Colors are funny things.
As humans, we draw conclusions about all sorts of stuff when we see someone driving a bright yellow car, or wearing a pale purple neck tie. Colors communicate an infinite variety of information without a single word (whether we like it or not). Colors are unapologetically time specific as well; if someone tells you there is an avocado green refrigerator in their kitchen, you know exactly when that kitchen was built. Why, there is an entire generation of children who came up in the 1970s thinking harvest gold was a neutral. Poor things didn’t know any better – they saw harvest gold everywhere so of course they logically assumed it went with everything. Every passing generation picks their own signature color mascot and the latest has arrived: Millennial Pink.
Have you heard about it? You think it’s a color, right? It’s not; it’s an entire spectrum.
It is pink as a movement, not a swatch you can point to on a shelf. Usually a color is just a color then somebody puts it in a bottle of nail polish, slaps a name on it, and that becomes the standard… but like so many millennials, this color refuses categorization.
Yes, it’s pink. But it’s almost unpink. It’s peachy. Sometimes it’s beigey. Sometimes it’s so pale it’s almost cream. It’s all of the above and then some because it’s also a metallic. Whoa. Right? All this time you thought it was rose gold!
This was a confusing concept to me, so when Michael’s asked me to write a piece on the growing pink movement, I knew I needed to directly to the source for all things on trend: a teenage girl, aka: my neighbor Emma.
Our conversation went like this:
Three items of subtext here.
1. Who knew you could fit an entire generation gap in nine lines of text? In conclusion – Things are different now and *that* is why millennial pink exists.
2. Nobody is throwing shade to Barbie at all! Barbies are cool, and Barbie pink is cool, but the line between familiar pinks and the new pinks has been drawn at Barbie’s feet. Only time will tell – Will Barbie join the millennial pink revolution?
3. The “like not girly at all” is the pivotal point here. At the risk of over-simplifying, it is important to understand that there are parents of recent generations who have avoided associating their little girls with traditional “girly colors” because they weren’t gender neutral enough and that carried a whole bunch of emotional baggage they didn’t want to stick on their kids. So yeah. Say what you will, but it appears that those little girls grew up and took their colors back – Hello millennial pink!
It’s for girls. It’s for guys. It’s for anyone who wants a neutral color when blacks and taupes don’t cut it. It’s the color of the day. And good news: it is gorgeous AND IT GOES WITH EVERYTHING. Pink is here to stay!
Scrapbook Paper | Typewriter | Camera | Pom Charm | Yarn | Paint Marker
Pink is a fantastic color for any sort of creative adventure because it stands on it’s own, or pairs nicely with other surfaces. Want to punch up a regular leather bag? Add a pink pom. Want to bring a fresh new take to an old knitting pattern, use a neutral pink yarn. The possibilities are endless!
Poppy Wreath | Yarn | Geod Charm | Bakers Twine | Lace Paper | Crystal Geod Charm | Envelopes Envelopes
Thanks to Michael’s for giving me some fun homework with this one.
Millennial pink – it’s a thing! Who knew?