Think of someone you know whose favorite color is purple. Is it just their favorite color, or is it something more?
If you don’t know anyone with a pull towards this shade, use me as an example. Right now, I’m sitting in my dorm on my purple, black and white comforter, next to my purple body pillow, looking at my purple wall décor, purple backpack, purple makeup, thinking about the tons of purple clothes sitting in my draws, while my purple LED lights twinkle on the ceiling. Somehow it’s not just a favorite color anymore, and it’s infiltrated into every piece of my life.
I only type in purple fonts on Instagram, and sometimes I buy stuff just for the sole reason that it’s purple. I can’t tell if Tangled is actually my favorite Disney princess movie or if I’m just obsessed with the color scheme.
Purple wasn’t always my favorite color, the first one I remember loving as a child was the brightest, most neon, hot shade of pink that was popping up in clothes and toys and accessories in stores like Justice and Claire’s circa 2009. The walls of my room were painted pink, and of course, I owned a lot of things that were pink, but unlike purple, I never went out of my way to try and find everything I wanted to buy in that color.
I didn’t become aware of this “purple person” phenomenon until sometime last Fall while I was (you guessed it) scrolling through Tiktok.
There was this trending audio going around that went something like this:
“…Every single person that I know who’s favorite color is purple like it’s not just their favorite color, no it is like their whole entire life. Not one purple person have I met and they’re like ‘oh yeah whatever my favorite color’s purple, no big deal’ no they’re like ‘PURPLE. EVERYTHING’S PURPLE, ALL OF MY CLOTHES, MY BEDROOM, MY WHOLE ENTIRE HOUSE, I’M PURPLE, I EAT PURPLE…’”
@marissakdoeshair
I clicked on that sound for the first time to see that over 3000 people had used it, most of whom were these so-called “purple people” who were showcasing personal style, bedrooms, houses, cars, shoe collections, you name it– all in every shade of purple imaginable. It took me down the hole of purple person Tiktok. There were so many other videos I was finding that I related to—for example, this TikTok and this one too.
So why is that? What is it about this color that has me and so many others so whipped for it?
There’s a field of study known as color psychology that suggests different colors can have a powerful impact on a person’s emotions and may evoke different reactions or associations. For example, the color green may evoke feelings of growth, hope, or freshness, while red seems to be the trademark color of anger or passion.
Purple is often described as feeling mysterious or spiritual, and it rarely occurs in nature, which naturally makes it intriguing. Purple is also often associated with royalty and wealth. According to verywellmind.com, “these associations with royalty were originally due to the fact that the Phoenician purple dye that was used in ancient times was very rare and extremely expensive.” Some even think that people currently drawn to the color purple could be related to or have some kind of connection to a past person of this wealthy nature.
Different shades of purple can have different meanings as well. Lighter shades like lavenders or lilacs can be associated with romance and light-heartedness, while darker shades tend to bring out feelings of sadness and can be used in situations of mourning, death, or even horror. A medium shade of purple is used for the Purple Heart in the United States, one of the highest honors in military service. It is a symbol of great courage and bravery
Overall, purple is an unnatural, visually intriguing color that I love.
“Since purple does not often occur in nature, it can sometimes appear exotic or artificial. For this reason, it tends to be quite a polarizing color. People tend to either really love purple or really hate it” (verywellmind.com).
So next time you see a purple person, don’t hate. They may have been a royal in a past life.