Sunday 15 July 2018

Pink or blue babies


What I want to know is, why? I see babies in the town every day, and they are invariably dressed in pink or blue. I even saw a pink baby wearing pink clothes travelling in a pink pram*. It's almost as though the parents need reminding whether they have a boy or a girl.

I dressed my own babies in either colour (not so much pink. I'm not a fan of pink). I didn't need to colour code them. I knew who/what they were. (Both sexes looked great in navy; it matches babies' eyes.)  Grown men and women don't go around in pink or blue; why do it for babies?

Where do you stand on pink/blue? And does it really matter (no. I'll answer that one myself).

*What if they have a boy next time? New pram?

12 comments:

  1. When we were little, our parents didn't have much money, and often things were passed around in the family and circle of friends. So whenever my oldest female cousin had a new dress, I knew it was going to become mine sooner or later (if it lasted long enough). I was born in 1968, so our childhood saw the colourful and practical children's clothes of the 1970s; dungarees, jeans, t-shirts.
    Our Mum and Grandma made some items for us; I distinctly remember a very colourful crocheted skirt made out of leftover yarns.
    When we were babies, there was rarely any bright pink, but soft pastels and whites did feature a lot, judging from the old photos.
    I was often mistaken for a boy for my short hair and rambunctious nature.

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    1. Meike, when I was a child, I loved being taken for a boy! (Nor any more, though.)

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  2. I only had boys, so no pink here! I can remember a couple of things they wore...green dungarees and turquoise baby grow thingy ! I expect they had a fair amount of blue!

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    1. Oh, the turquoise babygro! My eldest had one, and immediately s**t all over it. I was mortified.

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  3. Interesting post, Frances. I drew the line at anything other than an occasional pink or blue outfit for my girl and boy. Guess it's a tradition thing - or was even when I was a young mother. Probably more to let other people know what you had since babies often look the same with no hair!

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    1. Apparently if you dress them the other way around, people treat them quite differently. I wish I'd thought of trying it!

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  4. How dare parents assume their issue's gender. You will be locked away for suggesting that there are genders in the not too distant future.

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    1. Oh tempora, oh mores...you're probably right, Adrian.

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  5. "Grown men and women don't go around in pink or blue; why do it for babies?" I wear blue most of the time (well only my socks, underwear, shirts, coats, gilets to name but a few). I do have a pink shirt (and other coloured shirts too). I always buy neutral colours for friends' babies.

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    1. Point taken, Graham. But what I meant was that you don't see men and women in all blue or pink. And you never see baby boys in pink shirts!

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    2. Today I was wearing, blue jeans, socks, boxer shorts (spotted as it happens but basically blue), blue shirt and blue sleeveless jacket and a blue waterproof jacket (when it rained). My handkerchief was blue and white. That's pretty much all blue.

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    3. Ah. My hat's not blue. You're correct. I do have blue suede brogues too but I was wearing more conventional brown leather ones today.

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