Home » Fashion »  Male Style »  Men in pink Prakash Nedungadi, president of Madura Garments, may stop short of donning the shade himself, but is enthusiastic about the fact that pink dominates the company's new range of shirting fabrics. "We have introduced pink and shades like mauve, lilac and yellows."

Colours men wouldn't touch with a barge pole till recently.

So, is men's fashion turning effeminate? To a certain extent, says a guarded J.J. Vallaya. And not just in colour, says the designer, but also in the cut and fit. "Body hugging, fitted clothes, which found their place only in a woman's wardrobe, are hot in men's wear today," says Vallaya.

The colour should be worn with care, says designer Rohit Gandhi. "You cannot wear a bright pink to office, but a nice pink shade with blue denims is perfect for a casual party," he says. Men's fashion has gone bold, Rohit explains, moving away from the conservative blues and greys. "I went partying with a friend in New York. He was wearing this pink shirt from my H2O collection and the guys loved it."



But, to go back to the old doubt, isn't pink, well, feminine? "No," Gandhi replies promptly. The man donning pink is making a statement, "I am man enough to wear pink."

Model Rajiv Singh, however, loves the shade for an altogether different reason, the man was born in Pink City, Jaipur. "Seriously though, I like the colour," he says. "It's a romantic shade, a colour of affection. So when I am in the mood I wear pink. Besides, it fits the image of the millennium man perfectly: warm, caring. Men can feel too, and are proud to show it."

Pink might be the rage today, but as fashion guru Prasad Bidappa points out, the colour has been traditionally worn by Indian men. "Safas [turbans] which men wear at marriages are a bright pink," says Bidappa. "So steeped is this colour in Indian culture that one-time editor of Vogue Dian Vreeland called pink the navy blue of India!"

Models sporting pink on the ramp are fine, but what of the man on the street? While marketing executive Hardeep Singh says a firm 'no', Akash Sony, newscaster with Zee News, has no hassles. "A pink shirt coupled with a tie in a slightly darker shade looks good on TV," he reasons.

Pink shirts. Pink ties. Pink socks.

Men in pink? What do you think

Courtesy 'The Week' on the Net