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Stilettos. Plunging
necklines. Lacy lingerie. Research shows that women buy
sexier clothes before their period.

Bring
my sexy back. Period.

By
Charlene
Chua

August 16,
2010

CURVY: Student Danielle
Menon, pictured in the Triumph boutique in Ion
Orchard, bought a pair of sexy tapered pants when
she was ovulating last week. --TNP PICTURES:
KELVIN CHNG

MEN, we know how you feel about your woman's time of
the month.

Fret not, there's an upside.

New research has shown that when women ovulate, they
tend to buy sexier clothing so as to outdo other
attractive females nearby.

So when your sweetheart next goes on a shopping spree
during her ovulation week, make sure you tag along.

She may just feel the urge to buy those lacy French
knickers you've been trying in vain to get her to.

But here's the tricky part.

When exactly does your woman ovulate?

Hormonal cycles have mimicked fingerprints in the
sense that every woman has one that is unique to her and
her alone.

Typically, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) -
characterised by water retention, depression and
irritability - occurs the week before she gets her
period.

The week before PMS week is when she ovulates.

During this phase of the hormonal cycle, a mature egg
is released from the ovary, pushed down the fallopian
tube and is ready to be fertilised. Women are most
fertile during this period and least likely to suffer
from water retention.

The results of the study - helmed by Singapore
Management University's Associate Professor of
Psychology Norman Li - were released to the media last
week .

It was conducted in the US two years ago when he was
teaching there and involved 269 women aged between 18
and 21.

Hormonal factors

Professor Li, who's in his 40s, told The New Paper on
Sunday: 'What's interesting about (this study) is that
now we have an insight on how hormonal factors influence
consumer behaviour.

'The women were asked to buy items off a shopping
website when they were ovulating and when they weren't.

'They tended to choose sexier items, such stilettos
as opposed to a pair of tennis shoes during ovulation.
We also found that women did this to better other
good-looking females, in the hopes of finding a mate.'

The study will be published in the Journal Of
Consumer Research soon. The Journal is published by the
University of Chicago Press.

Just last week, articles citing the new research
became a hot topic on news portals such as BBC and CNN.

However, some have deemed the sample size - 100 women
- too small to be accurate.

Others felt that the study pointed out what they had
instinctively known all along.

Three women The New Paper on Sunday spoke to also had
differing views when asked if their shopping patterns
were hormone-related. The three are finalists of this
year's The New Paper New Face competition.

Ms Cheryl de Mello, a 22-year-old freelance model
said: 'I definitely buy tighter clothing when I'm
ovulating. I am aware that I feel sexier.

She buys 'nice clingy dresses and pencil
skirts...(and) more red stuff and lingerie'.

Ms Danielle Menon agreed.

'During the ovulation period, I feel more comfortable
and more confident as I'm not bloated,' said the
21-year-old student adding that she ' bloats pretty
badly pre- and post-period'.

Her observation: 'I was ovulating last week and I
(bought) a pair of tapered, high-waist pants in a small
size. The week before I bought a mid-length bronze
necklace.'

But Ms Menon

disagrees with the findings of the study that women
did this to compete with other attractive women.

As for Ms Sarah Cowley, buying patterns are more
economic than physiological.

'I don't think I buy more sexy stuff when I'm
ovulating. I always shop in the first week of the month
as that's when I get my pay,' said the 20-year-old
student with a laugh.

But what do Singapore men think of the concept of
hormonal shopping?

Mr Rain Lee, a 32-year-old financial analyst, said
that his girlfriend of three years shops 'all the time'
and buys sexy clothing and accessories 'when she's upset
or happy'.

But Mr Benjamin Tay, a 22-year-old undergraduate,
noticed that his girlfriend of two years seems to be
'more daring with her shopping choices' at a certain
time of the month.

She would flaunt her lingerie at him and sometimes
ask him to pick out his 'favourite piece' at a store so
that she could buy it.

'Other times of the month, she would snap at me and
accuse me of staring at other women when we're at the
clothing store.'

Predictable cycle

Mr Tay added: 'I noticed that her behaviour is part
of a predictable cycle. But I've only ever known about
PMS.'

Last year, Professor Karen Pine presented her work to
the British Psychological Society, citing that close to
two-thirds of the 153 women she studied admitted that
they overspent during their PMS week, some by up to
Â£250 (S$530).

Said Ms Cowley: 'I do spend a lot more when I'm
having my PMS as I feel sorry for myself.'

She indulges on things like cheesecake. And instead
of having just three meals a day, she has tea and supper
too.

Gynaes split on research results

GYNAECOLOGISTS whom The New Paper on Sunday spoke to
were divided on the subject.

Dr Christopher Ng of GynaeMD Women's &
Rejuvenation Clinic felt that more studies need to be
done before a conclusion on the link between ovulation
and shopping can be made.

Also, these are 'consumer research articles, as
opposed to articles in reputable scientific journals
which are peer-reviewed and therefore more credible', he
said.

But female gynaecologist Dr Ann Tan of Women &
Fetal Centre said that she wasn't surprised by the
results of the study.

'The research just demonstrates how women are ruled
by their hormones that govern their menstrual cycle.
With hormones rising and falling at different times in
her cycle, a woman's psyche can vary, leading her to
behave in different ways at different times of her
cycle.

IT'S WAR: (From left):
Danielle Menon, Sarah Cowley and Cheryl de Mello.
Research has shown that when women ovulate, they
buy sexier clothing to outdo other attractive
females.

Dr Tan added that 'dressing better' during ovulation
is probably a 'very basic instinct for survival'.

However, it is likely to be passed off as vanity by
others and so not recognised as a 'hormonal event', she
said.

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