This Is the Most Attractive Color You Can Wear, Study Shows (2024)

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but that hasn't stopped researchers from trying to answer the question of what makes people attractive to others. Sure, there are countless ways you could attract a desired mate, but one of the most obvious is through what you wear—and it turns out, the color of your attire may play a significant role. A recent study looked at the phenomenon of color preference and found that there's one specific hue that might put you a step above the rest if you're looking to grab someone's attention. Read on to discover the most attractive color you can wear.

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There are many things that can make you seem more attractive.

The idea of attractiveness is always changing and can be based on a number of different factors. A recent U.K. study found that specific eye colors are more attractive than others: blue for males and hazel for females. Dack in 2021, researchers found that even your name could set you up to be more desirable, with Anna being the most common name among famous models, and David or Dave being most common among male models.

Of course, attractiveness has also changed during the pandemic: A study from Jan. 2022 found that wearing a blue medical face mask can make you look more desirable to other people. But as it turns out, the color of your face mask isn't the only color to consider.

Wearing one specific color can make you appear more attractive.

If you're looking to up your level of attractiveness through something as simple as a wardrobe change, you're in luck. A 2021 study published in the Color Research&Application journal sought to determine what is seen as the most attractive color someone can wear. The researchers for this study selected 14 Pantone colors to evaluate based on colors most frequently mentioned in previous studies, and gathered 146 respondents to complete an online questionnaire concerning attractiveness and unattractiveness in regards to the colors.

According to the study, the most attractive color in terms of fashion is black. The second most attractive color is pink, followed by the color yellow. On the other hand, the two least attractive colors someone can wear were determined to be gray, followed by brown as the "most unattractive color," the researchers said.

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The color black has risen in popularity for clothing in recent years.

Black has not typically topped the list of color preferences in prior color studies, "as the color black is often associated with negative associations," the study noted. But the researchers explained that they were aiming to "showcase new color preference trends in the digital age" for their new study. And it's clear that the popularity of the color black has risen in the recent years—both among designers and consumers.

The study cited recent analysis from the retailer Edited who looked at more than 183,000 dresses sold online in the U.S. and found that 38.5 percent were black in some way. This analysis also revealed that from 2014 to 2017, the amount of black clothing being sold to women increased significantly at several fast fashion brands, including at Boohoo by 269 percent, Zara by 145 percent, and H&M by 114 percent. "Clearly, people dressed entirely in black reflect the modern fashion system in which wearing black has become fashionable," the researchers stated in their study.

Experts say this color can help people appear to have more desirable traits.

The study's results indicate that "participants tend to prefer distinctive colors," such as black, pink, and yellow. But that's not the only reason why wearing black might help you attract others. Experts say this color often makes people appear as if they have traits or qualities that are typically deemed as desirable.

"Black is associated with power and authority. Wearing black maysubconsciously give the impression to others that you are someone who isstrong and in charge," Ashley Grader, a beauty expert who manages a beauty school directory website, explains. "And people who are in positions of power andauthority are often considered to be more attractive than those who are not."

Amber Lee, a relationship expert of more than 20 years and CEO of Select Date Society, reveals that she tends to recommend her matchmaking clients wear the color black on a first date. "We often suggest that women wear a little black dress and that men opt for a black dress shirt or black blazer," she says. "You can't go wrong with black, so it makes choosing a great date outfit easy. Black is elegant, sophisticated, and classy."