POPULAR COLOR Choices are in the pink

Pink pairs well with an array of colors.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
Since Gwyneth Paltrow donned a shiny pink Ralph Lauren gown five years ago for the Academy Awards, fashionistas have been tickled pink. Eye-popping pink permutations prevail on racks and backs, with no sign of abating. The spectrum has more pink bands than a candy cane, ranging from flesh tone to coral, salmon, apricot sorbet, bubble gum, cherry cola and the next wave, shocking pink.
Pink also is peaking in linens, shoes, hats, belts, purses, jewelry, eyewear, tableware and home furnishings. Williams-Sonoma offers its own spin on the ubiquitous color with its pearl-pink $249 KitchenAid Artisan mixer. Whether it's pink Versace handbags or pink-handled cutlery from Target, every retailer is hearing the ca-ching of thinking pink.
"Pink is also an accent piece," says Lauren McDowell, a spokeswoman in Boston for T.J. Maxx stores. "It's a great way to update your home with pink throw pillows or your wardrobe with pink shoes or a pink purse."
Perfect pairings
Funny thing is, pink isn't picky about its color playmates. Although they may seem strange bedfellows, pink pairs perfectly with red, black, brown, orange, peach, white, green, periwinkle and aqua.
Deanna Boyrazian, 18, who works at Windsor Fashions in Riverside, Calif., feels pretty in pink -- and black. "It's really cool," says the sales associate, who loves the combination. Recently, she wore pink shoes, pink fishnets, a pink and yellow shirt, a black skirt and a pink necklace.
"The fashion industry is amazed that pink is selling and selling and won't go away," says David Wolfe, a trend analyst and forecaster for the Donegar Group in New York. "It may turn out to be the new black."
After all, he says, everyone looks good in the right shade of pink. Once associated with baby girls and debutantes, pink is now synonymous with sophistication, perceived as flirty and feminine.
Back to the '50s
Nostalgia buffs may remember the color's earlier reign throughout the 1950s, after Mamie Eisenhower wore a pink gown ornamented with pink rhinestones to her husband's inaugural ball in 1953. Two years later "First Lady Pink" was the rage in clothes, interior design, household goods, even washers and dryers.
Here we go again. "Redheads and women with gray hair are no longer afraid of pink because in the right shades, it's flattering," says Ilse Metchek, executive director of the California Fashion Association in Los Angeles. "Most women never wore pink past the age of 18."
Pink for prom
Forget the sissy thing. Guys are getting in the pink, too. "The hottest thing now is wearing a navy pinstripe suit with a pale pink tie," Wolfe says. "You'll see this mix on all the politicians."
You don't have to tell 17-year-old Californian Max Calderone that pink is powerful. His date, Jessica Hanlon, scouted around and found a dress that matched the pink shirt he wore to their prom on May 8. "It's beautiful, and I want to be special," he says of the shirt, a Christmas present from his mother. "I don't care if people think it's girly."
After Stacy Gonzalez bought the same dress, she made sure pink would prevail somewhere in her date's tuxedo. So Spencer LeDosquet, 17, escorted her to their prom and wore a pink vest and pink shirt.