The group's members wrote the song in collaboration with its producers, the British songwriting and production team Xenomania, based on the perception that women must expose their body to be noticed.

"Red Dress" was released in the United Kingdom on 6 March 2006 as the album's third single, and is the first to feature vocals by Amelle Berrabah, following the departure of Mutya Buena in December 2005.

"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).

[1] "Red Dress" was recorded by Dario Dendi at Eden Studios, London, with assistance from Chris Poulter and Zoe Smith.

[11] As a result of the line-up change, Taller in More Ways was re-released to feature Berrabah's vocals on three tracks, which included "Red Dress", "Gotta Be You" and "Follow Me Home".

[14][15] It is featured on the Sugababes' greatest hits album, Overloaded: The Singles Collection (2006),[1] and the soundtrack for the 2006 film It's a Boy Girl Thing.

"[18] Ben Thompson of The Observer praised Berrabah's "bluesy rasp" as a novelty,[19] while Jimmy Draper of Time Out wrote: "It transforms the punky rave-up into a disco stomper that could make even the staunchiest pop-hater get up and dance".

"[21] Peter Robinson of The Observer called the track a "thumping tour de force from Xenomania", and noted that it "flirts vivaciously with pop songwriting convention".

[5] AllMusic critic K. Ross Hoffman praised the bassline sampled from Tony Clarke's "Landslide",[9] while Fiona Edwards of Digital Spy applauded the song's bass, beats, and chorus.

[22] Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Joe Muggs praised "Red Dress" as a dancefloor hit;[23] similarly, Digital Spy critics Nick Levine and David Balls considered it one of the group's most danceable singles.

[24] A journalist from The Scotsman characterised the track as "mechanically groovy",[25] while a Birmingham Mail critic described it as "a stomping anthem with attitude-drenched verses and killer chorus".

[30] "Red Dress" spent ten weeks on the chart and has sold 100,000 copies in the country, ranking as the group's fourteenth best-selling single in the UK.

[48] Berrabah revealed details about the music video during an interview that was published on the group's official website, saying: "We're shooting the vid this week with director Tim Royce.

[54] The single appeared in the set list for the group's Taller in More Ways tour in 2006, and served as the shows' encore in conjunction with "Push the Button".

[59] The Rockamerica remix of "Red Dress", which is a mashup with Frankie Goes to Hollywood's 1984 single "Two Tribes", was included on the set list for the Sugababes' Change Tour in 2008 and in subsequent live performances.

[62] "Red Dress" was performed at the 2008 Oxygen Festival as part of a set list which included numerous of the group's previous singles.

[63] In June 2009, the band performed "Red Dress" at the Cannock Chase Forrest as part of a 75-minute show,[64] and at Canterbury, Kent as the thirteenth song on the set list.

[66] The fourth line-up of the Sugababes, consisting of Range, Berrabah and Jade Ewen, performed the single in November 2010 at the Yas Hotel in Abu Dhabi, as part of a set list.

[67] The trio played the song in September 2011 during their gig at London's nightclub, G-A-Y,[68] in which they wore coordinating, pastel rubber outfits.