Red is frequently used as a symbol of guilt or sin, and is often connected with lust. The color’s use as a stigma against the very sanctity of marriage is best and most famously illustrated in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel, “The Scarlet Letter” about a Puritanical woman punished for her adultery by being ostracized and having a red letter “A” sewn into the bosom of her clothes. Curiously, the popularity of the novel not only coincided with the white wedding trend but also with red falling out of favor with married women who obviously didn’t want to project an air of unfaithfulness. That was 1850. Today is year 2008 and red is in again. I promise you will not be hanged at the altar for wearing red but rather would be admired heavily instead.
