Pink, antidote to blues
Bummed out by the endless barrage of bad news?
Forget Prozac, yoga or a secluded beach in Maui.
Zone out on pink, the antidote prescribed by the design world. Lift your spirits with a pink raincoat, a pink lipstick, a pink diamond ring, a set of pink spatulas -- or, hey, why not? -- a large cosmopolitan.
Suddenly the color seems to be everywhere, from the windows of the Gap to the cover of the Pottery Barn Bed and Bath spring catalog to ads for Rolex watches with pink mother-of-pearl faces, Brooks Brothers pink oxford-cloth shirts and Victoria’s Secret pink silk lingerie.
It’s as if some giant paintbrush has swept across the country, covering everything in a rosy haze that softens the dark clouds looming over us. We may be riveted to the nightly news and stocking up on duct tape and bottled water, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find solace in a pink tulle dance dress or a pair of pink sneakers.
Pink has always been a seasonal favorite, associated with spring hyacinths, Easter eggs and prom gowns (think Gwyneth Paltrow’s 1999 Oscar gown). Some years, it has been overshadowed by another color -- remember the rage for orange? -- and sometimes it has shown up in hot, sexy shades like fuchsia and magenta.
Designers, working months ahead, were prescient in their choice of this spring’s predominant hue: a sweet, light-to-medium pink, the color of bubble gum, cotton candy and strawberry shakes. It’s a happy, buoyant shade that summons up visions of a safer, more innocent time when girls wore gingham sundresses and ribbons in their ponytails and boys wore Madras shirts.
“It’s an endearing, soothing pink that is so right for this moment,” said Leatrice Eiseman, a color psychologist who is the director of the Pantone Color Institute. “We are living in such a scary, precarious time that it is only natural to reach for a color that we want to wrap ourselves up in, like a baby blanket. It’s a color people gravitate to when they want to feel nurtured and happy.”
Just ask the folks at Gap. Their candy pink Mackintosh raincoat sold out within weeks -- in some instances days -- of arriving in stores at the end of January. Gap also did brisk business in pink baby cable pullovers, pink pocket tees and pink hobo bags.
“It’s just amazing how quickly our customers responded to pink,” said Rebecca Weill, director of public relations for Gap, adding that another shipment of pink macs had been sent to stores about a month ago to meet customer demand. “It’s a really fun, optimistic color, and with everything going on in the world, we can all use a shot of optimism.”
Even fashionistas whose wardrobes are a sea of black have succumbed to the lure of pink. Mary Jimenez, vice president of merchandising for eLuxury.com, said she was selling a lot more pink items, including a new pink “J’Adore Dior” T-shirt (usually in black and white), a pink-trimmed Dior gray denim saddle bag and pink “Dandelion” face powder by Benefit.
“It’s the first time, other than black, that a color has crossed over to all age groups,” she said. “Everyone wants to be cheered up.”
And what could be a better pick-me-up than a pink diamond, like the 6.1-carat Harry Winston rock that Jennifer Lopez received from Ben Affleck for an engagement ring. (J. Lo, by the way, can be considered something of a patron saint of pink, wearing the color in everything from sweats to Versace gowns.)
Martin Katz, a Beverly Hills jeweler who specializes in rare colored diamonds and vintage jewelry, said that in the past six months he has loaned out more pink diamonds to be photographed for fashion shoots and to drape celebrities like Ashley Judd. “Do I think people are choosing pink diamonds because they are depressed with the world? Not really,” he said. On the other hand, he noted that of all the colored diamonds, pink is the “most soothing, appealing color to everyone.” “A soft pink is a very pleasing color, and when you see it in the brilliance of a diamond, it makes you weak in the knees,” Katz said.
Makeup guru Bobbi Brown chose soft pink colors for her spring palette, not as a panacea for grim times, she said, but because “the truth is, everyone looks good in pink.”
“I always do pink for spring. I’m a humongous fan of pink,” said Brown, noting that pink was the color of choice for designers’ spring shows. “And there is definitely a customer demand for it. Years ago, you were considered a nerd if you wore pink. Now it’s the opposite. Women realize that a soft, fresh pink makes you instantly pretty.”
If pink can transform your face, think what it can do for your bedroom or bathroom. The home design industry has embraced the color, touting it for wall colors, kitchenware and towels.
Pottery Barn catalogs, usually paeans to unobtrusive neutrals, feature pink-and-ruby-striped towels and bed linens, pink dahlia-patterned sheets and even dusty pink flowered wallpaper in the bathrooms displaying their fixtures and furniture. “It’s an important color for the home right now, and it’s selling very well,” said Celia Tejada, senior vice president for product development and design for Pottery Barn. “We call it ‘modern romantic.’ It’s not babyish or froufrou. It’s soft and soothing.”
At Williams-Sonoma, customers can buy pink-and-white-striped dish towels, pink melamine mixing bowls, pink spatulas, pink liquid soap and a pink Artisan KitchenAid mixer. (The appliance is part of the manufacturer’s “Cook for the Cure” initiative benefiting breast cancer.) “Pink provides that little punch that makes you happy,” said Donata Maggipinto, the culinary director of Williams-Sonoma, adding that the color is the perfect foil for all the stainless steel in today’s kitchens. “Last year orange was big, but people now want something softer, something that lifts their spirits.”
Men might not be buying pink dish towels, but haberdashers are courting them with pink polos, button-down oxford-cloth shirts and dressy French-cuff shirts in tattersall checks.
“The pink story has seeped into menswear,” observed Tom Julian, a trend analyst for Fallon Worldwide, a New York-based advertising firm. Julian, who has spotted the color at J. Crew in Los Angeles and the hip Topshop in London, added that pink is “light, bright and optimistic” and gives an unexpected pop to a man’s wardrobe.
Eiseman and Jimenez predict that the passion for pink will be around for several more months. “We’re seeing it carried over into the fall,” said Jimenez. “You’ll be seeing pink shearlings.”
Which perhaps is too much of a good thing. If the pink craze rolls into Halloween, we may react the way Kay Thompson did in the opening scene of the film “Funny Face.” Playing the imperious fashion editor Maggie Prescott, who has decreed that the world “think pink” and dress accordingly, Thompson greets her art director wearing a gray suit. “I haven’t seen a woman in two weeks in anything but pink,” he says. “What about you?”
“Me?” she snaps. “I wouldn’t be caught dead.”
