Pretty In Pink: We are Motorhead fans, are we not? And these days, when we can get all sorts of merchandise from shoe laces to plectrums, it's not much of an eyebrow raiser to know there's also a range of Motorhead baby clothes; and of course, they are in black.
Not pink or blue: Black!
Black was Gene Vincent, black was Elvis Presley, black is rock 'n' roll, black is Motorhead. When I was born, much like everyone else who's born male, Mum dressed me in blue. If I'd been a female, she would have dressed me in pink. During those early months of our lives, it's one of the few ways of displaying which sex we are. As we get older, and refinements come into play; like looks and hairstyle, it becomes more obvious whether we're a boy or a girl; so there's no need for anyone to guess.
But in the late 1990's, some idiot at one of these so called 'fashion houses' had a bright idea. Well, that's questionable, because I reckon it was a rather dim idea, myself. Suddenly, M & S, and the many other retail outlets like it, started selling men's shirts - in PINK!
And what makes it even worse, men are buying and wearing them!
Some men, if they can still be regarded as such, smile benignly and say: "Oh, but my wife bought it for me." Well, she might have, but if Mrs. B did so, she'd be taking it straight back for a refund on her next trip to town. Yes, his wife might have bought it for him, but why is he so spineless that he has to wear it? A male baby wouldn't wear pink, so why on earth should a male adult?
When on holiday in Thailand in 2004, and fed up with tailor's pestering me on the street to buy a suit at every opportnity, I met one half way when offered 10 made-to-measure shirts for £100. A bargain! But from the array of colours available, the tailor didn't offer to make one in pink, any more than I would have asked for it.
Yes, females can dress in pink. Yes, females can dress in blue. Females can dress in whatever they like; a suit, a Trilby hat; whatever. And despite all the hard luck stories women beat us blokes around the head with, in fashion, they have the pick of everything, and in general, they will look good in it.
So no, sorry, pink just isn't on the radar, and it never should be, for MEN.
The title of this blog today is from a song by The Psychedelic Furs, who Mrs. B quite liked in the 1980's, and as far as I can remember, they were singing about a female who looked pretty in pink.
The only pink us men should enjoy, is sinking it, as per the AC/DC song.