When I was visiting a friend in [name_u]London[/name_u], I happened to mention that all baby girl clothes for sale in [name_u]America[/name_u] were pink or purple. She said she was surprised, because pink and YELLOW are the girls’ colors in [name_f]England[/name_f], and “aubergine” isn’t feminine at all. ([name_u]Blue[/name_u], she agreed, was still boys.)
This got me thinking… are pink and purple for girls everywhere else? And blue for boys? I’m totally intrigued. I know in the 1800s it was reversed - pink for boys and blue for girls - so maybe that didn’t reverse everywhere?
This isn’t really about names, but I knew you guys would help me out. Also, if you are British, and you think my friend is mistaken, feel free to say so.
I just checked a few Canadian baby sites to look at the clothes they offer for each gender, the main colours for each store’s holiday gift guide/winter collection were:
The Children’s Place [name_f]Canada[/name_f]:
Girls: dark pink
Boys: dark blue & grey
Old [name_u]Navy[/name_u] [name_f]Canada[/name_f]:
Nat108 - not necessarily layettes. [name_m]Just[/name_m] “the colors” for boys and girls. In [name_u]America[/name_u], it is well-established that girl stuff, from clothes to toys to paint on walls, is more often than not pink or purple. Boy stuff is generally blue, but they are allowed a bit more variation. For instance, if my daughter ISN’T wearing pink or purple - if she’s wearing gray or red or black - people assume she’s a boy.
(I’m pretty anti the pink and purple thing myself, but it certainly is a cultural thing in [name_u]America[/name_u].)
In Australia its pink and purple for boys its blue and green. Yellow’s, orange’s and grey’s are unisex and I know little boys who were girls blue clothes because they could be used for either.
In Germany it’s pink, purple + all pastel colors for baby girls. For baby boys it’s usually blue.
[name_u]Red[/name_u], white, beige and yellow are unisex.
[name_m]Brown[/name_m], grey, green and black are also unisex but there are more boys products in these colors.
[name_f]Turquoise[/name_f] and orange are unisex as well but more girls clothes have these colors.
For older kids, you can get clothes in all different colors (as they are more and more “mini versions” of adult clothes).
I’m from the UK ([name_m]Wales[/name_m]). Definitely pink for girls and blue for boys. To be honest you don’t see a lot of purple for girls, unless its lilac. A lot of little girls clothes in the shops at the moment are maroon, cream or metallic, sparkly type designs. Boys clothes more navy, dark blues, browns etc.
Where are you in [name_u]America[/name_u]? In OK, we have purple for boys quite a bit. It’s unisex. [name_f]Pink[/name_f] is still for girls though. Darker blues like navy are boys’ and turquoise, sky blue, etc. are girls.
I would say what I mostly see (in the US, though I do shop everywhere, thank you internet!) is that girls have been assigned softer colors - lighter shades, pastel shades, etc. - while boys have been assigned brighter, darker, and bolder colors (with the exception of sharing light blue and some aqua shades with girls).
@blueyorkie, I am in [name_m]New[/name_m] [name_m]York[/name_m]. Here, MEN can wear purple (or pink), but a little boy in purple would be a very rare thing. It’s interesting it differs in Oklahoma!
Yes, I would love to see this too - or a girl wearing a blue t-shirt with a big logo stating: I HATE [name_f]PINK[/name_f]! ENOUGH ALREADY! Actually, the way I feel about colour stereotyping I could wear this myself!
I’m in the US, but honestly I feel like the colors are more seasonal than gender specific. There are always the really boring pale pink and baby blue, but the clothes are so varied nowadays that I don’t prescribe one specific color to one gender. I actually saw a TON of pink little boys clothes last spring and summer, while the girls were mostly a lot of orange, lilac and yellow. [name_u]Green[/name_u] and orange were big with boys, too. Now that it’s winter, colors are completely different. Purples, reds, greens for girls…blues, greens and maroons for boys. White and grey are huge for both. And it seems like everything is some kind of fair isle or argyle or plaid print (love) in a variety of colors.
I hate pink! Probably because when I was young (under 8?) my room and all my things were pink.
I don’t like the whole gender stereotyping for colours, or toys, or anything else. My girls are not going to be “foofy princesses” and my boys can go into dance if they want.
But what if your girls want to be “foofy princesses?”
I’ve never been a fan of pink. I was traumatized by pink, bubble gum flavored medicine as a child. I like lighter, pastel colors for babies - aqua, green, orange, yellow, gray, lavender, etc. I do love a few frills for a girl every now and then, but for the most part my taste in baby things runs gender neutral.
I think that pink and yellow are pretty feminine, but I’ve seen yellow used a lot as a unisex color, along with green. I think that pink and blue are the most definite choices, with purple/yellow running up behind pink and green and maybe red behind blue for boys.
If they want to fine, but they will also know “boy things” like shooting a gun, martial arts, cars (if they are interested).
It’s more that I am not into gender stereo types, my kids can be, do, or wear what they want. If my girls want to wear dresses and be princessy fine, but I’m not going to make them wear tutus and tiaras just because they are girls.
Same with boys. If they want to go into dance, or wear pink, or something “girly” I’m not going to tell them it’s wrong.
Your original post only mentioned clothing. Toys and decor are a totally different story. My niece loves [name_f]Minnie[/name_f] Mouse and [name_m]Elmo[/name_m] so her room is full of red & black things. When my cousin (boy) was little he loved [name_m]Barney[/name_m], so he had a ton of purple toys and clothing
When I recently went shopping for a friend’s baby, the newborn section was divided into blue, pink, and yellow/mint green/beige. Beyond the layette stage, the color selections are a rainbow. There’s plenty of girl clothes in blue and boy clothes in pink. Gender confusion shouldn’t a major problem because of differing styles, i.e. a pink shirt made for boys doesn’t look like a pink shirt made for girls.
