Afternoon dress, pink silk taffeta, 1857, USA, museum purchase. September 7, 2018–January 5, 2019  Pink is popularly associated with little girls, ballerinas, Barbie dolls, and all things feminine. Yet the symbolism and significance of pink have varied greatly across time and space. The stereotype of pink-for-girls versus blue-for-boys may be ubiquitous today, but it only gained traction in the mid-20th century. In the eighteenth century, when Madame de Pompadour helped make pink fashionable at the French court, it was perfectly…