Fascinating experiment.
It's true, most people judge first from clothing and some even stop there. I regret that fashion has become a negative element of today's society. I commend you for your experiment, placebo. In America we have a the opposite quote: "The Clothes Make the Man", and I've seen some truth in that. Clothing conveys status or responsibility, but for those who want to understand the human being behind the clothes, they are merely a piece of fabric.
Mark made an excellent point, "As long as we say either, "no, I can't wear black, I'm different" or "yes, I want to wear black, I'm cool" we're perpetuating that cycle of conformism/rebellion." What would really show courage is if people broke completely away from the dark color stereotype and wore the color that matches their attitude for the day. That's what I do if I can. Or even better, just imagine if our clothing sensed our mood from biometric sensors and changed the color accordingly. Mood clothes, anyone?
The cultural significance of red has an interesting history. I suspect it all began with blood. The blood is the life, and it's red.
As for myself, I don't recall going thru a "...kicking and screaming I'm special phase." Being a guy, it's probably easier for me, though. I've tended to drift between all the colors, except purple. Purple can give people certain inaccurate impressions.
Here's hoping you can tip a red sweater trend.
