Definitely check out the article Cas suggested.
Both. Both genetics and image. If you didn't win the genetic lottery, than research on how to dress. Go watch some shows that girls love watching and take some notes on how the guys dress, mainly the guy who gets the girl. There is plenty of media out there for yuh to figure out that style. I decide to check out vampire diaries and the guys literally wear the same clothing EVERY episode, it's just sad. Leather jacket, dark jeans, boots, dark tshirts, henleys, and/or dress shirt. THAT'S IT and girls swoon over the one guy by the name of Damon.
For me, boots or casual "dressy" shoes, black or indigo jeans, some casual dress shirt (usually black, grey, or some shade of blue, even though red is better), and the same damn wool blend coat cos it is so freakin cold where I am at! I have two regular solid color t-shirts and a henley if I want to "mix things up a bit," but you really don't need a lot... three shirts, two pants and all you do is mix and match. That is a total of six combinations, one for each day of the week leaving one day out for rest or you can repeat an outfit (people really aren't paying attention to your clothing every second, just whether or not you dress well. No one is thinking, "ERMAHGAHD he is wearing the same shirt from Tuesday!!!"). And if the shirts aren't tailored to your body, go on Youtube and look up at how to tailor your own stuff or go find a tailor. Since I'm pretty skinny I have to tailor my shirts, so I just decide to learn since I have to tailor practically every piece of clothing I'll buy, and I don't even buy clothes anymore cos I just mix and match my stuff. Really that simple!
Where to get the black jeans? H&M
Where to get the jeans? American Eagle or H&M
Where to get the dress shirts? Asos.com or H&M. If you have money to blow, J. Crew or a place like Macy's (tailor the clothing at Macy's imo...)
Where to get the shoes? Asos.com
Regular t-shirt? H&M
Where to get the henley? Some random store. Really doesn't matter.
You still need more stuff? Google lookbook and look for a style that fits your taste. What kind of girls are you trying to attract? White girls? What attracts white girls? If you aren't white, then what kinds of clothes do men who attract white girls wear? How do they behave? Model that look if you really need to if you are willing to change yourself to such an extent.
Haircut. Idk what people roll with but I've figured out my preferred hairstyle based on the research on what goes best with my ethnicity and headshape. Really nothing special, 2 on the sides (razor), 3 on top (scissored), and I get the sides faded as you go up, and that I tell the person cutting my hair that I don't gel my hair (I'm just lazy like that, but again, you dont need to be perfect, just look like you give a damn about your looks). I go to an asian hair salon because asian people know how to cut asian hair! I go to a white barber or some commercial american salon and I get a shoddy job everytime, so I'd try a few and figure out who makes you look good or some place where you know they get "this" specific demographic of customers, which means they are specialized in "this" specific hair type(s) or the preferred hairstyles of "this" demographic. If you want your hair long, then figure out what your face shape is and google "haircuts for *your headshape*. If you are indian, go to an asian salon. I'm bein biased here... they really take care of you for cheap, cheap... commercial places charge you for the most ridiculous stuff.
If you're a good-looking guy then you don't need to heavily invest in clothing. I still can't tell whether or not I'm handsome, but I'm told all the time and other things indicate that this may be true. Even though I may have the look, it doesn't help much if I'm not as aggressive as some of the other guys here.
Regarding frat guys dressing well, I know my brothers don't dress up as well as I do, yet they get more sex than I do cos they just go with that mentality of fuck it let's get fucking wasted and fuck some bitches. Like, couple girls told me my one brother isn't even good looking and went to point out everything "wrong" with him, BUT, they said he makes up for it in his confidence and aggressiveness to get the girl. That's really it man. I can even attest to their claims cos I look at him and think, this guy doesn't have much going for him. He isn't cut in terms of bodyfat, he isn't smart, but he is charismatic, rarely sad, prideful, a team player, knows how to have a good time, and persists in the face of failure. I could care less what a guy looks like, if he is building people up rather than breaking them down I want to be around those kinds of people. In this day and age, it's rare to find individuals who are in control of themselves even if the world is burning to the ground. Rare to find people who genuinely want the best for you. That is magnetic.
So do looks matter? To a certain degree yes. Will it make or break you? No, unless you really do have genetic qualities that indicate you have some detrimental mutation.... but even then it doesn't hurt to get out there and try. Look up Dev Patel and Freida Pinto. I look at them and think it is possible. But most Indians don't believe in the concept of true love.
Hopefully these help out man.