Development and Composition
"Red Dress" was written by the Sugababes—Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena and Heidi Range—in collaboration with Brian Higgins, Miranda Cooper, Tim Powell, Nick Coler, Shawn Lee, Lisa Cowling, and Bob Bradley, for the group's fourth studio album Taller in More Ways (2005). According to Range, the song was inspired by the perception that women must expose their body to be noticed. It was produced by Higgins and Xenomania, who also produced the album track "Ace Reject". "Red Dress" was mixed by Jeremy Wheatley and Powell with assistance from Richard Edgeler, and programmed by Powell and Higgins. The accompanying keyboards for the track were provided by Powell, Higgins, Tim Larcombe and Jon Shave. The bass was provided by Bradley, while the guitars were provided by Coler and Lee. "Red Dress" was recorded by Dario Dendi at Eden Studios, London, with assistance from Chris Poulter and Zoe Smith.
"Red Dress" is an uptempo pop song with elements of funk. Its instrumentation consists of keyboards, bass and guitars. The song's main riff is sampled from "Landslide", a Northern soul recording by Tony Clarke. "Red Dress" features two choruses, as well as verses that are reminiscent of "Rapture" by American pop band Blondie. Talia Kraines of BBC noted that the song has a "foot-tapping" vibe to it. "Red Dress" features a girl power theme, and is lyrically about a woman who uses her sexuality to gain power over men. The Sugababes repeatedly sing the line "Cause I'm cooler than the red dress" during the beginning of the song and in the first chorus. Ross Hoffman of AllMusic noted that "Red Dress" is evocative of Xenomania's "frisky" productions for British girl group Girls Aloud.
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