DR. WALLACE: I have a really nice new boyfriend and he literally treats me like a princess! He's kind, thoughtful and even opens the door for me, especially the car door when we go out on dates together.

I've been dating him for about six weeks thus far, and everything is great except for one thing. I tend to be a person who dresses up in current fashions and I take great pride in my appearance at school. I've been known to shop for hours to find the perfect accessory to blend in with one of my favorite outfits.

But my boyfriend does not share my passion for fashion! He dresses down intentionally and he looks like a roadie for a rock band. His clothes look sloppy and disheveled, and when I asked him about this once, he simply told me that he only cared about feeling comfortable in his clothes and nothing more.

The good news is that his personal hygiene is excellent. He's always clean and smells good and his clothes are indeed fresh and washed. It's just that they don't look so stylish.

Can we have a future someday if we are so far apart from each other on this topic? — I Live for Fashion, via email

I LIVE FOR FASHION: Opposites attract in many areas! At this point in his life, he perhaps has very little issue in anything regarding his clothing besides comfort, but that does not mean that he won't make some adjustments as he ages and eventually enters into whatever career he wishes to pursue.

I advise you to focus on his inside rather than his external lack of fashion sense at this point. Many young women would love to be treated like a princess by a very respectful, loving guy. And with your skill set in regards to fashion, the odds are good that if you both were to stay together for the long run, you'd be able to over time gently guide him to expand his fashion horizon a bit further than he currently demonstrates.

MY BROTHER IS MY EXACT OPPOSITE IN THIS

DR. WALLACE: I'm really driven to keep my room neat, organized and clean. I even vacuum my own room twice a week! I'm a girl who is 16 and I'm reliable around the house.

My older brother, who's now only a few months from turning 18, is the exact opposite! He's lazy, his room is a total mess, and he leaves food plates, empty soda bottles and even crumbs everywhere in his room. My mother will beg him to clean his room, but he might give it just a half-hearted effort only once every five or six weeks or so.

We both do chores around the house, but we get the exact same allowance. I feel our allowance amount is fair, but my issue is that I do a much better job keeping our home more presentable than he does and I feel this warrants a higher rate for me. Do you agree? — The Clean Teen, via email

THE CLEAN TEEN: I assume your allowance is based upon the chores you do, not how clean you keep your respective rooms. I'm not sure if your desire is to make more money for yourself or if you are just miffed since he can slack off in his room and still draw the same allowance you do.

If you are aiming for more money, offer your brother to clean his room once a week for a small fee! You're obviously very good at organizing, so he might take you up on that idea. And if he doesn't want to part with any of his money, he may be willing to "barter" with you. He might be able to give you a ride somewhere you want to go or provide you something else of value to you in exchange for your cleaning skills.

If you're mainly miffed about the fact he gets the same allowance you do, perhaps ask your parents to offer a bonus of extra allowance that can be earned by keeping your room clean and doing some other extra cleaning that your home may benefit from. Be sure your parents make "a clean bedroom" a prerequisite to doing extra work for extra pay.

And if your parents do accept your new proposal, you could go for the "daily double" by again offering to clean your brother's room so that he could qualify to earn more money doing some extra chores.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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