It's the colour of cherries and blushing cheeks, of bleeding (Liberal) hearts and holly berries in the snow. Its connection to this weekend's romance fest notwithstanding, red is also the style world's latest It colour.
At last month's Screen Actors Guild Awards, the hue adorned more than the carpet up to the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center: Nurse Jackie star Edie Falco looked glam in vermilion, while Rutina Wesley of HBO's True Blood sported a bright, lipstick-red number. Looking very grown-up, ingénue Carey Mulligan of An Education offered her own lesson in how to wear red, affixing a sparkling brooch to the waist of a crimson Lanvin gown.
On Thursday, meanwhile, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week kicked off in Manhattan with a charitable Red Dress show, suggesting that New York isn't always a blue state.
So why is everyone seeing red? Think of it as an antidote to and rebellion against recessionary gloom.
"Psychologically, red appeals to most people because it is such a strong shade and expresses confidence in difficult times," says David Wolfe, a trend forecaster with the Doneger Group, a New York-based trendspotting firm. "Red is a mood lifter, a happy colour that projects a feeling of wow."
Its influence can also be seen beyond fashion in the worlds of hair and beauty.
Eric Del Monaco, official hair colourist at L'Oréal Paris Canada, predicts that becoming a redhead will prove popular this year. (Already, Hollywood's Amy Adams, Isla Fisher, Evan Rachel Wood and Christina Hendricks of Mad Men are leading the pack.)
And at the Marc Jacobs and Prada spring runway shows last fall, dramatic red lips gave the kiss of death to the previous season's soft pastel palettes.
The influential French makeup artist François Nars, whose eponymous cosmetics line is sold in Canada through Murale and Holt Renfrew, was behind the makeup at Marc Jacobs and unabashedly loves the look, telling Elle.com, "I like the idea of dark red for spring and summer - why not?"
In Canada, sales of red lipstick have grown by a third over the past year, reports Sophie Sagias, spokeswoman for FACES, the Ontario-based cosmetics company. Among its bestsellers are lip pencil no. 33 in True Red ($10) and a crimson-toned lipstick, no. 308, also known as Vladimir ($14). "Red lips help beat the seasonal blahs," Sagias says. "[Red lipstick]is also recession-proof. It gives women a quick pick-me-up and is cheaper than buying a pair of shoes or a purse."
Whether it's on lips, shoes or purses, however, red also offers another benefit: It's a passion booster.
Men especially respond to red as an aphrodisiac, according to a study published in late 2008 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Led by psychology professor Andrew Elliot, researchers at the University of Rochester showed a group of men photographs of women in red followed by images of the same women wearing a different colour. In each instance, the women in red scored higher rates of attractiveness.
So how do you wear it without looking like a vamp or a clown? It is not a simple colour, forecaster Wolfe contends, adding that wearing it successfully depends on choosing the right red to compliment the complexion. "Red comes in many shades, some orange-based and some blue-based. It's wise to try on several shades and see which shade suits you best. And check yourself out in both natural and incandescent light because red changes character in different lighting."
As a rule, the colour is typically most effective as an accent hue, pairing especially well with black, grey, dark brown, camel or army green.
When it comes to women, think red leather pants with black blouse and booties or a grey shift dress set off with a red belt. If a man is bold enough to attempt it, a red jacket with dark denim jeans or red loafers with a blue-striped top and chinos are solid bets.
Whoever dons it, the reward is uncommon sartorial dash. Get ready for the crimson tide.