The Power of Pink

The allure of pink over the fashion eras –

The-power-of-pink---Jackie-Kennedys-iconic-Chanel-suit

Up to that fateful day in Dallas, November 1963, Jackie Kennedy had worn her soon to be iconic pink Chanel suit six times. Captured in endless blood stained photographs and moving images as the tragic day unfolded, the suit is now being held in the National Archive under strict family instructions until 2103.

Very often confined to the walls and cupboards of little girls bedrooms., it appears that pink is once more a la mode, if the catwalks and red carpet events of the past year are anything to go by.

Power-of-pink---1920s-1930s-1940s-frocks
Pink frocks through the decades
Vera-Ellen-in-her-pink-tea-dress-with-full-circle-skirt---White-Christmas
Vera Ellen dances with Danny Kaye in her pink tea dress with full circle skirt in White Christmas

Pinks feminine allure peaked in late 1940s fashion and as for the 1950s, that decade could almost be summed up by its various hues found everywhere from pink slips or girdles; from lavish evening frocks to automobiles; bedroom suites to gas station pumps and jukeboxes etc.

The-Power-of-pink---girdles to frocks

Millennial pink - miu miu mules

Pink is back and in many new pastel hues – often referred to as ‘tumblr pink’ or ‘millennial pink’ ( named for the current young consumer generation) – a gender neutral color spectrum which is more an ‘off pink’ than ..well ..pink! It’s to be found in Iphone cases, shoes, handbags, evening dresses, laptop bags and chic flight cases being lugged on to jet airliners. Last year Pantone announced rose quartz as color of the year.

Kate-Bosworth-and-Taylor-Swift-model-pink--Stella-McCartney-dress,
Pink dresses by Stella McCartney and Oscar de la Renta modeled by Kate Bosworth and Taylor swift

Well whatever the current name for pink be, the trend though retro is appealing to money power. I seem to remember a similar salmon color trend appealing to teens in the 1970s – or was that orange? Either way the various shades seen strutting down the catwalks at recent fashion weeks in New York and London have had a definite pinkish hue ( not to mention the pantsuit fad ) and from one Hollywood event to the next , celebrities have tottered up the red carpets in most appealing hues of pink by all the top designers from Stella McCartney to Gabriela Hearst.

The-Power-of-Pink---Betty-Draper-in-Mad-Men
January Jones aka Betty Draper in pink but sad mode in hit tv series MadMen

In my trawling of the web these past 10 years,I began to notice the whole retro phenomenon visually blending in to what I would have described as a rosy retro. It’s restful, serene, and sort of feminine but mainly ..retro !
Recent hit TV dramas such as Mad Men copper fastened the popularity of pink hues like rose quartz and taffeta.

The-power-of-pink---Carole-Lombard in a peach silk dress
Silk and peach pink – result – Carole Lombard

The-Power-of-pink---Gene-Tierney-and-Deanna-Durbin-1942

When Glamourdaze chose its own retro color back in 2009 – I went for a pastel cream that verged out of rose pink The hex code is #f2e7db in case you’re interested. A popular Millennial pink hex code is #FFE9E8.

Gerda-Wegener- Lili Elbe Queen-of-Hearts-1928
Gerda-Wegener and Lili Elbe -Queen-of-Hearts-1928

Believe it or not – blue was considered the primary ‘feminine’ color right in to the early 1930s. Hollywood perhaps had an impact on pink turning girly – as it looked particularly ravishing worn by Hollywood starlets in early Technicolor – peach and rose in particular.

That’s all !
©Glamourdaze 2017

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3 thoughts on “The Power of Pink”

  1. Actually, the primary reason pink ceased to be a “masculine” color and blue ceased to be a “feminine” color was because Hitler forced gays to wear pink triangles, the same way he forced Jews to wear the Star of David. This made the entire color dangerous for men to be seen near, and thereafter was only worn by women. Men adopted blue, instead, despite the irony of wearing the “feminine” color to escape suspicion of homosexuality, whether justified or not.

    I am delighted that the pendulum is finally swinging the other way, and allowing people to like whatever color they choose. My fiancé still encounters shock every time he mentions, let alone wears anything in, his favorite color: searing hot pink. We still have a ways to go…

  2. I discovered your blog some time ago and I totally love it! I usually don’t comment on blogs, but thought I must let you know how interesting and valuable I find this place :) Do not ever dare to stop posting!

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