17 May 2011

The Sensation of Purple

One of the best things about my school besides the roast potatoes was the summer uniform. We were allowed to wear any dress of our choosing, as long as it was purple, or white and purple. Not a first choice colour perhaps, but it was an invitation to self-expression, in Putney.

Sometimes girls were banned from wearing a perfectly good dress which happened to be puce. Or mauve, or violet or chartreuse. In the daily debate at register the purple police did manage at least to open our eyes to the possibilities of colour. A frock which seemed purple(ish) at home became suddenly very blue when lined up with other summer dresses in assembly. A bit like the iris, above.

My cool cotton pinafore from Laura Ashley (when Laura Ashley was still relevant of course) was a madras check, the colour of Patty's Plum poppy.

And geranium Mrs Kendall Clark.

It may have raised an eyebrow, but from a distance the effect of the two colours together was purple enough.

It would be churlish to try to ignore the dominant colour of Spring, so I'm really trying to love pure purple. It does look better in a garden than in a pre-fab hut.

Allium Purple Sensation.

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