Dressing appropriately for meeting your fiancé’s parents for the first time shows respect and thoughtfulness. It can help make an excellent first impression. But what if one decides to put in no effort?
A Redditor asked, Am I wrong for wearing an Iron Maiden T-Shirt to my first meeting with my girlfriend’s parents?
Backstory:
The Original Poster (OP), who is 28 years old, has been in a relationship for a few months with his girlfriend (23 years old female). Things are well between them, and OP hopes everything works out for them.
Recently, OP’s girlfriend invited OP to her parent’s home for dinner. She lives with her parents, and they knew about OP. Since things were getting more serious, her parents wanted to meet OP.
Note: The girlfriend’s parents are Indian immigrants to the US, while OP is white.
What Happened Next?
OP thought dinner with his girlfriend’s parents was a casual meeting, so he wore an Iron Maiden T-shirt. Although he liked the band, he didn’t wear the shirt precisely because of that.
He says, “I thought it was a casual meeting and wore an Iron Maiden T-shirt. I like the band, but that’s not even why I wore it; that’s just how I dress, and that shirt was clean that day. I went and met her parents and thought we’d had a good meeting.”
What Did OP’s Girlfriend Feel?
OP’s girlfriend was unhappy with him after dinner with her parents. She believed that he could have worn a more excellent button-up shirt instead of a T-shirt and that the Iron Maiden T-shirt with skulls on it was, in her opinion, “obnoxious.”
OP didn’t give much thought to his attire for dinner with his girlfriend’s parents and dressed in his usual way. He felt that if his girlfriend had specific expectations, she would have communicated them to him beforehand. However, his girlfriend disagreed and thought that his choice of clothing was “obviously stupid and inappropriate” and that he should have known better.
OP wondered if his girlfriend was being overly critical or if she was right. He asks if he is wrong in what he did?
What do you think? Was OP right in saying he thought it was a casual meeting, or was OP’s girlfriend inappropriate in not communicating her expectations?
The article originally appeared on Mrs. Daaku Studio.