The Story of Purple

I have always had a draw to the color purple.  Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers.  Besides black and white, purple dominates my wardrobe.   Purple is elegant and can be soft as a whisper or decant as creme brule.  When I started my business I knew I needed to incorporate the color purple some how.

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While attending a conference in Boston last week, I had the pleasure of being told the Story of the color purple and thought I would share. 

According to Greek legend, the dye was discovered by king, Melqart, when he and the nymph Tyros went for a stroll on the Mediterranean beach with their dog. The dog chased ahead and bit into one of the mollusks. It came back to its master, muzzle dripping with a purple substance. He immediately dyed a gown with the dye and presented it to his consort.

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Because it requires as many as 10,000 animals to produce a gram of the dye, it was also very expensive to make. In each civilization, the molluscan Purple dye eventually came to be associated only with the highest political authorities.  Kimonos were dyed entirely in Purple.  In 1st century Rome, Nero issued a decree that only the emperor could wear the purple–hence, the name Royal Purple.

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We hope you enjoyed the story as much as we did and treat yourself like royalty by adding a little purple into your style!

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