I had a great email exchange yesterday with French-born Agnès Loncke of Bruges, Belgium, who had seen an article about my work. She wrote:
Well, when my sister and I got our boys in the late 60's and 70's, I was surprised we got pink clothes. In Belgium it was pink for the boys and light blue for the girls, also for the sugar 'dragées'. In France it was the opposite, though, pink for the girls...Pink is not a boy's colour but the colour of life and good for babies of both sexes. There is however no problem dressing boys in light blue.
Of course, that was forty years ago, and even in the United States there were still localities where pink was the color for boys, or at least acceptable in multicolored stripes or polka dots. Judging from today's websites and catalogs from Belgium, pink is more often used for girls and less for boys. What is different from the U.S. is the much larger availability of colors other than pink for girls, and of neutral designs. Take a look at the Prémaman catalog and you'll see. I like their maternity clothes, too. Notice the overwhelming preponderance of neutral styles for car seats, strollers, baby carriers and other accessories. Except for the First Years potties, available in two Disney-themed option: cars and princess.
Well, when my sister and I got our boys in the late 60's and 70's, I was surprised we got pink clothes. In Belgium it was pink for the boys and light blue for the girls, also for the sugar 'dragées'. In France it was the opposite, though, pink for the girls...Pink is not a boy's colour but the colour of life and good for babies of both sexes. There is however no problem dressing boys in light blue.
Of course, that was forty years ago, and even in the United States there were still localities where pink was the color for boys, or at least acceptable in multicolored stripes or polka dots. Judging from today's websites and catalogs from Belgium, pink is more often used for girls and less for boys. What is different from the U.S. is the much larger availability of colors other than pink for girls, and of neutral designs. Take a look at the Prémaman catalog and you'll see. I like their maternity clothes, too. Notice the overwhelming preponderance of neutral styles for car seats, strollers, baby carriers and other accessories. Except for the First Years potties, available in two Disney-themed option: cars and princess.
