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Leading headwear brand Beechfield reports that pink is shaping up to be this summer’s hot colour choice… for men!
“Sales figures suggest that pink is no longer a women-only colour,” confirms Beecfield’s Roger McHugh. He suggests that garment decorators could reap dividends by including a pink cap in sales presentations to fashion-conscious clients this season.
Beechfield has included pink in the colour palette of two of its new products for 2007: the B34 Army Cap, and the B53 Low Profile Vintage Cap (both in 100% heavy washed cotton). Other Beechfield styles are already available in pink, including the best-selling B10 five-panel Cotton Cap, B32 Pro-Style Half Mesh Cap, B44c Two-Tone Beanie Knitted Hat and B81 Brushed Cotton Sports Cap.
As with all Beechfield colours, the brand’s pink shade has been accurately matched to that used by the leading activewear brands. “To the best of my knowledge, Beechfield is the only headwear brand to operate an in-house quality control laboratory, complete with a spectrophotometer,” adds McHugh. “This allows us to maintain precise control over the accuracy and consistency of all our product colours. Matching the colours to those of the leading activewear brands enables our customers to supply colour-coordinated corporate and promotional wear, from head to toe.”
Beechfield’s observations about the colour pink are supported by the sales statistics from UK menswear retailer Moss. Announcing that ‘real men wear pink’, the company reports that pink is currently the number one fashion colour for men. Over the last three years its sales of pink shirts and accessories have risen from 11% to 16%, with more men in London wearing pink than anywhere else in the country. Moss is selling three times as many pink shirts as black shirts, and nearly four times as many pink shirts compared with navy shirts.
The reason for the increased popularity of pink in recent years is unclear. However, a recent feature on fashion colours in men’s magazine Men's Health may throw some light on the matter: the magazine found that women are more drawn to men wearing certain colours, with pink topping the list! "It's a colour women gravitate towards," confirms Lisa Herbert, executive vice president at colour research company, Pantone.
According to Dr Veronika Koller, lecturer at Lancaster University, historically pink was worn by boys and blue was for girls. However, following World War One blue became associated with military uniforms, and male occupations. The marketing industry then adopted pink for girls as a contrast.
Sports stars have taken a lead in popularising pink in recent times: golfers Jesper Parnevik, Aaron Baddeley and Ian Poulter are unafraid to wear the colour, while top Spanish football club Sevilla FC has chosen an all-pink kit for its away strip.
“For garment decorators targeting fashionable promotions, presenting a trendy pink Army Cap or Vintage Cap could be just the thing to clinch the deal this summer,” Roger McHugh concludes.
Contact: your usual distributor
Web: www.beechfield.com
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