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The History of A Punk Pretty, Powerful Color

Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette

Photoshoot for Vogue, 2006

Photogrpah by Annie Leibovitz

 

Pink is popularly associated with little girls, ballerinas Barbie dolls, and all things feminine.

The stereotype of pink-for-girls versus blue-for-boys may be ubiquitous today,

In the eighteenth century, it was perfectly appropriate for a gentleman to wear a pink silk suit, just as a lady might wear a pink dress.

 

But pink carries many layers of meaning and it can signify very different types of femininity – from sweet and innocent to edgy and erotic.

 

The names for different shades of pink:

Baby pink, ballet slipper pink, Barbie pink, blush pink, bordello pink, bubblegum pink, candy pink, champagne pink, cherry blossom pink, china pink, congo pink, coral pink, crunk tank pink, dusty pink, first lady pink, flamingo pink, flesh pink, fluorescent pink, French pink, fuchsia pink, hot pink, kissing pink,…………………………………

 

Pink 

A nuance of red

For a long time in the West, pink was only considered to be a nuance of red.....

Michael Pastoureau : the great historian of color 

 

Many languages, including Latin and ancient Greek, do not have word for "pink".

In many Indo-European languages, the term for "pink" is derived from the word for the flower we call the rose. 

Roses, of course, come in a variety of colors, and the Latin word roseus originally designated a clear bright red. 

The English word "pink" seems to have been named after another species of flowers, called "pinks" (genus Dianthus).

 

When Millennial pink was in vogue, Madame de Pompadour would be celebrated with Sevres porcelain by Cindy Sherman and Dior's nail polish in Pink Pompadour. 

francois boucher madame de pompadour 1759

 

The Feminization of color 

Afternoon dress USA co.1857

 

Pink was also perceived as an erotic color, which made it a desirable adjunct to female beauty. 

Madonna, Blond Ambition Tour, 1990 

Soft pin cone-dupped bustier by Jan Paul Gaultier

 

Woman as Flower

The association of pink with erotic beauty may also be related to the image of the femme-fleur(woman-flower).

Flowers metaphorically give birth to fruit, linking pink with sweetness and pleasure.