This Is the Best Color to Wear When You're Dressing to Impress

We all know the importance of color and how it effects others' perception of you when you wear it. (Red for intensity, orange for optimistic and social, blue for loyal.) The struggle of choosing the perfect outfit for a particular occasion is already real enough, but add the consideration of color psychology to the mix and it's near impossible. To play it safe, we often default to the basics. Head-to-toe black—with white sprinkled in for good measure—is our fail-proof uniform of choice. And now, a new study is backing up what we've always known: black is best.

British wholesale company Buy T-Shirts Online (a supplier for companies like American Apparel) conducted a survey of 1,000 people in which they asked participants to match colors with associated personality traits.

Black was the leader for nearly every positive quality, including confidence, intelligence and sexiness, which makes it a top choice for everything from interviews to first dates and weddings. In case you're questioning the authority of such findings, Quartz noted the preference and positive power of black has been similarly verified by trusted scientific studies in the past.

Red was a favorite of men for women, when asked what they'd find most attractive on the opposite sex—women also selected the color of passion when asked what they'd feel most sexy in on a first date. However, arrogance and a lack of intelligence were also top associations with the fiery hue, making it a sub-par option for professional settings.

The colors you should absolutely never wear when trying to impress: orange and brown. Because orange is definitely not the new black.