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The Science of Style: In Fashion, Colors Should Match Only Moderately

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  • Kurt Gray
  • Peter Schmitt
  • Nina Strohminger
  • Karim S Kassam

Abstract

Fashion is an essential part of human experience and an industry worth over $1.7 trillion. Important choices such as hiring or dating someone are often based on the clothing people wear, and yet we understand almost nothing about the objective features that make an outfit fashionable. In this study, we provide an empirical approach to this key aesthetic domain, examining the link between color coordination and fashionableness. Studies reveal a robust quadratic effect, such that that maximum fashionableness is attained when outfits are neither too coordinated nor too different. In other words, fashionable outfits are those that are moderately matched, not those that are ultra-matched (“matchy-matchy”) or zero-matched (“clashing”). This balance of extremes supports a broader hypothesis regarding aesthetic preferences–the Goldilocks principle–that seeks to balance simplicity and complexity.

Suggested Citation

  • Kurt Gray & Peter Schmitt & Nina Strohminger & Karim S Kassam, 2014. "The Science of Style: In Fashion, Colors Should Match Only Moderately," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(7), pages 1-3, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0102772
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102772
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Celeste Kidd & Steven T Piantadosi & Richard N Aslin, 2012. "The Goldilocks Effect: Human Infants Allocate Attention to Visual Sequences That Are Neither Too Simple Nor Too Complex," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(5), pages 1-8, May.
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