Dressing to impress for a first date is difficult enough - fortunately dressing for 10 dates isn't any harder! You don’t want to be mistaken for a stripper, nor do you want to look as though you’d just escaped from a nursing home. Aim to look classy, stylish and effortless.

One simple rule of thumb for any outfit is that if your mother would wear it, you should probably shouldn’t. Likewise, if your daughter would wear it, you probably shouldn’t either! If you look in the mirror and think, “ Do I look ridiculous in this?” lets face it - you probably do.

Here are 5 simple tips for dressing for a speed date:

1. If it doesn’t fit, don’t wear it - Although squeezing your size 14 boobs into a skimpy size 8 top might be good for your ego, it’s probably not good for your respiration. Nor should you hide your shape behind clothes that have so much bellow you look like your about to set sail.

2. Wear appropriate makeup - Make-up should enhance your features, not hide them. Be sure to use shades that match your natural skin tone as, contrary to popular belief, men DO actually notice when your neck is a different colour to your face. Aim to look like a natural beauty that wakes up looking that way, not the result of a 3 coat paint job.

3. This depends. If you’re driving or planning to take a cab you can wear the sexiest most impractical high heels you’ve got, after all, it’s the men that do that walking, you stay at the same table all night. If you’re walking far or taking public transport you should think about wearing moderately comfortable shoes. Although Carey from Sex and the City might look perfectly comfortable tramping around Manhattan in 6 inch Manolo’s, that’s because she’s a fictional character. You want to focus on your date, not how much your feet hurt

4. Wear sexy underwear - Not only will you feel like a femme fatale but you can also avoid VPL.

5. Don’t over dress - Although you’re unlikely to impress anyone in track pants and runners, you’ll look a little ridiculous turning up in a gold sequined full-length ball gown and a tiara. The dress code is the stylish end of smart-casual- which can encompass anything from dressy jeans to a cocktail dress.