
18 Mar Short Hormonology Tip throwback #4: You’re more likely to wear red or pink during ovulation–when the weather is right
As a reminder, this week I’m sharing my favorite five short Hormonology Tips. I always liked this research about red and pink clothes because I think many women put a lot of thought into what they’re going to be wearing to school, work, dates and other events, but don’t realize that their hormones may have a say in what outfit they select:
Awhile ago, I wrote about a 2013 study from the University of British Columbia that found you’re about three and a half times more likely to wear red or pink clothing around ovulation.
The researchers theorized that during this fertile phase of your cycle, you subconsciously turn to reddish hues to boost sexual attractiveness to help lure a new partner or entice the one you have.
What I didn’t know was that this same research team did a follow-up study in 2014 to replicate their findings–and they made a surprising discovery:
Women in this second study were no more likely to wear red or pink during their ovulatory days than during other times in their cycle!
So, which study result is the one that’s really true?
Turns out, both are true–it just depends on the weather.
The researchers say that the first study–the one where women were 3.5 times more likely to don red during ovulation–was conducted during cold weather months. They theorize that when it’s cold out, we tend to bundle up, so we probably use more reddish hues in our clothing as a way to appear more sexually alluring despite the many thick wooly layers encasing us.
By contrast, the second study–the one where there was no difference in clothing color during ovulation–was conducted during warm weather months. The researchers think that because we bare more skin when it’s hot out–with hemlines rising, necklines falling and swimsuits getting pulled out of closets–we don’t need to rely on red to boost attractiveness. We innately know that suitors will be turned on by us showing more skin.
So, next time you’re nearing ovulation and choosing an outfit to wear, keep in mind where you are in your cycle…and what the weather report is. You could be surprised by how two different factors are impacting what you put on.
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[Photo: DRP]
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