I was completely aware of the impending hearts and cards holiday (V-Day) when I walked into grocery stores and saw aisles of red plastic candy bags filled with chalky candy and advertisements boasting of $14.99 long-stem red roses. I'd love to go on a rant about how by buying cheap flowers and chocolates you're basically telling your loved one "Honey, I spent 30 seconds picking out your gift. It required no thought," but sadly that's off limits for me.

This is fashion, people, and when it comes to personal style and Valentine's Day, you know there are only two things: lingerie and jewelry. These two are only a notch above candies and flowers because well, they're more expensive and they require an iota of thought. Even if that thought is determining roughly what size light pink marabou bra and panty set would fit your special lady.

So when it comes to this special day, what should you get that special someone? Well hell if I should know; I'm not your loved one. Sincere apologies if you were hoping for a quick fix--and I do mean quick as this column hits the stands the day before the big holiday. In fact, shame on you for waiting! No, instead this ode to Valentine's Day is not to assist you in finding something red and/or covered in hearts for that lover in your life. Instead of shooting for love, I was hoping to tap into something more aimed at lust.

Valentine's Day initially starts as instant attraction. Yes, before you knew all that internal greatness about him, you saw him and thought he was sexy. What was it about that guy or girl that set off the bells and whistles inside you? It's everything--hair, clothes, make up, jewelry--the whole package that makes her sexy, confident and the person that you want to approach. But what do we find sexy in a potential special someone?

My inspiration came from two places--ridiculous women's magazines and a British survey I recently came across online. In both, a panel of men were questioned, given photos of women in various outfits and in the other, women in various pieces of lingerie and asked for their opinion on what was sexiest. But the responses are eye rolling. They are biased and also irrelevant. I live in Tulsa and I want to know what Tulsans think is sexy, so I took a very unscientific poll, and here's what I've discovered.

I polled both men and women with the following questions: What's the sexiest thing the opposite (or same) sex can wear? Also, what's the sexiest thing a person can wear under his or her clothes? Then I decided to delve into the idea of women and sexiness. I assumed that the answers for what makes a man sexy would be limited, but knew that the answers for women would vary. So I asked the boys what they thought about girls in the traditional sense of sexiness--is it sexy or skanky? And I wondered from the girls, when they "dress sexy" is it for the attention or a way to show yourself up against other girls? And the answers? Well, ladies' first.

What Women Want

Now, I refuse to give descriptions of the participants (age, occupation, whatever) because this is Tulsa--everyone knows everyone--so first names only. Also, it seems in only the women's answers, relationship status was important in answering the questions. All the male participants are single.

Girls might not be able to choose between many different outfits on the opposite sex, so the camp is divided between preppy verses dirty. Married Natasha knew her sexy guy look--"a white, button-down dress shirt, a nice blazer over said shirt and a casual but not worn pair of jeans or a relaxed-fit pair of linen pants." Natasha also noted the importance of men's footwear, "quality shoes, not necessarily what's 'in' but if they're quality and taken care of, that's hot enough."

This writer said, "I like a guy that looks like he needs a bath. A pair of well fit jeans and a t-shirt. Beards and tattoos appreciated, but not mandatory. Ryan Adams or the closest looking guy to him."

Singleton Michelle sat on the fence, saying it "depends on the guy and his personality because I do like a nice clean cut kind of a guy with a long sleeve nice button down shirt, but I also dig the dirty guy kind of look." Her qualms rest with men and their hair: "I hate when guys put so much product in their hair that it's crunchy and you can't touch it. This usually means that they spend more time on their hair than I do. I can't stand that."

Natasha added her two cents on the hairy situation: "I find receding hairlines sexy, but I think I'm in the minority on this. And mustaches are never sexy."

Men of Tulsa, take note. The votes are in, and when it comes to your underwear, it's unanimous--gals love the boxer brief. Boxers were next in the running and were seen as acceptable. Tighty whites, sorry for all you regular brief wearing boys, are not sexy, at least not in the eyes of all the ladies I found in this city. For men's undergarments, perhaps Natasha put it best: "They'd better be clean. And no Sunday undies, i.e., underwear is not meant to be holey!"

When it came time for self-reflection and sexiness, the answers weren't varied, but seemed to be far off from what I originally assumed. Jennifer's opinion rested in her marital status. "Well, I am married, so I dress to show my husband's friends he has a sexy wife as well as to impress other girls. I have kind of always dressed to look better than other girls when going out."

Most women responded that they dressed a certain way for themselves. Amanda, not married but not single, dresses up "to help boost my confidence. I like it when I look good." Michelle elaborated, "being seen as sexy in an outfit is great but I like to dress to be remembered or to stand out by men or women."

Brains in Boy Shorts

Whether or not women are dressing sexily for the gentleman, the boys have made notes of what they find sexy on the gals. Some boys kept it short and sweet. Dan likes girls in glasses and girls in dresses. Kris agreed, but added that girls look just as sexy in jeans and t-shirts. He likes tattoos but "not too many. And not in bad places." And by "bad places" he elaborated about areas that will not look attractive as a woman ages.

Ryan likes a girl in polos because she seems "free spirited." David likes a girl in heels and a tank top. "Definitely heels," he adds. Chris said, "A girl that wears a low cut, v-neck dress that hangs low in the back and shows some cleavage."

But most of the boys were interested in other aspects. Interestingly enough, hair was mentioned by nearly all of them. David prefers "hair up so that the neck is showing." Another guy said "hair {that} is either long and wavy or shorter and straight." Make up was also a hot topic and the tired old saying of "less is more" was prominent through each answer.

For what girls wear underneath, I expected to get some pervy answers, but surprisingly the guys remained tasteful. Dan likes a girl in stockings and Brazilian cut panties, the ones cut to where they aren't a thong, but aren't a full bikini. Kris prefers only boy shorts and hates the word 'panties' entirely. Ryan agreed with the boy shorts comment, adding, "It's more exciting than granny panties but leaves some room for imagination by being not too revealing." Chris pointed out that sexy underwear can head in two directions-"Sexy can be fun or it can be seductive. Seductive sexy is matching lingerie, a lacy thong and a revealing bra. Fun sexy is bikini style underwear with a stripe pattern and a solid color bra." Surprising, the thong was barely mentioned.

But what about girls dying to get guys attention by wearing the least amount possible? Well, some of the guys tried to be very PC about this subject. David started off with the polite reply-"sexy to me is more in the way a female acts opposed to how she looks. Confidence is key. And speech. If they sound like they have more going on than just looks then I am interested." But then he threw in "cleavage and legs help me determine sexiness as well. I don't like too much of it either. Some girls can try to accent a certain feature way too much and it just ends up looking slutty."

Chris added to that effect, "the difference between sexy and skanky is all about attitude." Kris said that "sexy for the hell of it is good" but he really thinks that sexy is being less revealing. And for Dan? Well, he's the equal opportunist-"Girls can be hot no matter what they wear."

And it seems that this survey of Tulsa solidified this sentiment for both guys and girls.