My posts on 18th century clothing in shades of purple, and the direction of stripes on 18th century sleeves, have been so popular that I thought you might enjoy a whole series on patterns and colours.  You can learn so much by just looking at a bunch of images of clothes from any given era with one unifying detail.

For my first theme I picked pink.

What shades of pink were popular in the 18th century?  Is there evidence those shades were more or less popular in certain decades, or mostly used on one type of garment?

Even if there are no clear trends, looking at all of the extant pinks and depictions of pinks is helpful for recreating garments and accessories using colours and patterns that look authentic.  And who doesn’t love a bunch of pretty, pretty pinks?

As I began assembling images I realised two things almost immediately.  First, almost every shade of pink possible shows up in extant 18th century garments and portraits.  (yes, even hot pink!).  Second, pink was far, far more common in 18th century clothing than purples was.  Was it cheaper and easier to dye?  Or, conversely, more expensive and thus more of a status symbol?  Or were pink shades simply more fashionable throughout the century?

Because pink was so much more common, I’ve broken the pink post up into decades.  So now you get to enjoy four (and maybe more) weeks of 18th century pink posts!

I also got a bit clever and tried to post a painting or print of the time and then an extant item or two from the same time range in a similar shade of pink.

1700s Pinks

One shade of pink that shows up frequently across the 18th century is a soft pinky-lilac that could also arguably fit under the purple banner.  It’s shown here on two elegant young girls and in a length of ‘bizarre’ silk (learn more about them here).

I’ve cheated ever so slightly by picking a late 17th century muff to match these two young men and their snazzy pink neck ribbons.  I just thought showing ribbons to go with ribbons was too good of an opportunity to pass up on.

And heres a slightly less faded pink in the same family:

Here’s a deep rose hue:

And a beauty in blush pink with carmine ribbons in her hair

Orange-y salmon pink is another shade that turns up in many portraits and extant textiles.

1720s Pinks

Vivid salmon pinks show up in these three paintings and a length of dress fabric, showing the same shade across four countries.

A slightly softer shade is seen on Frances, Lady Byron, and a pair of very fashionable velvet shoes:

Here’s another example of that lilac pink:

This noblewoman sports a lilac pink gown, a carmine pink robe, and a dazzling array of matching pink jewels:

And this casaquin and petticoat features every shade shown above, and then some!

Here’s a gloriously vivid pink:

 

And for some pinks on men, the Ottoman ambassador to France in pale pink:

And some coral silk stockings for showing off a well-turned leg:

This waistcoat is the equal to the casaquin above for its demonstration of the many shades of pink available:

1730s Pinks

Polyxena of Hesse isn’t afraid to mix colours, with a bold combination of deep rose and scarlet red:

Deep rose shoes to match:

A softer rose features on Jacapo’s breeches and jacket lining, and another fetching pair of shoes:.

This portrait of Jane Clarke is a wonderful example of shot silks in the early 18th century.  I wish I’d been able to find an extant item in a similar fabric!

Interestingly a very similar fabric is shown in another American portrait:

And on the lower tunic of the Ottoman Empire’s ambassador to Sweden, while two other members of his retinue are attired in salmon:

The closest match I could find to those three portraits is this glorious casaquin.  Just add in a dark blue cross thread for that shot effect:

This unknown woman sports a very vivid coral jacket and skirt set, and as the waistcoat and jacket below show, the hue is not an exaggeration.

 

Adélaïde’s sister sports soft pink stripes in her beautiful gown, a match to the soft pink shoes below:

I love historical examples of self portraits by women artists, and here’s a delightful one featuring pink trimmings.     Some of the same tints are picked up in the brocade jacket and the second portrait is a match to the pink silk below..

She must have liked pink because the same colour show up on a more official portrait of her, and is picked up in the fabric