IF you suddenly feel the need to splash out on something sexy to wear, hold that thought - you may well regret it next week.
It seems the urge to splurge on raunchy outfits is down to the time of the month.
Is there a certain time of month you're more likely to overspend?
Psychologists have found a six-day window every month, in the middle of their menstrual cycle, when women are more likely to overdo the retail therapy.
Author Dr Khandis Blake said: “Amongst other things, clothing can be used to gain attention from desired men, to intimidate rival women, and to elevate feelings of confidence and assertiveness.”
During this time they are also much more likely to choose something sexier than normal.
It’s all down to the fact that women are at their most fertile during those six days.
What kind of clothes are you more likely to shop for?
A study led by the University of New South Wales in Australia said women shop for sexy clothes at this point in their menstrual cycle because, they are most likely to conceive and are therefore “more sexually motivated and interested in attracting mates”.
She added that the fact women buy sexy clothes when fertile is also about survival of the fittest.
She said: “Because fertility is the only time a woman can conceive, it makes sense that this is the time a woman is most interested in attracting potential suitors but also intimidating sexual rivals - even if she completely unconscious of doing so.”
The researchers compared levels of the sex hormone progesterone and oestrogen in 98 women, and studied how it affected their attitude to shopping when they were non-fertile, at either the start or end of their menstrual cycle, and during their six-day fertile period in the middle.
Do women spend more on clothes during this time?
They found that they spent the most money on clothes during their fertile period.
The women were also shown a catalogue of 10 outfits, previously rated by 67 men and women on how sexy they were, with the tighter cuts and shorter hemlines rating top.
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The women then rated the clothes on how much they would be willing to pay for them – and the “sexier” outfits were much more popular during their fertile period.
The study, published in the journal Psyhoneuroendocrinology, also found women were more assertive at their most fertile.
It concluded: “High assertiveness during the fertile window may be a psychological adaptation that promotes mate selectivity and safeguards against indiscriminate mate choice when conception choice is highest.”
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