Figure 1.--Considerable caution should be used in applying modern color conventins to old paintings and photographs. We are not at all sure if the child here is a boy or girl. Another issue is the accuracy of color tinting in 19th century.

Gender and Color: Blue

Blue is perhaps the single most popular color for boys clothing. It is, however, also popular with girls. Modern color conventions insist on blue for boys and pink for girls. While this has prevented boys from wearing pink, it has not prevented girls from wearing blue. We are not entirely sure as to the origins of blue as a major colir for boy's clothing. Blue was used for boys' charity school uniforms in the 17th Century. This was not because blue had any special significance, but in part because blue dyes, relatively easy to produce, were inexpensive. The Blue Coat schools are renowed to this day. Blue at times has been widely worn by girls. Some considered it more suitable for girls as it is a softer, more subdued color. Blue is also the color most associated with the Virgin Mary. In the Middles Ages, blue was often associated with true lovers and faithful servants. In association with clothing, we need nt only to assess the color of garments, but also the use of color in trim. An example is an American boy, Walter Pond, with blue trim on his cit away jacket during the 1860s. At the turn of the 19th Cenntury, blue was the preferred color for girls' waistbands on white Empire dresses. The choice of blue for naval uniforms may have also hlped to popularize it with boys. These are all culture based explanations. There has been research in recent years on both animals and humans to see if there was any genetic basis to color preferences.






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Created: December 1, 1999
Last updated: 4:39 AM 2/7/2010