Back in 1918, a publication from an exchange distribution called Earnshaw’s Infants’ Department, explained how
‘Pink suits young men because it comes from red, which is a strong color. Meanwhile, blue is for the young ladies. The explanation is simple: pink is a more grounded shading, so it is, logically, more suitable for the boys, while blue, a more delicate shade, works much better for the girls.”
So when did the shifting happen?
Somehow, the movement started happening shortly after the two World Wars. That’s when “Rosie the Riveter exchanged her manufacturing blues for June Cleaver’s pink cover,” as NPR said. “Womanliness went all pink. Naturally, most of the other items changed their color too —from shampoos to interior design objects.”
To be sure, the ‘1960s are loaded with pink, from the strawberry-hued Chanel outfit worn by the first lady Jackie Kennedy when her husband was killed to Marilyn Monroe’s famous sexy dress from the famous Gentlemen Prefer Blondes movie.
In any case, Jo B. Paoletti, history specialist and creator of Pink and Blue admits: ‘Telling the Girls From the Boys in America, thinks that the line was solidly attracted the 1980s because of two simple reasons. First of all, it turned out to be more basic for people to discover the sexual orientation of their kids as soon as possible before birth. The future moms and dads needed to buy sex particular things for the future newborns, and obviously, retailers turned their wish into reality.
Another reason is regarding mothers who, as children, wore unisex clothes and used toys which seemed to be entertaining for boys and young ladies. This made them feel like needing their girls to delight in pink, trim and pretty dolls.
Judging by this master plan, the pattern of “pink suits young ladies” is actually quite recent.
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