Pink as Good as a Wink For The New Male

Pink as Good as a Wink For The New Male
Summer's warmth will highlight a new tint to fashion, in the burgeoning chic of pink business shirts.

Tailors and style gurus said that heterosexual men were adopting pink - once seen strictly in women's lines - as never before.

"A couple of years ago we couldn't have given away pink T-shirts," says Roger Wade, creative director at British youth outfitter Boxfresh.

"Now it's our bestselling colour. It has gone from last choice to first."

Acceptance of the colour has been a long time coming, says Tony Raneri of American Tailors - a tailoring institution in Bourke Street - with increased communication and travel exposing men to international trends and soothing buyers' concerns.

"It used to be, buy him a pink shirt for his birthday and people might think that, you know . . . there's something wrong with him," he says.

"Now people are more ready to accept more colour, getting away from the black scene that we've been living in for some time."

Mr Raneri says pink is hot across the whole of Europe and is making major inroads into Australia.

Men's wear has typically hidden a rouge flush in ties and stripes, but spring 2005 men's wear collections from international labels Hugo Boss, Paul Smith, Dries van Noten, Alexander McQueen, Etro and Calvin Klein are all pushing pink, with famous faces helping average men to don the once derided tone.