How Pink Became a Color for Girls

In June 1918, Earnshaw’s Infants’ Department, a trade publication, stated, “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.” Another source says pink is better suited for boys, as it is a more passionate color, being derived from red.

They weren’t the only ones to hold this sentiment. Brooks Brothers is known to have made pink seersucker suits since the late 19th century.  Of course, the most dapper of characters of the early 1900s to don pink would be F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby. Deliciously portrayed by Robert Redford in 1974 and Leonardo DiCaprio in 2013, Gatsby caused women and the press alike to go aflutter. Men in pink? That, too, in 1974! You can imagine the hullabaloo it caused, when you see the picture of Redford dressed in a pink Ralph Lauren suit on the cover of GQ magazine, below.