Is pink the new black for men?

By Jennifer Palmberg
The Collegian

Growing up, young children are raised with the notion pink is for girls and blue is for boys. But today that no longer holds true.

In the last year men have come out of the Picasso “blue period” and have ventured into the daring world of pastels, mainly pink.

“With the holiday season comes holiday parties. And this year, options abound for men who want to jazz it up in something other than the same old blue suit,” said Patricia Sturion in a previous interview. Sturion is a designer at Lucho in Houston’s Uptown Park.

Murry Penner, the owner of M. Penner in Houston said this year’s color for men is brown.

“Deep chocolates, camels and saddle colors are prevalent,” Penner said. “Mixing browns with bright colors adds pop.”

Sturion said brown with turquoise and pink is very hot and shades like light pink, baby pink or hot pink mix well with all shades of brown.

But where did the pink revival come from? Nina Dilbeck, a fashion-merchandising professor at Fresno State said all fashion circulates on a 20-year cycle.

“Every 20 years an old fashion makes a comeback with a new twist,” Dilbeck said. “It could be a certain look, a certain color or a combination of both.

“Pink has always been a popular color in the fashion industry. Designers recycle popular colors with new styles to continue selling merchandise.”

Dilbeck said prior to The Great Depression men were like peacocks, they wore vibrant, vivid colors to draw attention to themselves and to attract females. Between the 1890s and the 1930s what businesses and consumers could afford was limited and style and color plummeted. This trend continued all the way to the 60s when the hippie movement revived bright colors and initiated the comeback.

Although styles have changed, the use of bright colors has continued through the millennium to the 21st century and Dilbeck said it will go right into the next century.

“Men are much more comfortable with their clothing today than they were a decade ago,” Dilbeck said. “The focus today is more on fashion than masculinity.”

Although the fashion industry has embraced pink, its acceptance into the male-American culture is still a bit rocky.

“I don’t see it as a good or bad thing,” said Nico Bejinez, a senior physical therapy major at Fresno State. “I have some shirts with pink in it, but I wouldn’t wear anything that is solid pink.”

Bejinez said the days of pink on men being associated with gay preferences is quickly diminishing.

“I picked out a pink shirt for my dad,” said sophomore criminology major Kristin Blaydes. “Some people make fun of him and others tell him he looks good. I think really light pink on guys can look good.”

Whether society is ready for it or not, pink is quickly infiltrating male fashion and bright colors are replacing the bleak blue and black canvas that was once the standard male wardrobe.

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