Looking to win a man's heart? Here's how to fashion
a sure-fire seduction according to science!
Karl Lagerfeld once famously said,
"One is never over-dressed or underdressed with a Little Black Dress."
As it turns out, black isn't just a necessary wardrobe staple — it can also be a wise
fashion choice on a first date. A 2018 field study published in Evolutionary Psychology
analyzed over 500 daters from the British reality television show First Dates.
Most contestants, the researchers found, wore black on the first date. The authors wrote,
"While red may increase perceived attractiveness through evolutionary mechanisms,
daters appear to rely more heavily on black in order to attract a potential
mate [...] This suggests that cultural and/or societal influences
may play a much larger role in the way people dress than the use of evolutionary signals."
You've probably heard a time or two that men prefer a bare face. Well,
research confirms it. In a 2014 study published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,
44 women were photographed after applying varying amounts of makeup, from a light application to
full coverage. Observers, which comprised both men and women, were then asked to look at the
photos of the women and note which look they found most attractive. All preferred the women
wearing less makeup, but female observers said that they thought their male counterparts would
most desire the women wearing a full face of makeup. The authors of the study wrote:
"Taken together, these results suggest that women are likely wearing cosmetics
to appeal to the mistaken preferences of others. These mistaken preferences seem
more tied to the perceived expectancies of men, and, to a lesser degree, of women."
However, a 2017 survey conducted by marketing research firm Ipsos
and beauty brand Sally Hansen found that women wear makeup because they want to,
with 84% of respondents agreeing that "beauty can be empowering." Take that, patriarchy!
While most of us are aware that high heels give women a seductive strut and alluring femininity,
they also enhance the curvature of the lumbar spine, says a 2017 study.
Why is this significant? As the researchers of the study found, when a woman arches her back, it can
signal that she is ready for sex, much as many female animals in the wild do to attract a mate.
In the study, 56 women were photographed wearing flats and heels. The photographs, which cropped
out the women's faces and feet, were then given to 82 male participants, who ranked each model's
attractiveness. The high-heeled women ranked higher than the women wearing flats, and their
attractiveness increased further the closer their lower spine reached the optimal 45.5-degree angle.
This curve can also signify that a woman is constitutionally better built to bear children,
says the study. Those evolutionary signals are hard for men to resist!
"And high heels! I like high heels!"
Jeans, sneakers, a baseball cap — the "I'm hot without trying too hard" look
has major appeal with men. A woman who feels secure enough to dress comfortably around him
oozes "relationship potential."
Casual wear also makes men feel less intimidated, as researchers at the University of New South
Wales and the University of Queensland in Australia found. The study, published in Frontiers
in Psychology, first asked men and women to look at photos of people wearing business and casual
attire. They were then asked to rate the economic status and attractiveness of those people. The
results showed that while men found the women in business attire to earn more, they also saw them
as less attractive, indicating that women who have more "economic independence" have less sex appeal.
This one is practically a given. Sexy red clothing abounds in pop culture — those skimpy red bathing
suits from Baywatch, anyone? Scientific research is also full of evidence showing that red has a
strong connection to sexual fertility. In one 2012 study, for example, 25 men were asked to
look at two photographs of the same woman wearing a white and a red shirt. Not surprisingly, the men
thought the woman in red would be more open to having sex and thus found her more attractive.
But if you think you need to wear a red catsuit or sport a bold red lipstick to elicit this reaction,
guess again. Adam Pazda, a psychologist and one of the study's authors, told Science that
"It doesn't have to be a red dress or a sexy outfit [...] It can be a red T-shirt."
Since yoga pants made their foray into fashion, thanks to high-end athletic-apparel companies like
Lululemon, they have been all the rage with everyday women. Sweating it out in the gym,
running errands, adorning a cute sweater dress in the wintertime — leggings are as
commonplace as jeans. As Meagan Morris wrote for Cosmopolitan,
"They're like luxe pajamas that don't force me to suck in."
Amen to that! But it isn't just women who love this form-fitting fashion item.
Men are all about women in yoga pants too. The Clever says leggings are, quote,
"super seductive" because of how well they complement the female figure. Yoga pants
also help to enhance and create an appealing hip to waist ratio, that men are innately drawn to.
"I'm sorry man. I'm just like, kinda powerless when it comes to yoga pants ya know."
That's because it points to fertility, according to Men's Yoga Journal.
This, as Psychology Today notes, has an evolutionary appeal to men.
The fact that exercise is a mood and energy booster can't hurt either.
If you're someone who isn't too keen on wearing bold colors like black or red,
blue might be your jam. A study published in Evolutionary Psychology analyzed the effects
certain colors had on perceived attractiveness. In the study, 20 Caucasian undergraduate students
aged 18 to 22 were photographed wearing t-shirts of six different colors:
red, black, blue, green, yellow, and white. The photos were shown to 30 observers,
who ranked the attractiveness of the models on a 10-point scale. The men ranked blue as the third
most attractive color, behind red and black, but chose it as the most "pleasurable" shade.
Verywell Mind suggests that blue's widespread popularity might be due
to its calming effects on the psyche. While blue can sometimes be associated with sadness,
it can also prompt feelings of positivity and well-being, the site explained that blue "is often
seen as a sign of stability and relatability." Who wouldn't be drawn to those characteristics?
Leather jackets have seen many variations in style throughout the years. However,
from the flight jackets of aviator icon Amelia Earhart to the haute-couture looks gracing
modern catwalks — they remain an emblem of female rebellion. Just as the leather jacket imbued men
like James Dean with masculinity, so too did it give women an instant androgynous appeal.
Think of when Sandy traded in her tidy pastel midi-skirt and cami
for black spandex pants and a matching leather jacket in the 1978 hit film Grease.
Or who could forget Cher's 1989 music video "If I Could Turn Back Time," where she sashays in front
of a ship of cheering male sailors while wearing a barely-there body suit and a motorcycle jacket?
But what is it about a woman in leather that turns a man to putty? Perhaps, as NPR points out,
humans have an evolutionary predilection for risk-taking. This is because those with a
dangerous streak both excite us and give us a sense of security. We're willing to bet,
though, that when it comes to women in leather jackets, men just find it damn sexy.
If one skirt was meant for the hourglass figure, it's the pencil skirt. Hollywood
bombshell Marilyn Monroe was a fan. And since it burst onto the fashion scene in 1954,
thanks to Christian Dior's H-Line collection, it hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.
But it's not just women who love the curve-hugging skirt. Men are fans too. Shy Magazine surveyed a
group of men about what fashion items they find sexy on a woman, and 60% said a pencil skirt.
The downside to the pencil skirt, however, is that it isn't universally flattering.
"That is the ugliest effing skirt i've ever seen."
Alas, not all of us are built like Jennifer Lopez or Kim Kardashian. While it's true that most
men find a small waist and wide hips attractive, they're actually more focused on the lumbar spine.
"You sure about that?"
Well, believe it or not, according to Research from the University of Texas at Austin
it appears it wasn't the size of a woman's butt that made her most desirable,
but the curve of her lower spine that gave the illusion of a rounder rump.
Well, it's at least good to know that men are ogling our
lumbar spines rather than our derrières.
Was anything sexier than Julia Roberts' long legs in those patent leather thigh-high boots in Pretty
Woman? Richard Gere's character didn't think so. Many men go weak in the knees for long legs,
according to a study published in Evolution and Human Behavior. Researchers asked 218 men and
women to rate the attractiveness of people in photographs after digitally altering their leg
length 5%,10%, and 15% beyond the average male and female height in Poland, where
the study was conducted. The results showed that regardless of observers' own body type or height,
the majority found the models with the increase of 5% leg length to be most attractive.
One of the study's lead authors told New Scientist magazine
that this could be because "long legs are a sign of good health."
Martin Tovee, a psychologist at Northumbria University in Newcastle, also suggests that a
woman's leg length could be linked to evolutionary features that men find attractive. He noted,
"[Women's] legs stop growing once they reach puberty [...] So if a woman has long legs
it suggests she grew up in a good environment and that has a positive effect on fertility."
Has there ever been a time when a woman's bare abdomen hasn't been sexy? From Shakira's
undulating midriff to Demi Moore's pregnant belly gracing the 1991 August cover of Vanity Fair,
a woman's midsection has long stood as a symbol of beauty and strength.
Psychologists at Texas A&M International University conducted a study that analyzed
how long male participants spent looking at a given part of the female anatomy.
They found that the face, breasts, and midriff received the most attention.
Researchers at the University of Helsinki also found that a symmetrical belly button could be
a sign of genetic health; that is, a woman's chances of having a healthy baby may be higher.
And, as evolution has taught us, men find physical markers of fertility extremely attractive.