Every Monday, hoards of Thai people leave their houses and head to work. This is probably true for most countries around the world; however, in Thailand, about 90% of the population will be wearing yellow. It’s actually quite disconcerting and a little too cheerful that early in the week for my taste.
Monday is the day of the week on which the current King of Thailand was born and ever since the 60th anniversary of the his ascension to the throne (June 2006), Thai people have been honoring him by wearing yellow “king shirts” every Monday. Some people actually wear them every day, although I’m not entirely convinced they just don’t like deciding what to wear in the mornings.
But now, a new trend is spreading. Pink is the new yellow. This recent fashion development started recently when pink was declared an auspicious color for the King’s 80th year on Earth, which begins this December 5th. (Wait, does that mean he became king at age 11? I never put that together before.) As if the declaration of an astrologer were not enough to sway the Thai psyche, last week the King was released from the hospital wearing a pink shirt. Now he technically should have been wearing green (every day of the week has an official color: Mon-yellow, Tues-pink, Wed-green, Thurs-orange, Fri-Blue, Sat-purple, Sun-red), but his choice of hue was seen as a clear message to the people: WEAR PINK!
So now everyone in the country is running out to buy a new pink king shirt to replace the billion other yellow shirts they already own. Secret marketing deal between the monarchy and clothing manufactures, or a discreet message to the Thai people that not everyone looks good in yellow? You be the judge.
Monday is the day of the week on which the current King of Thailand was born and ever since the 60th anniversary of the his ascension to the throne (June 2006), Thai people have been honoring him by wearing yellow “king shirts” every Monday. Some people actually wear them every day, although I’m not entirely convinced they just don’t like deciding what to wear in the mornings.
But now, a new trend is spreading. Pink is the new yellow. This recent fashion development started recently when pink was declared an auspicious color for the King’s 80th year on Earth, which begins this December 5th. (Wait, does that mean he became king at age 11? I never put that together before.) As if the declaration of an astrologer were not enough to sway the Thai psyche, last week the King was released from the hospital wearing a pink shirt. Now he technically should have been wearing green (every day of the week has an official color: Mon-yellow, Tues-pink, Wed-green, Thurs-orange, Fri-Blue, Sat-purple, Sun-red), but his choice of hue was seen as a clear message to the people: WEAR PINK!
So now everyone in the country is running out to buy a new pink king shirt to replace the billion other yellow shirts they already own. Secret marketing deal between the monarchy and clothing manufactures, or a discreet message to the Thai people that not everyone looks good in yellow? You be the judge.
1 comment:
Wow girl, this is an awesome post! My primary reaction - "Man am I glad I don't live in Thailand because yellow looks terrible on me."
Post a Comment