Pink and I have an interesting relationship. When I was little girl, you could barely ever find me in any other color. I used to love wearing a giant rosy bow in my hair to coordinate with whatever tutu or smocked dress my mom had put me in, while my bedroom walls were a soft ballet pink with coordinated blush Pottery Barn Kids bedding. After spending the summer at a very preppy camp in Virginia, I would often wear a pale pink button-down Lacoste shirt with a popped collar (lol) and convinced my parents to let me paint my walls hot pink and lime green — an extremely jarring color combo that I will forever regret.
As I got a little older, pink started leaving my wardrobe. My parents moved away from the house with my hot pink walls (thank god) and I developed a habit of decorating in blue and white. Soon, the color began feeling more basic to me than cool. I started seeing my early obsession with the shade as a product of my very gender-specific upbringing. Whenever I wore it, I felt like I was playing into a stereotype. Heck, all I needed to make a Barbie costume for Halloween one year was throw on a flamingo-colored dress.
But then millennial pink became a thing. Women decided to subvert that stereotype and reclaimed the color as an empowering feminist statement. Soft blush tones turned into a new neutral for all genders. The baby shade you were ashamed of from your childhood grew up, became woke, and was now that cool color you always wanted to be around. Rose Quartz gained popularity as 2016's Pantone's Color of the Year and was dubbed the color of a generation. Even the club everyone wanted to get into (hi, The Wing!) was soaked in the shade.
Within the home, decorating with pink not only opened up a whole world of creative designs, but it also never failed to make a statement. From blush bedding to painted walls (that served as the perfect Instagram backdrops), bubble gum accents could add life and fun to your space. It showed you cared about aesthetics, but you also didn't take it too seriously. You could own the color as part of your personal haven, no matter your gender identity.
Now, some people are arguing that the age of millennial pink is over. But I'm not ready to give it up just yet. I still want femininity to feel powerful. I don't want to feel embarrassed for wearing the color. If I want to decorate my home entirely in pink, I'm going to decorate my home entirely in pink. Trends come and go all the time. But if you love something, you shouldn't throw it away just because someone says it's passé. Your home is your home for a reason. Anyway, whoever said red is the new pink was seriously disturbed.
