La Vie en Rose
Norma Clarke | Literary Review | 1st February 2025
Pink may be a “half colour” but it boasts a long history. Florentine lawyers in 1345, when implementing a luxury tax, documented the shades of pink in upper class wardrobes. Most popular – with both men and women – in the 18th century, it gradually feminised and, by 1900, was mostly used for women’s underwear. The barbie doll has revived its fortunes somewhat. The meaning we ascribe to pink has shifted over time. It’s not an “eye-brain” thing; “It is society that ‘makes’ colour [and] gives it meaning”.