Bare 40 per cent to attract men

Wear a short sleeveless dress if you want to attract men, say psychologists

Women should choose an outfit that reveals 40 per cent of their flesh to be most enticing to men, researchers have found.

A tight, sleeveless dress that skims the thigh is the optimum outfit for attracting male attention, according to a study by the University of Leeds.

Covering up more than this, or revealing more flesh, elicits less attention from the opposite sex, reports the Telegraph.

Four researchers from the university's psychology department went to one of the city's biggest nightclubs and from a 'hide' on the balcony, observed the behaviour of clubbers. 

They monitored women's clothing, and how often they were asked to dance by men.

They found that women who fitted the '40 per cent' rule were asked to dance by twice as many men as women who were more covered up. They were also more popular than women who were dressed more skimpily.

The most successful formula was 40 per cent flesh, combined with tight clothing and 'provocative' dancing. The 15 per cent of women who did this were approached by 40 men each.

Colin Hendrie, who led the study, speculates that skimpy dressing suggests that women are too 'available', and raises a question mark about future fidelity.

'Show some arm, show some leg, but not any more than that,' he advises.

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