Tough Guys Wear Pink

With the passing of Easter, it seems like spring has finally sprung. After a mostly rainy, chilly April, this is a welcome change to everyone. We can finally start putting sweaters away and pulling out the warm weather threads. Lighweight tan khakis? Check. Blue suede loafers made for sockless wear? Check. Pink polo shirt? Oh hell yes.

I love wearing pink. Pink polos, pink dress shirts, pink ties, and even pink socks. I know a lot of guys aren't into the color, and I strongly believe that this is because they feel like they'll be perceived as effeminate, gay, or both. First this idea is totally arbitrary and has changed over the decades, as evidenced by this citation I copied and pasted from Wikipedia's article on the color pink:

"In Western culture, the practice of assigning pink to an individual gender began in the 1920s or earlier. An article in the Ladies' Home Journal in June 1918 said: 'The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.'" Western society has clearly flipped the script on itself as far as gender/color assignments are concerned, but this quote just goes to show that these assignments are meaningless. Given the state we're currently in, however, it also shows that it takes a man who's very secure in his masculinity to wear pink. You know, tough guys.

To avoid wearing pink is incredibly ill-advised because most people actually look quite good in the color, especially if you're like me and have a pinkish undertone to your pasty, Ashkenazi Jewish skin. The pink shirt will make your face look flush with color and literally brighten your countenance, and you're likely missing out on some very positive attention by not throwing this color on under your face. Just as a tip, if you don't know what the concept of an "undertone" is, ask your girlfriend, who probably thinks about it when she's buying makeup. If she thinks men shouldn't be wearing pink, dump her ass.

Show some confidence and break out of the blue box sometime this spring. Don't pop the collar on your polo shirt, though, I don't give a damn what color it is. Nothing says "I'm a complete douchebag" like a popped polo collar, so unless you want to send that message, keep it down where it was meant to be.