This Is The Most Returned Color Of Clothing (And We're Not Surprised)

Anyone who is regularly shopping online for clothing certainly knows that not everything arrives the way it looks online. And when it comes to colors, they also sometimes don't look the way they did on the screen. However, a 2025 survey by the e-commerce marketing platform Yotpo has discovered that red clothes are the most returned ones when it comes to fashion items. To understand why this is the case, we've enlisted the help of Jordan Stolch, a personal stylist and educator.

"Red clothing is returned more frequently than other colors largely because of how difficult it is to reproduce accurately online, due to the way it interacts with digital technology," the stylist explains exclusively to Glam. "Cameras often struggle to render red tones correctly, resulting in images that appear too bright, too dull, or shifted toward orange or pink," she adds. "Once captured, the color can be further distorted by artificial studio lighting and editing filters."

A big reason why red is the most returned color of clothing is also because people tend to pick it over other bright and bold colors. "Red is an emotionally charged color that people often choose for bold, statement-making moments (events, dates, photoshoots, etc), so expectations around getting the perfect shade are especially high," Jordan Stolch tells us exclusively. However, once the ordered red item arrives, according to statistics, most of us are more inclined to return it than keep it. 

"Because red draws more attention than neutral tones, it's closely tied to personality and confidence, making shoppers more sensitive to how it looks and feels on them," the stylist explains, "If the shade is even slightly off from what they envisioned, or if it doesn't flatter their skin tone, they're far more likely to return it than they would a more understated color." So, if you're considering exploring TikTok's "unexpected red theory" (which works for fashion and beauty, too), make sure you go for a shade of red you know you'll like.

In fact, Stolch explains that the biggest mistake people make when ordering red fashion is that they don't know what shade suits them. "Red is also a notoriously tricky color to wear, largely because getting the right undertone (cool, warm, or neutral) is crucial," Stolch adds. "The wrong undertone can clash with a person's skin, often amplifying natural pinkness or redness in the complexion, which many people find unflattering." Your skin undertone matters, and figuring it out is crucial when picking colors that suit you. Of course, Stolch stresses that judging the undertone of a color from an online image of a clothing piece is very difficult, which is why returns are common.

Just because red is a color of clothing we're more prone to return, that doesn't mean you should avoid buying red fashion items online. In fact, there are a couple of tips the expert shares with us in order to help you avoid mistakes. "Before anything else, make sure the retailer has a flexible return policy and that sales aren't final," Jordan Stolch reveals exclusively to Glam. "This gives peace of mind upfront that if something isn't right, you can send it back." 

Apart from checking the return policy, reading reviews is also crucial, especially as those can give you a more personal insight into what a clothing item actually looks like. "Customer reviews often mention if the color looks different in person, and photos submitted by buyers show the item in real lighting on a variety of body types and skin tones," Stolch adds.

The expert also suggests looking up third-party reseller sites "like Poshmark and eBay" as they "often list the same items and include real photos taken in natural lighting by individual sellers." Lastly, if none of these work, and the color of the item you bought just doesn't look good on you, don't keep it. Stolch stresses that smart shopping is "also about letting go of what doesn't fit, flatter, or feel right. Don't keep something just because the return feels like a hassle." She continues, "If the color is off, fit is wrong, or you simply don't love it, returning is the best way to shop intentionally and build a wardrobe you actually wear." Now that you know just how to pick the right red even when shopping online, make sure you also know the best colors to balance out your red outfits.