Need
a new image? Then look at the various tones within the vast
palette of the berry range, in particular purple and violet.
High street and online seller Debenhams have lovely purple
and violet prom dresses like this violet dress. Right - Gorgeous
violet purple evening dress with prom features and from
Debenhams Spring 2010 range. Range - Red Herring Purple Ruched
Dress - Debenhams Womenswear SS10.
The retailer called RARE have many cocktail short evening dresses with
ZIP front feature fastenings. The rich purple prom dress shown far right
below has a
fashionable visible back zip that acts a decorative feature. The RARE brand is distributed through 21 concession-based
outlets within Topshop, their latest fashion trend is for a new luxury
capsule collection, Rare Opulence.
Above Centre - Vanessa Power Dress - £40 - In Purple, Black
& Charcoal - RARE AW09 - From 'Rare by The Saturdays'.
Above Right - RARE - Mollie Zip Front Peplum Dress - £35 - Available in Purple & Gun
Metal - RARE AW09.
Above Left - Littlewoods Pastel Lilac Teatro Ruffle Bustier
Dress - £85.
The tone of purple veers from the cooler blue tones of ultra violet
through
indigo, to the warmer true purple.
These lovely dresses, ranging from ultraviolet to true purple, are on the
high street in 2010.
Top Far Left - Matalan Womenswear AW09 - Be Beau Electric
Blue Zip Dress £25.
Matalan Stockist Tel: 0845 330 3330.
Centre left - Zip Dress by Rare - Autumn/Winter 2009/10.
Centre Left - Prιcis Petite Purple Dress - £139.
Far Left - Evans Plus Size Beaded Kimono Dress/Slip £55.
The 2010 purple fashion trend also encompasses these lovely
colours, deepest blueberry,
puce magenta, plum, damson,
mauve, heather and aubergine. Observe below how they create colour variety that mixes and blends so well
together.
However, purple extends through to the redder berry tones, where
it
immediately brings to mind summer puddings or the blackberry stained fingers from
eating the raw berries.
Think
of all the red toned and purple toned berry and stone fruits
like loganberry, redcurrant, raspberry, blackberry, dewberry,
blueberry, cherry, plum, blackcurrant, sloe and damson.
Next imagine mixing
these sensational base colours with creamy white or deepest black.
Within moments the tonal
range of tints and shades within the berry family is enormous.
Berry colours for 2010 range from
rapture rose to deepest damson making purple tones some of the
most fashionable colours to have in our winter wardrobe.
Details Right:-
Top Far Left - Ruffle Fall Tunic Dress by Oasis.
Centre - Monsoon Autumn/Winter 2009 Purple 'Originals' Andie
Dress £135/229 Eire.
Right - Dorothy Perkins Plum Animal Dress.
Lower Right
Bottom Far Left - Wallis Autumn Winter 09 Purple and Black
Embellished Shift Dress, £50/76.
Centre - Monsoon Fusion Purple Madonna Dress £55/93 Eire.
Monsoon Autumn/Winter 2009.
Right - Monsoon Autumn/Winter 2009 Purple Originals Sue-Ellen
Dress £160/271 Eire.
Here are the latest women's purple tops and tunics for 2010.
From slick bustiers to easy sequin cowl neck
tops and floaty plus size tunics like these below, all can be
bought online.
Above Far Left - Dorothy Perkins AW09 Purple Satin Bustier -
£30/45.
Centre - Debenhams 'Red Herring' Sequin Top in Lilac - £32 -
Debenhams Christmas 2009 - Women.
Far Right - Simply Be - Embellished Tunic/Camisole by Anna Scholz
for Simply Be - Violet Tunic, £65.
Purple
is a bold colour, and some may adore wearing a bright purple
sequin mini skirt, like this one shown left, or equally see
themselves in these purple sequin hotpants. You may even find
them as a sale bargain in January 2010.
Right - Purple Sequin Short Skirt, £45 - Limited Collection Marks
& Spencer Autumn Winter 2009.
Left - River Island Purple Sequin Hotpants - £21.99.
Up and down the high street, berry hues and the purple colour family are
the principal elements of
many
fashion collections. In these price conscious times
readers
will be pleased to read that pantone have also named Violet as
one of the top core colours for the spring summer 2010 colour
palette. This autumn's purple heart blends beautifully with it.
Left -
Fall 2009/Winter 2010 - Purple Heart
(Pantone PANTONE 18-3520).
Right - Gorgeous violet purple evening dress with prom features
and from Debenhams Spring 2010 range. Red Herring Purple
Ruched Dress - Debenhams Womenswear SS10.
Left - Spring 2010 - Violet (PANTONE 16-3320).
The iris/blue/purple/violet/lavender range looks good on almost
everyone whether redhead, blonde or brunette. The purple family
can range from purple heart like the leather zip jacket or
evening dress right, to
the softest lilac and richer warmer tones.
These softer variations of the purple colour are shown in
the three prom cocktail dresses and the
party tops above, all
ideal them for jazzing up trousers and skirts for occasions.
Note too that coloured leathers and
visible
zippers are big fashion features of 2009/2010. This purple
leather zipped jacket would add great cover to many of the
purple dresses shown here or look fantastic teamed with jeans.
Near Right - Marks & Spencer 125 Womenswear - 2nd
Collection (Autumn 2009) Purple Leather Jacket with Asymmetric
Zipper Feature - T693622 - £120.
Women's belts, shoes, and handbags each show subtle new fashion
trends, both in the shades of purple and their construction and
style.
Belt Accessory
For those who have previously shied away from purple, but now
want to try this fashionable colour, I suggest that they introduce a strong bold bright purple into their
wardrobe in a small way, rather than wearing
it as a major garment. The way to make this fashion statement is by using the latest
purple fashion accessories such as this
inexpensive wide belt shown right.
A decorative belt like this one sums up the purple mood.
Right - Wallis Christmas 2009 - Purple Stone Embossed Elastic
Belt £18/24.
»
High Purple Shoes and Shoe Boots for 2010
Shoe boots offer a little more ankle support than normal court
heels so this type of shoe can be good for wearers new to heels.
If you are new to wearing high heels, you don't have to start as
young as Suri Cruise, just take it gently. Learn to walk in
heels, in private at home by gradually progressing through heels
size of 2-3cm, to 5-6 cm and so on until you feel comfortable in
a higher heel. Never wear new court heel shoes in the rain
without first having walked the sole on a rough surface to help
give sole grip and more stability. Alternate wearing different
heel heights including flat footwear so you don't over shorten
your calf muscle.
Above Left - Barratts Dunaway Belle & Mimi Purple
Suede Peep Toe Shoe, Lace Tie Front - £45.
Centre - Schuh Calvin 2 Buckle Shoe Boot, Purple Suede - £64.99/85. Also available in grey leather and black patent.
Right - Tamaris Purple Fringed Ankle Boot - £69.99 - Sizes 2-9.
All shoes have plenty off textural interest from
shiny smooth patent and croc reptilian effects, to suede and
suede finishes. Studs, fringe, zips, buckles, laces, buttons and
straps complement designs.
Seasoned heel wearers will love these purple
shoes with extra straps and concealed platforms. Looks
like the Mary Jane shoe has taken on a new lease of life.
Left - Very.co.uk - Fearne Cassandra Concealed Platform Shoe,
Purple.
Centre - Dorothy Perkins AW 09 Purple Multi Strap Mary Jane Shoe
- £38 52.
Right - A-SHU.CO.UK Purple & Puce Triple Strap Suede Effect
Platforms £38.00.
Thousands of years ago
Tyrian purple was once a much warmer puce colour
with hints of crimson. Today we would probably call the same
colour magenta. The cape coat shown top centre right is more like the tone
that purple was thousands of years ago. (You can read more about the details
of these
purple coat fashions
here on other
fashion-era 2009/10 fashion trend pages.) Today all
these other colours are loosely accepted within what we think of as the
purple range.
Tyrian purple gets its name from the place of
origin. The purple dye was made in Tyre in Phoenicia using marine secretions
from the snails found in Murex shells. However the Minoans are also
thought to have made a similar royal purple dye using Murex shells found on
Crete, but centuries before the Phoenicians made their discovery.
»
The
dye was always a luxury product and it was as expensive as silver weight for
weight then, just as saffron is more costly than gold gram for gram today.
Each snail yielded a drop of liquid which took time to develop into the dye
making the dye costly to procure and produce. Tyrian purple had a crimson
tinge to it.
In Roman times only the upper echelons were allowed to wear purple togas and
so a regal connection was born. From this early beginning it became
known as the imperial dye. Tyrian purple was very rare and costly to procure
from the sea. It needed specialists trained to get the snail bearing
the dye. Tyrian purple was more the puce tone you might see on a
Bishop's robes which today we think of as more crimson like and very similar
to some of the shoe boots shown further up this page.
Purple is a mixture of red and blue. Don't confuse purple with violet
which is on the end of the indigo blue spectrum, making it a spectral
colour. Variation in purple colour is due solely to the combination mix of
red to blue rather than to wavelength as in spectral violet. In good
light or as a sheer fabric violet appear more blue toned than purple.
Purple may seem warmer and redder.
Purple is a colour full of symbolism and a long association
with royalty. The colour purple denotes affluence,
supremacy, dominance and magnificent opulence.
Tones of purple can be used as a mourning colour instead of
black or white, but be careful when you choose to wear purple as
a new millennium mourning colour. Whilst Her Majesty The Queen
Elizabeth II experienced no public wrath for wearing purple to a
UK Remembrance Service on a Saturday in November 2009, Cherie
Blair was heavily chastised for wearing purple the following day
at the official Remembrance Sunday Ceremony in 2009, especially
as all other attendees wore black.
Purple is also associated with spirituality, mystery and
pacification. The stone is believed to protect wearers from
getting too intoxicated with alcohol. A good quality amethyst
will be a rich deep purple gem, but paler tones of lilacs to
rose amethysts are available to suit many tastes and price
ranges. The amethyst birthstone is very hard wearing and
this makes it a good jewellery buy.
The amethyst is the stone of Saint Valentine and was once the
stone of Royals as purple was the colour of power. It is
the perfect gemstone to give as a Valentines jewellery gift on
Saint Valentine's Day, celebrated on 14 February each year and
of course just as suitable fro Christmas and birthdays too.
Right - Studio Edge: Purple Pear Cut Gem Earrings £49.
Studio Edge is a newly launched jewellery website showcasing
exclusive, contemporary creations from up-and-coming designers.
Studioedge.co.uk aims to bring together original,
individual pieces for jewellery-lovers, whilst helping launch
the careers of promising new design talent.
Copyright of images courtesy of Prshots,
Marks & Spencer, Simply Be, Harvey Nichols, House of Fraser, John Lewis, George at Asda, Oasis, Precis Petite, Rare, Evans, Monsoon, Dorothy
Perkins, Office, Debenhams, Wallis, Littlewoods,
River Island, Accessorize Monsoon, M&Co, Barratts, Tamaris,
A-Shu-co.uk, Schuh, T.K.Maxx, Matalan, ASOS,
Warehouse, Pantone,
Very.co.uk, Warehouse, Studio Edge, and IFTF.
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Purple
is a bold colour, and some may adore wearing a bright purple
sequin mini skirt, like this one shown left, or equally see
themselves in these purple sequin hotpants. You may even find
them as a sale bargain in January 2010.
Up and down the high street, berry hues and the purple colour family are
the principal elements of
many
fashion collections. In these price conscious times
readers
will be pleased to read that pantone have also named Violet as
one of the top core colours for the spring summer 2010 colour
palette. This autumn's purple heart blends beautifully with it. 
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