Interior designers and advertising pros have been studying color for years. They know a secret – different colors bring out different emotions and behaviors.
Color is very powerful. We can use this same color psychology when we get dressed for the day. Wearing the right color for a situation can support your communication and results, while the wrong color can give the wrong impression and undermine you.
Red is a particularly tricky color. If you wear it in the right situations, it can support you or wreak total havoc in the wrong situations.
Physical Effects
Studies show, when we see the color red, our heart-rates and respiration-rates increase.
Emotional Effects
Red activates our primal survival instincts and turns on our threat response – fight or flight, survival and reproduction. It drives competition, appetite and sexual desire. That’s why you see red used in fast food restaurants…
This is why red is so often in sports uniforms. Wear red when you want to Compete or Fight.
- Mannequin 1 – Houston Rockets Clutch City Jersey
Red triggers Romance – That’s the origin of the iconic sexy woman in a red dress or red lipstick. Wear red when you want sexual attention.
- Mannequin 2 – Aidan Aidan Maddox cutout jersey sexy red dress
Women often use red as a power color in business to stand out and get noticed, but this backfires because it makes her seem aggressive and causes people to compete/fight with her.
- Mannequin 3 – Calvin Klein Suiting (jacket, ruffled top, pants)
Red is a power color in the bedroom not the boardroom. If you want to wear red in a professional environment, wear it in a softer way to temper the emotional effects of red. You can do this by wearing red as an accent color, choosing softer fabrics, or more feminine silhouettes
- Mannequin 4 – This Betsy Johnson floral sheath dress communicates power and strength with it’s silhouette. Red attracts attention more gently as a floral pattern
- Mannequin 5 – This men’s dress uses red in an even more subtle way.
If you want to stand out in a work setting, a better color is berry or purple. These colors are bright and have regal attributes that still signify you as a leader, evoke loyalty and respect without the baggage that red brings.
Skip red entirely for interviews, confrontational meetings or anytime you want to build rapport.
Thank you Houston Rockets for the jersey, La Prairie for the lipsticks and Dillard’s for the clothing and accessories!
This story was used to rehearse on the new Houston Life TV set. It probably won’t air, but shooting it was a wonderful experience. Thanks for the opportunity to practice and get used to the set before it was “for real!”