Consider the image above. The left image is that of an Assyrian who lived 3000 years ago. He uses an inflated animal skin to breathe underwater. The image on the right is that of a scuba diver who is breathing under water through a tube that is connected to a metal device that contains compressed air. It’s nothing new.. it just took 3000 years to improve the idea from what is was then to what it is now.

Did you know that before the 1940s blue was a colour that was mostly worn with girls and pink was worn by boys in the United States, the United Kingdom and some other European countries?

According to Jo B. Paoletti, a professor at the University of Maryland and author of Pink and Blue: Telling the Boys from the Girls in America, this is because pink was associated with red which was considered a strong, masculine colour and blue was considered a soft, delicate colour that was reserved for girls. Obviously, gender issues were not on anyone’s agenda back in the 19th century and almost all children wore white.

So when did it change? What happened that pink is now linked to girls and blue to boys?

The practice of linking pink with girls and blue with boys started taking shape in the 1940s and became stronger over the next few years. This change happened because of a mix of reasons, like marketing tactics, cultural influences, and social expectations. Recently, there’s been a push against these old gender stereotypes, including the idea that certain colors are meant for specific genders. More and more people are calling for children’s clothes, toys, and products to be gender-neutral, challenging the traditional views on color and gender.

And I am willing to bet you, that that’s nothing new either.

Something that strikes us as new and different today is often just forgotten by the current generation and “rediscovered”. This is true for fashion, music and movies and for other things as well such as politics or entire movements.

“Nothing is new except what’s been forgotten”

— Rose Bertin. Dressmaker to Queen Marie Antoinette