Fifty shades of pink

has always been my least favorite color. I have avoided the color nearly my entire life. I just felt, well, too girly wearing it. Elle Woods arriving at Harvard in head to toe pink in Legally Blonde? Fine. Gwyneth Paltrow weeping at the Oscars in Ralph Lauren silk faille? Adorable. Even Britney Spears wearing a pink marabou feather hair tie in her heyday? Hey, it was a different time. But me, in pink? Unfathomable. In 2012, when Tom Ford was designing the bridesmaids’ dresses for my wedding he asked what color I wanted for them. Immediately I suggested a navy shade of blue, only to be told the dresses should be pink. When I told him pink was my least favorite color he replied without concern, “then we will call it blush!” That was it. The dresses were blush and they were beautiful. He was right (I guess when it comes to fashion he usually is…) Demna Gvasalia sent out a bright pink midi dress worn with purple tights at his Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2017 show. It popped and everyone took notice. Blush it was not–try Schiaparelli-level shocking! Not more than two hours later, there it was again at Phoebe Philo's Céline show, where every editor and buyer clamored to get a shot of the ballet slipper, pink draped dress that closed the show. And then that afternoon, when Pierpaolo Piccioli made his debut as Valentino’s sole creative director, what color did he choose for his big moment in the spotlight? Why pink, bien sûr. You know what they say, three’s a trend and when those three are Balenciaga, Céline and Valentino, you pay attention. But as any good editor knows, ‘to shoot’ and ‘to shop’ are often worlds apart. And I still needed a little more convincing that I could personally take the plunge.