By Lisa Wade, PhD
Feb 4, 2012 2:30 PM

Once Upon a Time, the Color Blue Was Permissable for Baby Girls

http://jezebel.com/5882297/once-upon-a-time-the-color-blue-was-used-for-baby-girls

American Studies professor Jo B. Paoletti has announced the publication of her book, Pink and Blue: Telling the Boys from the Girls in America. I've been eagerly anticipating getting my hands on a copy. It was from Paoletti that I learned that the idea that pink was a feminine and blue a masculine color was a relatively new invention in American history (one that even now does not necessarily extend to other countries). See, for example, this pink 1920s birthday card for a man (with a pre-Nazi swastika too).

The book asks "When did we startdressing girls in pink and boys in blue?" To answer this question:

    She chronicles the decline of the white dress for both boys and girls, the introduction of rompers in the early 20th century, the gendering of pink and blue, the resurgence of unisex fashions, and the origins of today's highly gender-specific baby and toddler clothing.