By Domingo Flores (Fashionista Extraordinaire) – Email
Let us examine the colour red. It’s a vibrant colour, one that carries with it emotions — powerful emotions. But how is it that a single colour can have such a diverse set of ideas connected with it? And more importantly, how can you incorporate those ideas into your clothing? How can you harness the vibrant emotional energy present in light that resides within the wavelength of 620-740 nanometres?
Well, let us first explore the themes and symbolisms present in the colour red. These start with the very blunt, such as the colour red being equated with blood. While the meanings of other colours have shifted throughout history, red has remained a dominant and visceral colour. For example, during the Victorian era, blue was considered feminine and was symbolic of innocence and chastity, whereas pink was considered a boyish colour, being closely related to red, which carries with it symbolism of violence, warfare, and bloodshed.
And yet, despite all these violent connotations that red has, it’s also equated with far sweeter ideas such as sexuality, love, lust, and infatuation. It’s the colour of passion, desire, arousal, and so many other intense emotions. And it certainly is attractive — many surveys have shown that red is the colour most frequently associated with visibility, which is why it is often used by lifeguards, firetrucks, and other emergency services to ensure that they catch your attention. Red’s also the colour that most draws the eye, which is why so many companies use red branding and logos, the better to suck you in with advertising.
But what does all this information mean? You know what red means, but how does this influence your life? Well it’s very simple: now that you know that red is the colour that is most associated with extroversion, dynamic activity, dominance, and arousal. You know now what to wear when you want to extoll those very red-related virtues. When you’re in a competitive interview for example, red will subconsciously influence your competitors into considering you the dominant force in the room. When you’re in a crowded room, perhaps on a date, and you want to keep your partner’s attention firmly fixed on you, then wear red, and they won’t take their eyes off of you; after all, you’re the one wearing that sexy red clothing!
So now you know how to immediately attract attention, how to become the dominant force in a room, and how to stand out and catch everyone’s eye. Don’t misuse this knowledge, for knowledge is power, and power is red.
