Pink is not for every man

This has been going on for a while now, and I’ve beenmeaning to say something about it. It started out slowly, but nowaffects an ever-growing number of people.

Men wearing pink.

The first men to wear pink were the fashionably bold —celebrities and the like. Notable men who wore the rosy hue in theearly days include Mick Jagger, Ashton Kutcher, Tyson Beckford andP. Diddy. The trend started to seep into the mainstream, but it wasstill very hard for a lot of men to grasp the concept.

Me? In pink? Like the pink of ballet shoes? The pink ofcotton candy? The pink of the Love-a-lot Care Bear my 15-year-oldsister still sleeps with? No way.

Men have to remember that day. The day they discovered pinkcoming into fashion for men and they thought, “Seriously,this is getting carried away.”

Here’s what I think: The men who thought that should havestuck by it.

It’s unfortunate and sometimes painfully obvious that thisis not the case, however. And as a result, there are some convertedpink wearers out there without the confidence to maintain eyecontact while wearing that pretty pastel Polo.

This is not a joke. If a man was not running out to the store tobuy the first fuchsia Lacoste sweater available, he should not, Irepeat, should not wear it now.

It’s ingrained in men to think of pink as a girly color.And that’s fine. Dad would be proud. And men should not crossthat line just for the sake of fashion. It’s just not doinganything for them.

It started out with those pink Polos — always bestexemplified by our sweet frat boys, bless their hearts, who add tothe look with a flipped collar and a ball cap each has seeminglyowned since birth. That and subtle (or sometimes not-so-subtle)pink stripes found in ties from J. Crew and Banana Republic markedthe inception of pink into the closets of everyday men.

There are quite a few guys at SMU who can pull off the Pololook, too. Those Polos and ties are sort of a baby step, but thereare some guys out there who are still crawling with regard tofashion — at least as far as the pink stuff goes. They shouldstick to what they are good at.

They should not use the excuse, “Everyone else is wearingpink so I won’t look weird” while trying to muster upthe courage to break away from the current three-color palate intheir closets.

Everyone else is wearing those miniskirts with the pleats inthem, but I — without a doubt — would look much worsethan weird if I chose to try to sport one of those babies.

These guys should heed the advice of my mother: “Youdon’t have to wear something just because it’s trendy.Not all trends look good on all people. You, Sarah, look best inthe timeless, classic look.” (Read: Boring).

Gee, thanks mom. I’ll die in a Gap button-up and astraight pencil skirt to my knees.

But it’s OK. I can walk confidently in an outfit likethat, and that is what’s required to pull anything off— risky or not.

Pink is risky for many men. They shouldn’t be ashamed.They should just stick to grey. I love a man in grey. Or green, orbrown, or red or blue. I’m not trying to put men in a boxhere. I’m just trying to alleviate an obvious pressurethey’re feeling.

So here’s an announcement, men: You do not have to wearpink to be cool. If you can admit you can’t wear pink —you’re definitely cooler than if you did wear it just tofollow the crowd.

Know your limits. Pink is not for every man.

Sarah Piland is a senior journalsim major. She may be reachedat [email protected].