If you have recently noticed a guy looking you up and down you may be wondering why. This post will try to help you figure that out and to make sense of it in the future as it happens.

So, what does it mean when a guy looks you up and down? Possible causes of a guy looking you up and down are that he is attracted to you, he is initially observing to see if you’re a threat or that he is observing your outfit.

When trying to figure out what it might mean it would be helpful to observe other aspects of his body language. By doing so you will be able to get a number of other clues as to what he is thinking.

Why a guy might look you up and down

There are a number of reasons why a guy might look you up and down and each of them will likely come with a number of clues in their body language.

Below, I will mention a number of reasons that a guy might look you up and down along with body language clues to look for.

He finds you attractive

If a guy looks you up and down it will often be the case that he finds you attractive.

If this is the case then he will likely show a number of other signals that he finds you attractive in his body language. These can include:

  • Having dilated pupils when talking to you
  • Getting anxious when you’re with other men
  • Pointing his feet towards you
  • Pointing his toes up when with you
  • Standing or sitting near you
  • Mirroring your body language
  • Glancing in your direction often
  • Finding excuses to touch you
  • Speaking with a deeper than normal voice when with you
  • Holding eye contact with you for longer than normal
  • Standing with his hands on his hips and his legs apart when speaking to you
  • Talking to you more than others

If it is the case that he looked you up and down due to attraction there may be some other clues that it was the reason. It could be that he asks his friends about you or that you were dating in the past.

He’s observing if you’re a threat

When people see new people for the first time they will often look them up and down simply to observe whether or not they are a threat. This is a natural and subconscious process that takes place that humans have evolved to do.

It could be that this is the reason that he initially looked you up and down.

If this is the case then he would likely have a neutral body language to you and that, when he looked you up and down, it was quick and only occurred once when he first saw you.

He’s nervous to talk to you

It could be that he looked you up and down due to attraction but he is nervous to talk to you.

If this is the case then he may show a number of signs that he is attracted to you but he would also likely show a number of signs of being nervous as well.

These can include:

  • Frequent blinking when talking to you
  • Rubbing the nose, eyes, face, upper legs, neck and arms when around you
  • Tapping his feet or fingers
  • Talking at a higher pitch that inflects upwards
  • Fidgeting
  • A lack of eye contact

He finds you interesting

It could be that he finds something about you interesting. It could be that you have an unusual haircut or that you are wearing certain shoes that he’s admiring.

It might also be the case that he is judging your fashion choices.

If this is the case then he might appear to be otherwise neutral to you in terms of his body language.

Consider the location

When trying to figure out why a guy looked you up and down considering the location that it occurred in would likely be useful.

If it occurred in a social setting with friends around then it could be that he finds you attractive or it might be that he was looking at what you were wearing.

If it was while you were at work then it could have been that he was contemplating something work-related such as whether or not your outfit was appropriate or he might have been showing attraction to you. It would be necessary to consider the body language that he shows around you to get a better idea.

Consider your relationship with him

When trying to figure out why he might have looked you up and down it would be helpful to consider what your relationship with him is like.

If you have never met him before then it could have been that he was initially doing it to see who you were and if you were a threat or not or he may well have been checking you out. In this case, it will be important for you to consider other body language signals that he is showing and to consider where it happened.

If it was someone that you were previously dating then it might be the case that he still finds you attractive or it could be that he was trying to see how you are doing now without him.

Think about his normal behavior

When trying to make sense of people’s body language it’s important to consider what their normal body language looks like.

It could be that he is a much more observant person that looks at people naturally in that way. In this case, looking you up and down wouldn’t really suggest much unless other body language signals were different compared to normal.

If, when he looked you up and down, he was showing different body language signals than usual then it would be more suggestive that he was doing it because he was checking you our or that he was judging what you were wearing.

Related Questions

What does it mean when a guy looks you up and down slowly? If he does it slowly then it would be more suggestive that he was either checking you out or that he was judging what you were wearing. It would be necessary for you to look at other aspects of his body language to figure out why.

What does it mean when a guy looks at you from head to toe? If a guy looks at you from head to toe it would suggest that either he was checking you out, judging what you were wearing or he was initially judging whether or not you were a threat.

If you want to learn more about body language, a book I would recommend would be The Definitive Book of Body Language (on Amazon). It shows you how to interpret body language and understand people's true intentions.

Author

I created and currently manage Body Language Central, one of the premier sources for body language-related knowledge. Body language plays a key role in our daily lives. I hope that my website can help condense the wide amount of body language information available and allow you to make full use of it in your daily life. You can read more about me and my website here.