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ALBANY, N.Y. -- Note to metrosexuals: Women apparently have left you behind while you've been primping in the bathroom.
For a while the metrosexual -- the guy who shops with his lady, hates camping, the outdoors and getting dirty -- dominated the dating scene.
Men who shared an appreciation for expensive hair-care products and side-by-side manicures and pedicures were deemed the desired -- a la Ricky Martin or just about any character Jude Law or Hugh Grant plays. Books and shows (hello, "Queer Eye") were dedicated to converting your man into a fashion- and design-loving maven.
Throw those books out. Today, women look for a man like Jim Belushi or Vince Vaughn, who isn't afraid to take only one shower a day, who doesn't mind the occasional hangnail and who scoffs at the idea of matching attire for a Sunday afternoon of television.
Oh, and women want a guy who actually watches football, not the Style Network or HGTV.
At least according to Playgirl magazine. A survey of 2,000 playgirl.com visitors showed when it comes to the ultimate hookup, women are all about the anti-Hollywood hunk. In fact, 42 percent of respondents found love handles "kind of sexy" and 47 percent say chest hair is completely fine. Which leads us to the perfectly coiffed metrosexual. The men who inspired the term that entered our lexicon back in 2001 are now as over as Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney. Rough-around-the-edges men rule, with 73 percent of the respondents choosing them over the manicured, massaged man in the Armani suit and freshly polished shoes. "We want guys to love us for who we are. We know we're not supermodels, and think we're sexy for who we are, and guys should get the same courtesy," said Jill Sieracki, editor in chief of Playgirl. She's seen a rash of letters lately from readers who want to see the hairy chest man in the magazine. "It's these blue-collared guys women have fantasies about: the construction worker, or the fireman. It's not Wall Street. It's not a guy pulling up in his BMW and saying, 'Let me show you my 401(k).' "
A woman wants a partner, she added, not someone working 100 hours a week and just giving his partner a check. Instead, women look for a team, and those rougher guys -- the ones who do the yard work and look a little scruffy in the morning -- are the ones to give that.
"You don't want a guy who spends as much time as you do getting ready," said Jennifer Brown, a 20-year-old senior at the State University of New York campus in Albany. "It was kind of fun for a while, but girls want that Prince Charming coming to get you -- not waiting for him to get ready."
This is a bit of bad news for Marc Vachon of Guilderland, N.Y. In fact, the 24-year-old said although we are a "nation of phases," he isn't sure he buys it.
"I find it hard to believe that the majority of women -- not to say that there are none -- are attracted to the college hippie grunge look," said Vachon, who sported the long hair, facial scruff and pajamas to class for years while in college but today spends time on his appearance. "The messy look, with a clean feel, goes a long way and I can understand why girls find that attractive. It portrays a man of confidence, masculinity and good style."
So true, said Seth Kelly, sections editor with Stuff Magazine, adding the metro vibe will always be around.
But you need a balance.
"Does any woman really want a guy who will get more manicures than she does? No," said Kelly. "But nobody wants to date Booger (Curtis Armstrong's character from 'Revenge of the Nerds') either. He never got a lot of women. You've got to take care of yourself."
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