Men wanting to catch the eye of women should dress in red, a colour which new research shows makes them more alluring to the opposite sex.

Women in the United States, England, Germany and China said they found men pictured wearing red, or framed in red, more sexually attractive than in other colours, the research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology showed.

Andrew Elliot, an author of the study from the University of Rochester, said red was thought to be a sexy colour for women only.

"Our findings suggest that the link between red and sex also applies to men," Dr Elliot said.

"For women, the colour made a big difference."

Despite cultural differences related to the colour, the findings of women being attracted to men in red were consistent throughout the countries.

The research consisted of seven experiments, some split into two parts, each with a group of between 20 and 57 people aged 19 to 22 years old.

Women participated in all the experiments, while men were included as a control group in one.

Women also associated red with higher status, a trend Dr Elliot said is analogous with other primates.

"In chimpanzees, the highest-ranking male turns more red quite dramatically during a competition for primacy," he explained.

"It's a clear status indicator. Females view that, and they go out of their way to mate with the highest-ranking male available."

The researchers suggested that for men wearing the colour may trigger a change in behaviour and that something as simple as wearing a red tie could give a more confident business presentation.

- Reuters