Ok, ladies & gentlemen: What is sexy to you? I mean, make your engines REALLY roar: Smell? taste? looks? attitude?
Fire away!
Uma Thurmon’s wink in Pulp Fiction.
Every woman in a Jean Rollins film.
Women with brains, a sharp sence of humour, and who dress well.
Synonyms: Lithe, hot, captivating
Antonyms: The Right Said Fred Video
To me, sexy is not just looks and physical assets but mindset as well. Some level of innocence and class are absolutely mandatory. For that reason I don’t find Carmen Electra remotely sexy despite her good looks. Alyssa Milano on the other hand… woah!
It’s why Nicollette Sheridan as the neighborhood slut has no effect on me whatsoever but Teri Hatcher makes my loins ache.
When considering ladies, I break it down into three factors:
- Prettiness - a pleasing look
- Beauty - a look that moves one emotionally
- Sex appeal - attitude, behaviour, movement, personality, and a certain hint about predilections
You can have any of the above in any proportion. All IMO:
I find Claudia Schiffer very pretty, but she’s neither beautiful nor sexy.
Britney Spears is exceptionally pretty (in the right light), not exactly beautiful, but quite sexy.
Christina Aguilera is not very pretty, not beautiful at all, but quite sexy.
I find Kate Moss beautiful, but not incredibly pretty, though a little sexy.
I find Salma Hayek pretty, beautiful, and quite sexy.
Linda Fiorentino is beautiful, not amazingly pretty, but very sexy.
(Confession time) I find Ellen Barkin neither pretty nor beautiful, but she is very sexy.
Angelina Jolie is all three - pretty, beautiful, and very sexy.
It’s all clear now, isn’t it?
Mmmmm Alyson Hannigan…
I’m sure I’m not alone among Dopers when it comes to this: I find brains extremely sexy. The more the better. I’ve always been drawn to guys who are highly intelligent and/or highly educated. The idea that someone with a formidable mind - and the class, decorum, thoughtfulness, culture, etc. that usually go with it - has the potential to let loose and succumb to the same passions and carnal desires as everyone else…well, it’s pretty exciting. I get a little thrill imagining what happens when the glasses and tie come off.
Of course, nice pecs don’t hurt either 
jjimm nails it. Pulchritude is a three-element thing; prettinesss, beauty, and sexiness. I would redefine “Beauty” as being “a commonly held standard of aesthetic attractiveness based on classical definition of proportion and symmetry.”
A good example of sexiness is Kate Winslet. Ms. Winslet is reasonably pretty and fairly beautiful, but insanely sexy… maybe the sexiest actress I’ve ever seen. Why? I’m not sure. She projects an aura of sensuality that’s hard to define or describe; it may just be her own self confidence in her sexuality.
On the other hand, Charlize Theron is both pretty and beautiful, but not very sexy, IMHO.
Lindsay Lohan is pretty, but I don’t find her beautiful. She’s moderately sexy - she would be very sexy if she didn’t project the public image of being a drunk and kind of a slut. Her arch-nemesis, Hilary Duff, is also pretty and maybe a bit more beautiful than Miss Lohan. I don’t find her very sexy, either, probably too young for me.
Robin Wright-Penn is very beautiful, but not, IMHO, very pretty. Her features are classically beautiful, but they seem hard, taking away her prettiness. Paris Hilton is also beautiful but not pretty. Wright-Penn is sexier than Paris Hilton, but I wouldn’r rate either very highly.
Connie Neilsen, star of “Gladiator,” is all three. So is Sharon Stone; so is Angelina Jolie. I don’t think any of them are sexier than Kate Winslet despite being prettier and more beautiful, but they’re tied.
I agree that Linda Fiorentino is an example of someone who is beautiful and sexy, but not pretty.
I totally agree with lieu on Nicollette Sheridan, and I find the same can be said of a lot of interchangeable blonde bunnies; Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, Pamela Anderson, Heather Locklear, the aforementioned Paris Hilton. All are either pretty or beautiful or both, but I find none of them even the tiniest bit sexy. Perhaps that particular archetype triggers something in me that says “fake.” I don’t know.
None of this should be taken to reflect on the personalities on any of the ladies mentioned.
Sense of humor is number 1.
You can be not very bright, and be able to laugh at yourself about it. That kind of confidence is very sexy.
Attitude and looks. I like guys (and to a lesser degrees girls) who don’t follow the flow completely. Are they a little off-beat? Smart? Confident in what they’re doing? Turn on. Constantly obsessed with fitting into the crowd? Never wanting to do something because its “weird”? Really desperate? Turn off.
Looks-wise, I also like off-beat. Androgynous is hawt. Lithe and smooth movement… mnah. Fit without being overly-focused on it.
Sexy as f*ck.
Some qualities that come to mind: sincerity, vulnerability, playfulness, unselfconsciousness, confidence. But those things, as well as any other words I could come up with, mean something different to each person. And there are different kinds of sexy, obviously.
Physically sexy: small frames are great because to me they are very feminine. The way that a womans back can be shaped like a rectangle that is only 1/2 as wide as mine is extremely sexy. Chubbiness is also really sexy too if the woman carries it right becaues it makes her skin look extremely succulent. Goth-esqe women can be extremely sexy too.
Mentally sexy is someone you can be yourself with and let your guard down with (although its probably impossible to ever truly be yourself and totally let your guard down with anyone). Of all the women I found really really sexy they all had this charactristic to them, I felt free to just interact when I was with them.
I find Melissa Joan Hart extremely sexy. There’s just something about a woman that’s in control of her sexuality that does it for me.
Dita von Teese is pretty sexy, too.
The sexiest women I’ve known have not been “classically” beautiful, but they all had the same qualities. An air of confidence, the intimation that there was something smoldering just below the surface, a wicked sense of humor…a certain presence that’s hard to describe. They weren’t beautiful, but heads turned when they walked into the room.
A redhead with glasses reading a book (extra points if it is something by Shakespeare, Harlan Ellison or “Tortilla Flat” by John Steinbeck)… nuff said.
Sir Rhosis
Catherine Zeta-Jones!
Brunette? Check.
Sexy Accent? Check.
Nice Figure? Check. (Bonus: no obvious surgical enhancements)
Married to Rich Old Dude? Check. kidding!
Me thinks its time to watch Zorro again.
I think confidence is sexy - I think arrogance is mean.
I think intelligence is sexy - I think esoteric highmindedness is as unsexy as anti-intellectualism (see arrogance)
I think integrity (both practical and intellectual) is sexy
I think stability is sexy - I think flightiness and the affectation of spontaneaity (sp?) is quite unsexy (see integrity)
I think spirituality is sexy (see intelligence and integrity)
I think that when I find a woman visually pleasing I will project these characteristics on her (particularily if there is little chance that I will ever know the her - as the case might be with a celebrity).
As for physicallity, I find Heather Graham quite fetching. I also find Natalie Portman quite attractive.
Necklines. Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Carrabean gets me every time.
Cary Elwes too, especially in his younger days.
Maybe I just like a guy in poofy sleeves.
plus all that stuff about brains. Gotta have the smarts to carry the swash/buckle attitude.
And sorry I can’t spell. Caribbean. There.
For me it is, was, and always will be eyes. When a woman can communicate, command, and complicate me with her eyes, I know my soul is toast which she will eat in her own good time.
Couldn’t find a link to post, but the song Waters of March as done by Lani Hall answers the query of the OP.