title: The science of style: in fashion, colors should match only moderately.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schmitt
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Strohminger
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors.forename: Karim S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Kassam
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D003020:Clothing / Q000523:psychology*; D003116:Color; D003118:Color Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D004954:Esthetics / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male