I’M HAVING A GIRL AND SHE WILL WEAR PINK

Yvadney Davis - 1 May 15

Listen up, my long overused hashtag #iwantagirl is coming to fruition. In just a few weeks, I will be cradling the newest addition to my family… my first daughter, my Little Lady Bump.

I’m a proud mother of a boy, but I’ve wanted a girl in my brood for a few reasons:
– I was raised by a beautiful, elegant and all that single mother, and the strong mother and daughter relationship is everything to me.
– I wanted to balance out the future of a potentially testosterone-filled home
– I can’t wait to go shopping for cool girl stuff (Clueless style, rompers, dresses, tights etc).

However, as I prepare for this girl child there are many issues I’ve considered that never crossed my mind with my son, MG, the biggest being the colour pink. Should I feel bad for dressing her in pink?

You see, modern mums proud of their feminist allegiance, don’t do pink! So, I’ve found myself playing it fashionable cool, saying ‘Yeah, but she won’t wear pink… I don’t want to raise a girlie girl.’ Yes I’ll put her in a lot of MG’s hand me downs so plenty of her wardrobe will be unisex or tomboyish… but what about all the pink stuff I can buy in the girls’ sections, that comes in unashamedly fuchsia, dusky pink or bubblegum?

To be honest, I look at ruffles and bows and floral buys longingly. Who am I kidding? I’m having a girl and she will wear pink.

The source of my dilemma is the pinkification of girls’ toys and wardrobes. So many retailers seem determined to blanket girls’ worlds with pink, sparkles, butterflies and princesses, assuming they want a life a domesticity in a Fairy Tale Palace somewhere when they grow up.

Many, including myself, think this is beyond ridiculous and to some extent damaging. Which has meant that, as the backlash grows, the desire to rock the system has tipped the scales too far leaving many modern mothers scared to ‘think pink’ in case they let the side down.

So what we have are little girls dressed in variations of adult colour palettes and aesthetics, clothing shopped from the boys’ aisles, any colour but pink (although neon pink sometimes makes the cut, because of its cool status) and there is, of course, little North West head-to-toe in black see through designer wear.

But, I’ve had a change of heart. As mums, our beef shouldn’t be with pink, our issue should be with using this glorious colour to limit girls – stifling them in a world where pink equals all things girly. Pink is a beautiful colour, one my husband, MG and I all enjoy wearing and I’m not going to deny my little one because of a restricting principle.

Interesting fact break: pink was traditionally for boys and baby blue for girls until Queen Elizabeth broke the rules with a blue ribbon themed nursery for Prince Charles…oh those rebel royals.

What about the little girl in the pink, the bows, the ruffles and smocking – do we roll our eyes in smugness? What about the girl who wants to dress up in her princess costume, complete with fairy wings one day and rock her torn denim jeans, Converses and beanie Skater style the next?

Do we watch that Disney Princess garb burn on the bonfire with glee? I grew up loving nothing better than a skirt that twirled up high when I spun, playing skip rope, reading Anne of Green Gables and enjoyed playing with my dolls and my mum’s makeup. I also loved playing with my chemistry set, monster truck complete with mini cars, pretending to be a superhero and emulating the ‘Totally Krossed Out’ backwards street style of Kriss Kross.

Why are we encouraging our daughters to be anything they want, except ‘pretty in pink’? I’m not going to keep under wraps, what for many girls is a natural facet of their personality. I want to make sure my Little Lady Bump has all aspects of ‘girl’ laid before her, so she has the freedom to explore, reject or embrace.

My daughter will wear denim, grey, black, bright colours, dinosaurs…you name it, but she will wear pigtails, ribbons in her hair, tutus and sparkly things. I will shop for her in the same way I shop for myself, experimenting and playing with colours, prints and vibes until she’s old enough to say “Er, no mummy. I’ll take it from here!”

So, Barbara Cartland, here’s looking at you, my name is Yvadney and my daughter will wear pink.

Yvadney Davis

I'm mum to a wriggling pre-schooler and a newbie 6 baby. I've worked in the fashion industry for over 10 years, firstly as a PR, before transitioning to a fashion writer and stylist. My blog was born with my son MG to celebrate juggling the wonders of motherhood and curvier post-pregnancy physiques, while looking and feeling stylish. As my son has grown, so has my love of kids' fashion and interiors, which also feature on the blog regularly.

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