Trending Colors for Baby Gifts 2018

Colors for baby gifts have always been pink and blue; but this year we are in for a change.  Hundreds of years ago; believe it or not- little boys were dressed in pink. Not too long ago, children were dressed as miniature versions of their parents. Only in the last few decades have infants developed their  own style. Because our society is more affluent; we can afford to become more carefree in how we dress our kids. We are a more throw away society and don't worry if that baby blanket or onesy will last forever and be passed down to the next generation. We can experiment with bright colors and cool designs.  Young mothers want what's new and fun for their little ones. Gray has become the new gender neutral color; it is easily combined with pinks for baby girls and blue for baby boys. We love embroidering gray blankets for twins with pink or lavender embroidery on baby girl's soft blanket and blue or navy on baby boy's plush cover.  The hot news on baby colors the trending this year has just come out and charcoal gray is going to be on everyone's buy list.

Did you ever wonder how certain colors become popular or trendy? Why one year we will be painting our nursery in neutrals and another year jewel tone colors. Every year the New York City color association of the U.S. makes predictions about color trends in fashion. These color experts are chosen from many walks of life which include political, social, economic and technological industries. Executive Director Leslie Harrington says "We've done it in the same way since the organization was founded in 1915".You could ask yourself ,"why is this so important- to know color trends"?

The answer is relatively simple - color is an important part of our life. So many things are manufactured to help grow our economy. If the color is fabulous - the items will sell. But for example, if the car industry manufactured thousands of colors in a color that nobody wanted - oops there would be no sales. If a blanket company produced thousands of soft baby blankets in a outmoded color  ; the same would happen. So businesses depend  on color gurus like the design team at Sherwin Williams to research around the globe and identify key trends in fashion, nature, popular culture and global designs to predict the way customers will react to color. At Benjamin Moore , a team of seven color experts travel for several months to pull together the same information. 

According to their research, here are some of the factors that influence our color choices:

1. When the economy is in a downturn or uncertain; people are conservative - choosing neutrals or lasting colors.
2. They will still look for bright colors but in small purchases like nail polish or a scarf.
3. In better economic times; consumers are more willing to take chances with bright colors.
4. In warmer climates , people like lighter and brighter colors
5. Colder climates like neutrals.

For 2018-19 THE COLOR ASSOCIATION PREDICTS THAT WARM NEUTRALS WILL BE VISIBLE.

Gray will still be around as well as whites, but we will once again be back to beige. Dark charcoal will be the exception and you are going to see it every where on furniture and clothes as well as baby blankets. Pinks and reds will be more prevalent. At Sherwin Williams the color of the year is a deep teal called Oceanside. At Benjamin Moore , the color of the year is Caliente a rich red. People are using more color and even a little bit of a deep color goes a long way.

One way to use a favorite color in the nursery such as pink or blue is to create a tonal design adding shades of pale and dark colors in the same palate and accenting with a multitude of patterns playing on the same color scheme. The other difference you will see in nursery décor this year is the touches of neon; like the bright colors in sportswear. When you add a strong color, remember a little goes along way and a trim of bright orange is a breath of sunshine but a whole rug or wall of this strong color could be difficult to live with.

We don't think there will be a lot of baby blankets in caliente red; but we have always seen an interest in aqua and teal and perhaps this is the year that this color will be a standout. Silvery gray has been a staple in the baby gift business the last few years, but this year; we are looking forward to the arrival of our first charcoal pin striped blanket from Little Giraffe. Maybe, we will even create a personalized charcoal baby blanket embroidered in neon orange.