When asked to write an article pertaining to sexual awareness week, images of Dita Von Teese in her sexy burlesque get-ups and Vegas showgirls in all their glittering glory invaded my mind. What's sexier than a woman aggressively owning her sexuality?

Wondering what did it for others, I decided to do some research and ask a few friends of all different backgrounds what came to mind for them. "I like slutty. I like seeing lots of skin," was the blunt answer from my longtime friend and neighbour we'll call Dave. This threw me off a bit. I knew guys liked seeing some cleavage or a long pair of legs in short shorts, but all at once? Isn't it a turnoff when the first adjective that comes to mind when evaluating a girl's outfit is "slutty?" Dave's response to this was a simple: "Nope. No such thing as too much skin. But I wouldn't want my girlfriend dressing like that." This made a bit more sense to me; it's nice to look at but not something you want in real life (much like those architecturally impossible-looking heel-less wedges from last season … so not practical, but soooo pretty!) Other than the overexposed look, other responses ranged from a tuxedo (or masculine) look done right coming from a cocktail waitress at a strip club to classy sexy, like a pencil skirt with a high slit from a young, cool hairdresser.

Dedicated to my research, I booked Saturday night off from my job as a cocktail waitress in a bar and ventured into the night to see what the pretty young things of Toronto were wearing out on the sexiest night of the week. As this past weekend was the finale of the Toronto International Film Festival, the city was buzzing a little extra and everyone put on their best.

Starting the night at a more upscale venue, there was no lack of subjects to assess as Madonna's DJ was guest spinning and brought out the crowds. No lack of sexiness here: cutout dresses still made the cut, the lingerie-inspired trend from last season was still very evident and bodysuits in lace, silk or mesh were a fairly common sight. Almost all outfits had a common hemline, which was, in a word, short. Dresses, skirts and shorts were definitely in the micro category and I even spied a few bum cheeks. (How cheeky!) All the legs were complimented with high, high, high heels in all kinds of sexy, from nude patent to zipperadorned leather.

We took full advantage of the extra late club curfews put in place for the film festival and on the way to the second venue of the night I got the chance to scope the streets as well. Going from the original entertainment district to a more hipster area was incredibly evident in the ensembles that were rapidly changing as we headed west. Sparkly dresses turned into high waisted denim mom shorts and 6'' platforms were transformed into oxfords. Despite the vast difference in outfit choices, all these girls still looked sexy in their party clothes. Yes, there are drastically different styles of dress, but all of the girls who scored top sexy marks rated by girls and guys alike seemed to be happy, and most importantly, confident.

If sexy to you is a skimpy dress, slink into it and boldly saunter through the night. Hot pants make you hot? Lift your hemline and let your legs get all the attention! Whatever you're comfortable in will make you feel sexy, and when you feel sexy, you look sexy. Now let that leopard bra peek out a little or swipe on some red lipstick. Now you're a true vixen, darling.