Editor’s Note: This feature is part of Colorscope, an award-winning series exploring our perception of color and its use across cultures, one shade at a time. When you think about the color pink ...

A 1927 retailer survey on infant clothing colors published in TIME shows a split nation, with retailers like Filene’s and Marshall Field’s recommending pink for boys, but Macy’s, Bullock’s ...

“Prior to the second half of the 20th century, babies were dressed in all sorts of light colors. . .” In America, “the generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl.” ...