Sports apparel manufacturers had a standard method when adding a women’s line—to take the men’s product, shrink it, and then color it pink. The process became known in the sportswear industry as “shrink it and pink it” or “pink it and shrink it.”
 
“Shrink it and pink it” has been cited in print since at least 2006. Many people in the industry think that the strategy isn’t that simple, however, and that women’s sportswear has special and additional concerns.
   
 
Google Books
Boom:
Marketing to the Ultimate Power Consumer—the Baby Boomer Woman
By Mary Brown and Carol Orsborn
New York, NY: American Management Association
2006
Pg. 55:
“On why not to just shrink it and pink it” by Fran Philip
(...)
This doesn’t mean just taking a man’s backpack, cutting it down in size and offering it in more feminine colors — what’s known in the industry as “shrink it and pink it.”
     
Google Books
July 2007, Bicycling, pg. 65 ad:
YOU WOULDN’T RUN A 10K IN HIS SHOES
SO WHY RIDE ANOTHER MILE ON HIS BIKE?
OUR T:NINE ALLIANCE TEAM WON’T ACCEPT HAND-ME-DOWN MEN’S BIKES OR PINK-IT AND SHRINK-IT, “WOMEN’S-SPECIFIC” DESIGNS, AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU.
(T-NINE—ed.)
     
Washington (DC) Post
Equipping A New Wave Of Female Athletes
By Ylan Q. Mui
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 6, 2007
Perspiration, it seems, does not discriminate.
 
Sports apparel brand Under Armour launched its moisture-wicking shirts on the backs of football players at the University of Maryland. Now, the Baltimore company is betting that women get just as sweaty
(...)
Plank said the company first attempted to launch a women’s line in late 2001. The clothes were designed, manufactured and ready to ship to distributors when he pulled the plug. Plank said the line was largely derived from its men’s products—a process he jokingly called “pink it and shrink it”—and it wasn’t going to work.
     
BootsnAll
Backpacks for a Woman’s Figure?
Markus
Added on: October 27th, 2007
90% of pack manufacturers just follow the “Shrink it and Pink it” model of creating female specific packs.
 
There are a couple out there that actually do put thought into their designs, but it’s all rather silly if you ask me. There are men who fit women’s packs, and women who fit men’s packs. It’s all about body shape and more often than not just about general brand fit. Either you work with a brand or you don’t.
 
Google Books
Where’s Your WOW?:
16 Ways to Make Your Competitors Wish They Were You!
By Robyn Spizman and Rick Frishman
New York, NY: McGraw Hill Professional
2008
Pg. 118:
In the markets where women were becoming consumers, particularly in sports and recreation, manufacturers had begun creating new products that took the approach known as “shrink it and pink it.”
   
Google Groups: alt.usage.english
Bailout For Wood Arrows
John Varela
10/2/08
(...)
I heard on the radio this morning that Palin’s candidacy is lending strength to an existing trend to manufacture hunting gear for women.  A hunting bow in pink camo was mentioned, along with the industry slogan, “Pink it and shrink it!”
 
Google Books
The Minimalist Runner:
Transitioning from Traditional Running Shoes to Develop Good Running Form
By Nicholas Pan
Published by author and On The Go Ventures
2010
Pg. 143:
Women’s Specific Shoes—Shoes are designed from the ground up (last, tooling, etc.). It is not just “shrink it and pink it.”
 
YouTube
Advertising to Women: ‘Shrink It & Pink It’ is Deadly
ForaTv
Published on Nov 3, 2013
Full video from 3% is available at: http://fora.tv/2013/10/17/Marketing_t...
   
Google Books
Sports Marketing:
A Strategic Perspective, 5th Edition
By Matthew D. Shank and Mark R. Lyberger
New York, NY: Routledge
2015
Pg. 39:
Pink it and shrink it. Just a few years ago, that was the idea. That’s the amount of thought professional sports leagues they put into products for their women fans. They’d just take the popular men’s stuff—the boxy t-shirts, player jerseys, boodies and such—make them smaller and turn them out in quintessential girlie color. How quaint.
 
Vail (CO) Daily
March 24, 2015
Vail Valley’s first women’s cycling club gets underway
By Melanie Wong
(...)
RIDE LIKE A GIRL
Lauren Williams, with Outdoor Divas, an outdoor gear and clothing retailer, said she was impressed at the response to the Vail Valley Vixens. The mass interest in a ladies-only club shows that the old adage of “shrink it and pink it” no longer applies to the way people think about women’s sports, she said.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Beyond “Pink It and Shrink It” Perceived Product Gender, Aesthetics, and Product Evaluation
Author: Miriam Tilburg Affiliation: University of St. Gallen; Theo Lieven Affiliation: University of St. Gallen; Andreas Herrmann Affiliation: University of St. Gallen; Claudia Townsend Affiliation: University of Miami; et al
Edition/Format: Article Article : English
Publication: Psychology & Marketing, v32 n4 (April 2015): 422-437
Database: Wiley Online Library
Summary:
Marketing research on product personality suggests that products possess gender; however, the process by which a product becomes masculine or feminine is unknown. This research identifies product aesthetics as a source of product masculinity and femininity and investigates the influence of product gender created by aesthetics on consumer behavior.