Pink Palette Chronicles
By Jackie Klestman
Picture this: you are running late to your friend's baby shower, so you stop in the nearest convenience store for a last-minute card or toy that represents the gender of the baby. When you stumble upon the card aisle, the section titled ‘Baby Girl’ is filled with a multitude of blue hues. Congratulatory cards for new parents are bright blue, the fake flowers to decorate the shower are dyed blue, and every iconic ‘Barbie’ doll that you could give the new child is dressed in blue instead of her usual bubble gum pink.
If Barbie dolls and baby showers existed in the 18th and 19th centuries, they would use the opposite colors we tend to associate with gender.
History:
Although the technical root of the term “pink” is uncertain, its meaning has altered throughout the centuries, some of which do not pertain to color at all. In The Odyssey, completed around 800 BCE, Homer writes, “Then, when the child of the morning, rosy-fingered dawn appeared…” “Roseus,” meaning rosy in Latin, can be translated to the color pink.
The pink flower, dianthus plumarius, first made its appearance in written records around the 1570s. The Dutch called these new flowers “pinck oogen,” small eyes, due to their crimped petals. The English most likely derived the word ‘pink’ from this Dutch nickname for the popular flower.
Under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the color quickly became a symbol of perfection, and thus often flaunted by wealthy elites. Back then, pink dye was made from natural materials such as roots of the ‘Rubica Tinctorum’ plant and brazilwood.
Pink was considered a masculine color, making everyday wear of garments like pink tights fashionable for men. Sumptuary laws, which determined the colors worn by different social classes, were eventually changed to make pink available to the lower classes as well.
Symbolism:
The color pink can be made by simply mixing red and white pigments. Today, most pink dye is made from the South American cochineal insect. Pink food coloring is created by mixing red dyes 40 and 3.
In the United States and Europe, red represents passion and romance, while white represents purity and innocence. As a mixture of the two colors, pink has a meaning that takes the attributes of both its sources. Pink represents nurturing, compassion, and love. Phrases using the term ‘rosy’ indicate pure, gentle happiness. “Rosy” cheeks result from blushing due to emotions like shyness and embarrassment or lust and romance.
As previously mentioned, the traditional colors associated with gender, namely blue and pink, had reversed meanings until recently in history. Young men and boys wore pink to represent an abundance of energy in their adolescent years, foreshadowing their maturity symbolized by the full heat of the color red. Conversely, hues of baby blue were associated with young girls as a soft color and one often associated with the Virgin Mary in Christian iconography.
The switch of associations took full force after World War II. Pink was seen as ‘dainty’ and ‘girly,’ while blue was a deeper, stronger color.
Meaning:
Many studies done in Europe and the United States have shown that the color pink is often most associated with:
Charm
Politeness
Sensitivity
Purity
Sweetness
Childhood
Femininity
Romance
Tenderness
From the first bloom of carnations, pink has been associated with gentleness and greatness. Its lightness represents tenderness and affection, making it, along with red, the signature color of Valentine's Day. Saint Valentine's Day originated with the traditional Christian feast day in honor of the martyred Italian bishop Saint Valentine.
Every year on February 14th, red is used in decorations, cards, and gifts to express strong, romantic, deep love. Red’s mixture with pure, innocent white, to make pink suggests a sweeter, more innocent, and even platonic love. Now, as we take down our Valentine’s Day decorations, finish up our chocolates, and watch our flowers slowly wilt, we can remember why pink’s long and varied history makes it a color we love to wear today.
Photographer, Siena Aarmetta, Delia Mobarak; Photo Editor, Ethan Ashmore; , Models, Cate Killacey , Sofia Gudino; Creative director & Stylist, Jackie Klestman