What gets your attention?

[NotWise]

It's impossible for me to not notice women around me, and I'm pretty sure that is true for other men and for many women. We are usually aware of members of the opposite gender around us.

But what is the first thing that draws your attention? I've thought about my reactions for some years now, and for me it's her hair. I don't have a fetish for hair, but her color, length, style are like semaphores from a woman that say "Look at me." Then I see her face.

I expect lots of guys walk around with their eyes at boob level, while women first notice shoulders or arms or the size of a man's hands, but what (men or women) is it that first catches your attention and makes you wonder about the rest of the package?

I haven't written many stories with the characters first noticing each other. When I have it's usually been a response to face/hair/neck and then to an overall impression.

How do you see or write those first impressions?

 

[sr71plt]

Their smile--and whether it's turned to me.

 

[LIVINRFANTASIES]

Denny

Hair of any color. Long and wavy, long and straight, with a shapely preferably slim petite body. A pretty smile, long slender shapely arms, the legs to match. Large boobs a plus but a good attitude is better.
Chean , neat, sure of what she whats and what she's after. A pleasent voice.
A woman who won't give me the time of day or a second glance,

 

[49greg]

I think for me the first thing I see, and usually from farther away, is posture and overall body language. How they walk or jog if they're moving. As I get closer I do go for chest, if she's facing toward me, and bottom if away. As I get closer I shift to face - smile, eyes, hair.

 

[ElectricBlue]

A smile, especially if it's in the eyes and quite spontaneous, almost without a conscious thought.

Legs, like the woman yesterday, on the bus....

The way women talk to each other, it's all in their hands and their touch. Most men are clueless at knowing how to talk to women, they've never heard of undivided attention. Women give it, but generally don't expect it from a man.

 

[RejectReality]

This time of year? It's shoulders and the upper arms usually covered by sleeves. That gets my attention even quicker than a dipping neckline and cleavage.

I can be oblivious any time I'm in motion. Once I'm walking or driving, everything becomes an obstacle or a threat. I won't see people I know waving at me, or even realize they've honked until they're past, but my eyes will lock in on those bared shoulders like a laser guidance system.

Wasn't even consciously aware of it until my wife pointed out that the only time I noticed a hot girl before she did was when she had bared shoulders.

At which point her wardrobe began to acquire a steadily growing number of such garments

 

[Comentarista82]

What do I notice first? Depends.

If I see a woman from behind, I will notice hair, dress and legs or legs/dress/hair. If she approaches from the front, hair/eyes/face/dress/legs. Oddly enough, I've been a legman since I was a teenager but I'll notice the above in that order, depending on position.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

From behind, her hair, then her shape, then her legs, the way she carries herself.

From the front, her eyes, her face, then the rest of her. She doesn't even have to smile, if she had great eyes and a pretty face, I know the smile will be fantastic and it usually is. If her eyes and face grab my attention, it really doesn't matter what the rest of her is like. No really.

 

[Handley_Page]

General posture, appearance.
If she's within range, her eyes.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Well, first impressions and things that draw my attention - when I look at a guy, it's kind of a gestalt combination of how he carries himself, attitude, how he dresses, what shape he's in, his teeth (they've gotta be clean), smell, height and build, how he looks at me, does he smile, does he have a cute butt, are his shoes looked after.

Looks? Not so much as long as he's in good shape overall.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKclj4tO2lI

I deal with the obvious. Gestalt is the whole AND the obvious. The obvious is where you make contact.

 

[IntrovertWantsOut]

It varies. I notice hair. Colors of clothing. Shape. Boobs. Way of moving. Kids. (Mom with kids, I mean.) Smile. Voice. Come to think of it, it varies a lot.

 

[49greg]

I've got to add though, first impressions are just that. How real a person is and whether they're worth knowing might take more time. Their mind/personality is the real them.

 

[PuckIt]

I guess maybe I'm just an odd duck. (Not that that should be any surprise.) Maybe it's because nobody realized I'm virtually blind beyond arm's length for a long time. And by the time I realized they weren't yanking my chain they could tell who was who on the other side of a basketball court and they realized I wasn't yanking theirs that I couldn't even be certain how MANY, much less who, I was already too set in my ways. But, pretty much what cracks my attention bubble still is when someone notices me enough to enter the social space and almost into personal space.

At that point, I guess I'm already predisposed to give them the benefit of the attractive doubt as long as she doesn't have crusty snot in the mustache on her upper lip or smell like stale sweat and dried urine.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

If she's looking towards me, a smile will pull my attention every time, regardless of what else she's got going on.

No smile? It's a gestalt. Small waist, long legs, long hair and high cheekbones - it's almost like an electric shock. Then I'll see her face. The face is make or break - an unpretty face deflates the whole effect. Pretty eyes are a plus.

 

[Desiremakesmeweak]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKclj4tO2lI

I deal with the obvious. Gestalt is the whole AND the obvious. The obvious is where you make contact.

...Okay. This is good, maybe even great.

 

[LeandraNyx]

Deleted

 

[coachdb18]

I've been known to let a girl take the place ahead of me at the finish in a race just because she's got a great butt!

 

[ElectricBlue]

Or, if it's a woman from the front, her eyeliner and contouring game.

Well, there's my screen got its daily coffee clean....

I always knew there was stuff we men never get. But how could we possibly know that! I need to pay more attention, clearly

 

[SimonDoom]

Legs.

 

[legerdemer]

From a distance: how he moves and holds himself, how he interacts with women.
From closer: his eyes, smile, hands - probably in that order.

The same goes with women, though I'm straight. But they're people, so I notice.

 

[SimonDoom]

I've been known to let a girl take the place ahead of me at the finish in a race just because she's got a great butt!

I can't say that I've done this, but the sight of an attractive woman running ahead of me is a great incentive to run faster.

 

[LeandraNyx]

Deleted

 

[NotWise]

Seriously, if I see a woman with smoother eyeliner game than mine, I am immediately smitten; makeup skills are weirdly hot for some reason, lol.

My daughters were in high school when I noticed how much attention they put into their makeup. We had a really interesting conversation over dinner when I told them that "Guys aren't paying attention to those details. All that stuff you're doing has to be for other girls."

My wife agreed.

It hadn't occurred to them yet that the makeup effort was more a part of the girl vs. girl competition than it was for the boys. Boys, especially at that age, tend to notice boobs, legs, and butt WAY more than makeup.

 

[NotWise]

Seriously, if I see a woman with smoother eyeliner game than mine, I am immediately smitten; makeup skills are weirdly hot for some reason, lol.

And to be a little writerly, it's for me a stroke of reality when your female character critiques another woman's presentation.