Last visit was: 26 Apr 2026, 04:23 It is currently 26 Apr 2026, 04:23
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Back to Forum
Create Topic
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 26 Apr 2026
Posts: 109,832
Own Kudos:
811,330
 [11]
Given Kudos: 105,892
Products:
GMAT Club Tests Forum Quiz
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 109,832
Kudos: 811,330
 [11]
A woman has three blouses of different colors, three skirts of differe 17 Jan 2016, 12:10
3
Kudos
Add Kudos
8
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
C
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

35% (medium)

Question Stats:

68% (01:27) correct 32% (01:36) wrong based on 332 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
A woman has three blouses of different colors, three skirts of different colors, and two different pairs of shoes. She refuses to wear her pink blouse with her green skirt. How many different blouseskirt-shoe combinations could she wear?

A. 8
B. 12
C. 16
D. 17
E. 18
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
C
Most Helpful Reply
User avatar
chetan2u
User avatar
GMAT Expert
Joined: 02 Aug 2009
Last visit: 26 Apr 2026
Posts: 11,229
Own Kudos:
45,021
 [5]
Given Kudos: 335
Status:Math and DI Expert
Location: India
Concentration: Human Resources, General Management
GMAT Focus 1: 735 Q90 V89 DI81
Products:
My Reviews
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 735 Q90 V89 DI81
Posts: 11,229
Kudos: 45,021
 [5]
A woman has three blouses of different colors, three skirts of differe 17 Jan 2016, 21:11
4
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
A woman has three blouses of different colors, three skirts of different colors, and two different pairs of shoes. She refuses to wear her pink blouse with her green skirt. How many different blouseskirt-shoe combinations could she wear?

A. 8
B. 12
C. 16
D. 17
E. 18
Show more


Hi,
total ways = 3*3*2=18..

now its better to find the ways in which the pink blose and green skirty are together and subtract from total to get the answer..
the ways in which the pink blose and green skirty are together=1*1*2=2..

total ways =18-2=16..
C
General Discussion
User avatar
BrentGMATPrepNow
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 12 Sep 2015
Last visit: 31 Oct 2025
Posts: 6,733
Own Kudos:
36,466
 [1]
Given Kudos: 799
Location: Canada
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 6,733
Kudos: 36,466
 [1]
A woman has three blouses of different colors, three skirts of differe 07 Nov 2019, 11:04
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
A woman has three blouses of different colors, three skirts of different colors, and two different pairs of shoes. She refuses to wear her pink blouse with her green skirt. How many different blouseskirt-shoe combinations could she wear?

A. 8
B. 12
C. 16
D. 17
E. 18
Show more

My approach would have been the same as chetan2u's solution.
That said, if a test-taker doesn't know how to proceed with this question, another option is to simply list and count all possible outcomes.
This is a reasonable approach, because the answer choices tell us that there are, AT MOST, 28 outcomes.

So, let's be systematic with our listing.
Let N, O, and P be the 3 blouses (and P represents the PINK blouse)
Let E, F and G be the 3 skirts (and G represents the GREEN skirt)
Let X and Y be the 2 pairs of shoes

So, the possible outcomes are:
NEX
NEY
NFX
NFY
NGX
NGY
OEX
OEY
OFX
OFY
OGX
OGY
PEX
PEY
PFX
PFY
PGX
PGY


16 outcomes

Answer: C

Cheers,
Brent
User avatar
ScottTargetTestPrep
User avatar
Target Test Prep Representative
Joined: 14 Oct 2015
Last visit: 26 Apr 2026
Posts: 22,286
Own Kudos:
26,537
 [2]
Given Kudos: 302
Status:Founder & CEO
Affiliations: Target Test Prep
Location: United States (CA)
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 22,286
Kudos: 26,537
 [2]
A woman has three blouses of different colors, three skirts of differe 12 Nov 2019, 20:27
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
1
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Bunuel
A woman has three blouses of different colors, three skirts of different colors, and two different pairs of shoes. She refuses to wear her pink blouse with her green skirt. How many different blouseskirt-shoe combinations could she wear?

A. 8
B. 12
C. 16
D. 17
E. 18
Show more


If there are no restrictions, she could have 3 x 3 x 2 = 18 blouse-skirt-shoe combinations. Since the pink blouse and the green skirt together can pair with either one of the two pairs of shoes, the number of blouse-skirt-shoe combinations that consist of the pink blouse and the green skirt is 2. Therefore, she still has 18 - 2 = 16 blouse-skirt-shoe combinations she could wear.

Answer: C
avatar
toligaita
avatar
Joined: 09 Jul 2020
Last visit: 01 Feb 2021
Posts: 1
Given Kudos: 27
Posts: 1
Kudos: 0
A woman has three blouses of different colors, three skirts of differe 21 Oct 2020, 05:45
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Dear Bunuel,

I really liked this question but I think that it would be better to clarify that the person should choose one of the pairs of shoes, otherwise we can have different combinations (lets say one red shoe in the left leg and one green shoe in the right is different from one green shoe in the left and one red in the right..sorry but I have seen many people doing this 😂).

Keep it up!
User avatar
MathRevolution
User avatar
Math Revolution GMAT Instructor
Joined: 16 Aug 2015
Last visit: 27 Sep 2022
Posts: 10,063
Own Kudos:
20,006
Given Kudos: 4
GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V42
GPA: 3.82
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 1: 760 Q51 V42
Posts: 10,063
Kudos: 20,006
A woman has three blouses of different colors, three skirts of differe 21 Oct 2020, 07:27
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Blouse: \(B_1, B_2, P_1\)(Pink)

Skirts: \(G_1, G_2, G_3\)(Green)

Shoes: \(Sh_1, Sh_2\)

=> \(P_1\) has two choices for Blouse and 2 choices for Shoes: 2 * 2 = 4

=> \(B_1\) has three choices for Blouse and 2 choices for Shoes: 3 * 2 = 6

=> \(B_2\) has three choices for Blouse and 2 choices for Shoes: 3 * 2 = 6

Total: 4 + 6 + 6 = 16

Answer C
User avatar
kntombat
User avatar
Retired Moderator
Joined: 28 Feb 2020
Last visit: 19 Jan 2023
Posts: 862
Own Kudos:
530
Given Kudos: 839
Location: India
WE:Other (Other)
Posts: 862
Kudos: 530
A woman has three blouses of different colors, three skirts of differe 22 Oct 2020, 05:33
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
MathRevolution
Blouse: \(B_1, B_2, P_1\)(Pink)

Skirts: \(G_1, G_2, G_3\)(Green)

Shoes: \(Sh_1, Sh_2\)

=> \(P_1\) has two choices for Blouse and 2 choices for Shoes: 2 * 2 = 4

=> \(B_1\) has three choices for Blouse and 2 choices for Shoes: 3 * 2 = 6

=> \(B_2\) has three choices for Blouse and 2 choices for Shoes: 3 * 2 = 6

Total: 4 + 6 + 6 = 16

Answer C
Show more

MathRevolution, thanks for the solution but I think you meant to write skirts instead of writing blouse.

Anyway thanks.
User avatar
bumpbot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 38,985
Own Kudos:
1,118
Posts: 38,985
Kudos: 1,118
A woman has three blouses of different colors, three skirts of differe 13 Mar 2024, 00:59
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Automated notice from GMAT Club BumpBot:

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

This post was generated automatically.
Moderators:
Bunuel
Math Expert
109832 posts
Krunaal
Tuck School Moderator
852 posts