Fashions: Baby’s Clothes

The Idea: Pink for a boy.

The Motive: To distinguish him from a girl.

The Story: In Belgium, Princess Astrid, consort of the Crown Prince, gave birth a fortnight ago to a 7-lb. daughter. Said despatches: “The cradle . . . had been optimistically oufitted in pink, the color for boys, that for a girl being blue.”* Said many U. S. newspaper readers: “What! Pink for a BOY? Why, in our family, we have been using pink for GIRLS, blue for boys.” A check of U. S. authorities (i. e., leading stores that sell baby equipment) showed: BOYS GIRLS

Best’s (Manhattan) P B

Macy’s (Manhattan) B P

Franklin Simon (Manhattan) B P

Halle’s (Cleveland) P P

Marshall Field’s (Chicago) P B

Bullock’s (Los Angeles) B P

Filene’s (Boston) P B

Maison Blanche (New Orleans) P B Wanamaker’s (Philadelphia) …. B P The White House (San Francisco) P B

There seems, then, to be no great unanimity of U. S. opinion on Pink v. Blue.

*In Catholic countries (France, Belgium, Spain, etc.) blue (the Virgin’s color) is used for girls and pink for boys.