop into your generic La Senza or even Victoria’s Secret (although I personally do like the latter). Although mainstream chains are not a good place to shop for something special, it would be even worse though to go to your local discount mall (or Walmart!) where massive tummy-holding granny-panties in dreadful flesh colors grace the racks next to the syntho-leopard-print thongs. A better bet (and less embarrassing for the boys) is to seek out one of those little boutiques that carry “the real deal”. As LoveinToronto recently pointed out, (French) Lingerie is definitely different than the walmart variant. Even the untrained eye can tell from looking at the Premier Jour website that they are onto something. However, going French is not necessary if you want to find something that qualifies as “very nice”, but costs about as much as something generic from your neighborhood retail chain.

Here are a few tips if you are thinking about dressing up a woman:

Functionality is another thing to consider: it is nice to get something that can not cross the bedroom door, but consider how many of those she really needs. After you get her the third see-though frilly babydoll, she may not need another one for a while. I actually like multifunctional underwear, or clothing that may traditionally not be marketed as “lingerie”, but nevertheless can be worn in the bedroom (and at restaurants!). If you go down this road, you want to consider see-through lace bodysuits and dresses. My personal favorite is Wolford. I would not call Wolford a chain, but this originally Austrian company does have locations all over the world, including a store in Toronto.

I own a bodysuit that looks decent at the opera, but classic sexy in the bedroom. A huge advantage is the size-issue: Wolford is by definition mostly stretchy, so having a vague idea of whether she is a small, medium or large almost guarantees not needing to exchange anything.

Just to illustrate my point on multifuctionality though, here are some wolford pieces that are actually made to be worn outside of bed… but who said they can’t do both?