Do you intend to wear a red shirt to your boss's birthday party tonight? Be aware that his spouse might "guard" him, thinking you are out there to seduce and mate.
It has previously been evidenced that men perceive women wearing red as more attractive and sexually receptive, but women do feel threatened by females wearing "erotic" red in a social gathering, thinking they are looking out for sex.
"If you are wearing red, you might be perceived negatively by other women. It will not happen in every situation, but be alert of the signals to other women and men that you are interested in sex," said researchers from University of Rochester in New York, Trnava University in Slovakia and the Slovak Academy of Sciences.
Women are more likely to wear a red shirt when they are expecting to meet an attractive man, relative to an unattractive man or a woman.
In three different experiments, researchers joined hands to find what information the colour red conveys to women.
The first experiment found that women perceive another woman in red as sexually receptive, compared to one in white.
The second experiment demonstrated that women are more likely to view a woman wearing red as promiscuous.
Lastly, the third experiment showed that women were more likely to "guard" their romantic partner from a women in red compared to one in green.
"Men think red is attractive and sexually receptive. You might think twice about wearing red to send off the wrong vibes," said lead researcher Adam Pazda from University of Rochester.
The study appeared in the journal Personality and Social Psychology.
