7 Ways Guys Use Gimmicks to Get Your Attention

I got something pretty cool when my sister moved out of her apartment recently. Her husband lost a bet to a friend and had to entertain at his friend's kid's birthday party dressed as Elmo.

My sister sent out a big e-mail: "One free Elmo costume available. Please let me know if you'd like to take it."

I got back to her in a split second.

Who knows when someone might need a giant Elmo costume?

I thought about wearing it out to the bars randomly one night thinking I'd either get beaten up, or pick up tons of girls (or both?)

Chatting with some girlfriends, I was told a "gimmick" in the bar gets female attention. The girls I spoke with said they often partake in a guy's "gimmick" in a bar. Here are a few examples:

Obnoxious Sunglasses

Every time I buy new sunglasses, my friend Margaret says: "you better be prepared to have some girl wearing those by the end of the night." And it's true -- when I have them on late night in the bar, some girl always steals them and it usually sparks a conversation.

The caveat is that they have to be super-obnoxious, gigantic aviator type sunglasses. My latest are giant Carrera sunglasses that have that obnoxious fade within the lens: dark at the top of the lense, and then slightly lighter lower in the lens.

Hats

Here in NYC, cowboy hats are kind of exotic. I might as well buy them in six packs, because I lose a cowboy hat every time I wear it out to the bar. It's a favorite for girls to steal. And my quest to get it back gives me a good excuse to keep talking to her.

T-Shirts

I made a T-shirt in homage to my college roommate, Craig Callahan. It was an overly tight gray T-shirt with old school plastic bubble letters ironed on reading: "I <3 Craig Callahan." The heart was colored in pink.

The T-shirt gets so much attention from girls. They ask, "Who is Craig Callahan?" I guess they wonder why a straight guy would wear a shirt like this. Or maybe they think I'm gay, who knows.

But when I say it's my college roommate, the girls somehow become more intrigued. And it's even more interesting when he's right next to me and I can point to him and say: "Oh, it's this guy," and he shrugs his shoulders sheepishly.

Alternative Headwear

There's a whole host of headwear that really brings the attention. The giant Elmo head is an example, but I have a tragic story about a friend who wore headwear into a bar after the New York Giants won the Super Bowl.

He wore his official autographed Giants helmet, and a very attractive girl approached. They chatted and he was feeling great -- this was one of the hotter girls he's ever gotten to talk to.

She asked to wear the helmet. After putting it on, she asked him to order them drinks at the bar.

He turned around and ordered the drinks, and when he turned back around she was gone...with the helmet.

My friend cited an article she read that called the gimmick tactic "peacocking"...extending your showcase like ornate peacock feathers in a tail. She agreed: a couple of her friends go out dressed ridiculously, and attract lots of women every time.

Here are a few of my personal gimmick rules:

1. Do not use anything too good (like my friend's helmet); I'll be sad when she steals it and she might only want to talk to me because of the great gimmick

2. Expect to lose things -- I'll hope they are replaceable

3. Look like a fish out of water -- Sunglasses work in a dark bar at night, but not at an outdoor bar in broad daylight; choose my gimmicks to look appropriately ignorant

4. Don't push it too far -- I must be delicate with my Elmo costume. There's a fine line between cute/funny/ignorant, and goofy and stupid

Gimmicks help set me apart from all the guys that are dressed normally. It might attract a certain kind of girl, but in my experience gimmicks attract girls with a sense of humor so there's nothing wrong with that.

Do you get attracted to guy's gimmicks like the ones I mentioned above? Do you think it's a good tactic to bring in the ladies? What are the best gimmicks you've seen?

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