The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology notes that 'fashion' simply means established custom or conventional usage (Hoad, 1996). According to The Australian's fashion writer, Catherine Caines (2009), the colour red is "the top shade" this season, evidenced by global "red carpet moments featuring red" (p.18). But there is more: the current fashion trend in clothing may have beneficial effects; Caines asserts that a recent study found that "athletes who wear red have a better chance of winning", but she concedes that "the theory may as yet be untested" (2009, p.18). At this point Caines reverts to the tried and tested measure: some celebrities have parted with their classic 'little black dress' in favour of red coloured clothes. Thus, scientific testing is not necessary to convince a fashion-conscious populace of the validity of the notion that 'red is the new black' in autumn 2009.