Why Women In Red Are So Attractive For Men?

By Margarita Nahapetyan

Red has long been described as a color of passion, fire and danger with the image of the "lady in red" being a symbol of sizzling attractiveness guaranteed to turn heads. However, new research on male behavior claims that the real reason why men are drawn to women who wear red is that they think scarlet-clad ladies are easy and more likely to opt for more intimate relationship on a first date.

To reach this conclusion, a survey of 120 male students was carried out by the University of South Brittany in France. All students, aged between 18 and 21 years, were divided into four different groups and were asked to look at the photographic image of the same 20-year-old woman who wore ordinary red, green, blue or white T-shirt. The guys, who studied the photo for 30 seconds, were then asked to rate, on a scale 1 to 9, how attractive the woman was and also how likely she was to opt for intimacy on the first date.

The results revealed that the woman was judged to be most attractive when she was wearing red top, followed by white, blue and finally green T-shirt. Also, the majority of students in the survey thought that opting for a red color meant a woman had greater intent for intimacy and was more likely to agree to go to bed with a guy when compared to someone who chose to wear more neutral colors like green, blue or white.

In a report on their results, psychologists wrote that their findings confirm that the color of clothing can have the powerful influence on how guys perceive a member of the opposite gender and that men see red color as an invitation for intimacy. Previous studies have demonstrated that a man would feel at ease to ask his date more intimate questions about her and sit closer to her if she was wearing a red blouse rather than any other color. The studies have also found that female hitch hikers who wore a red top had a better chance of being picked up by male drivers but not by female ones.

According to the study authors, red has always been associated with romantic love, powerful emotions, passion as well as with female fertility. And now, for the first time ever, the results of these new experiments demonstrated that ladies in red are attractive to men because the color causes passionate associations. This happens unconsciously and probably is due to the fact that red is a significant color in nature, meaning power, danger and causing exciting emotions.

Dr. Pam Spurr, an award winning radio presenter, relationship adviser and life coach, said that women who like to wear red clothes can boost their confidence. Colors can be used to hide true feelings, and if someone is feeling sad or down-spirited, they should throw away any black color clothes from their wardrobes and put on colors with more impact, Dr. Spurr recommended, explaining that when people wear bright colors, they attract more attention and different kind of response from others. They are also expected to be more upbeat and once they feel those expectations, the low spirits are more likely to rise at least a bit.

The new findings are published in The Journal of Social Psychology.