To lure the ladies, be a devil in a red shirt

Scientists have identified all sorts of attributes that women like to see in a man, but many are the sort of thing the guy was either born with or not: a prominent chin, shoulders wider than hips, a relatively deep voice.

The latest research suggests something that men can do all by themselves:

Put on a red shirt.

In a series of experiments, women looked at photos of men and judged those in red shirts to be more attractive and sexy than those wearing other colors. Ditto for black-and-white photos of men that were framed in red, though we're guessing this tip won't prove as useful in the singles bar.

The color red boosted ratings by about one point on a nine-point scale of attractiveness, scientists report in this month's Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

And, yes, previous studies have shown the reverse: Men like women in red.

Red carries some sort of deep-seated, apparently biological attraction for women, says Andrew Elliot, the new paper's lead author and a psychology professor at the University of Rochester.

The animal kingdom offers numerous examples where the redness of certain male body parts seems to lure females. In a type of baboon called the mandrill, for example, males have red faces and rumps - and those of alpha males are the reddest, the paper's authors write.

In some species, females seem to be attracted to such redness because it is connected to the male's health, signifying high oxygen levels in the blood. It's not clear whether that phenomenon is going on with people, but Elliot says the color's attraction is undeniable.

It may be enhanced by a learned effect, because we've come to associate the color with status (red power tie, red carpet).

The psychologist has no plans to change his own wardrobe, however.

"I don't need to worry about that," Elliot says, "because I've got a wife of 25 years." - Tom Avril