Pink & Blue

Did you know that the color pink was originally a boy's color? And blue was for girls? I just read this article and it made me happy. I knew that little boys wore dresses, check out FDR in his little white dress:

Apparently white dresses for boys and girls were considered gender neutral for centuries, mostly for practical reasons. You could get to the diaper easily and if it got stained you could just bleach it. It wasn't until just before World War I that pink and blue started to signify "boy" and "girl". Here is an excerpt from this article:

"...a June 1918 article from the trade publication Earnshaw's Infants' Department said, “The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.” Other sources said blue was flattering for blonds, pink for brunettes; or blue was for blue-eyed babies, pink for brown-eyed babies, according to Paoletti."

It wasn't until the 40s that the ol' switcheroo happened and girls and pink went together like a hand in a glove. Apparently manufacturers and retailers had a lot of influence over that switch.
Many folks, who don't know the gender of the little one growing in my belly, have voiced mild frustration that I haven't told them of the baby's sex saying things like, "But I won't know what color to knit little booties in." or "How am I supposed to know what to by it?" My response has been a range between, "I am a girl and I love the color blue-green." or "I have seen my Dad wear red, orange, yellow, green, blue AND purple shirts." and even, "I don't want my kid to wear a flippin' truck shirt." I bought some onesies from Old Navy(my first baby clothes purchase) before I knew the gender and it wasn't hard at all to pick something out; in fact I wish they had them in a women's size 10! Aren't they adorable!? I think I might cry, they're so little!

So there you have it. It's all in our brainwashed heads that boys can't wear pink and girls can't wear blue. We should put a fake advertisement out there just to see if we can do the ol' World War I-color-switcheroo.

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/When-Did-Girls-Start-Wearing-Pink.html#ixzz1loq7qGNH