pink

Pink isn’t just for little girls anymore.

By Rieva Lesonsky

Every little girl loves pink (well, almost every little girl—I was never a pink person). And then most outgrow it. Not anymore. A few weeks ago, my friend’s 14-year-old, Alexandra (who loved pink as a kid, but later “moved on”) was waxing rhapsodic about a handbag in the “perfect shade of pink.”

Turns out she’s not alone. A recent issue of New York magazine revisited the color phenomenon called Millennial Pink, which it first addressed last summer. The magazine says the color first surfaced in 2012—and based on the lifecycle of most color trends, its best days should be behind us. Not so: “The color keeps on selling product.”

Millennial Pink, says New York, is not just one shade. Rather it’s described as “a range of shades from beige with just a touch of blush to a peach-salmon hybrid.” To me it looks like a pink that’s been stripped of most of its pinkness.

One of the keys to the color’s long-lasting success is its “androgynous” appeal. (I’ve mentioned before that while today we mostly think pink is for girls and blue is for boys, in the early 20th century it was generally accepted that pink was for boys and blue for girls.) If you check out the article in New York, you’ll see a picture of rapper Drake sporting a light-pink puffer coat. And if you’re looking for some Millennial Pink products, the magazine provides a handy guide.

No matter what business you’re in, many of you will be able to jump on this trend. There’s clothing (as I said, for both men and women), furniture, home décor, pots and pans, fashion accessories and cosmetics. Millennial Pink is also showing up on packaging of a variety of products.

Last year Pantone, the color company, named Rose Quartz one of its colors of the year. This season’s hue is dubbed “Pale Dogwood,” which is described as a “quiet and peaceful pink shade that engenders an aura of innocence and purity.”

Perhaps the secret to Millennial Pink’s resurgence is amidst the insanity that’s surrounded us in 2017, pink helps keep us calm. Hmm…maybe I’ll buy something pink after all.