Are you ready for a touch of rose in your wardrobe?

Forget fretting over brown in town or boots with a suit; the last men’s style taboo still standing is the rose-tinted subject of men wearing pink. 

Gender boundaries (in some circles at least) might be more blurred than ever before, but for most men even the suggestion of a salmon-shaded shirt is a step too far into ‘effeminate’ modes of dressing; how utterly boring. Thankfully, a whole new generation of well-dressed men are creating a convincing argument for ignoring such nonsense and wearing a colour that genuinely works well on certain fellows. If your sense of masculinity is threatened by a shade of colour, might I suggest that it’s not on such solid ground to begin with?

The latest champion is 69-year old Pierce Brosnan, who chose to wear a vibrant fuschia suit at the premiere for new film Black Adam. He looks great; at an age when most men fade into invisibility in how they dress, the dashing actor is clearly enjoying dressing up and making an impact. Other candyfloss colour adopters include Succession actor Jeremy Strong wearing a magenta suit, and Brad Pitt, who donned a blousy suit in poppiest bubblegum tone by cult American designer Haans Nicholas Mott. Daniel Craig led the flamingo-tinged charge last year when he wore a sumptuous pink velvet dinner jacket by Anderson & Sheppard at the premiere for the latest Bond movie. Even King Charles is a fan - confidantes in the men’s style industry assure me that his favourite colour of accessories are lilac and pink.

Pink’s not the outlier you might think in men’s fashion; in the 18th century it was a sign of sartorial panache and refinement - and a shade associated with men’s dress rather than women’s, so much so that a whole section of the V&A’s standout Fashioning Masculinities exhibition was devoted to the colour. Fitzgerald’s resident flaneur Gatsby was fond of the hue, worn with white suiting for a collegiate interpretation of pink, while later iterations saw Bryan Ferry and Mick Jagger adopt the power of pink. And no-one questioned those guys’ masculinity.

It makes sense that men of a certain vintage are taking up that most girlish of colours. Firstly, it looks great with grey hair - see Mr Brosnan’s ash tones - and the brighter colour can help lighten up sallow, pale skin. Secondly, there’s a glorious contrast at play with pink on older gentlemen; a sweep of silver hair and a craggy, characterful visage wearing that most princessy of colours. It shows a certain confidence and raffishness. 

If you’re tempted into such territory, take a tip from Pierce Brosnan and keep things tailored; his suit is neat and sharp, the white shirt breaks things up somewhat and the brown boots add a more masculine touch. One-note bright pink is tough to wear, unless you’re Brad Pitt, so consider more nuanced shades alongside it. Caramel and fawn shades also look great worn alongside pink - a rose-coloured blazer with camel chinos, for example. Just be wary of donning black alongside it - it can look rather brash and cheap. Pink makes the boys wink, after all. 

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