Lovely Lavender Ladies

[ 17 November 2009 ]

I love lavender. When I was about 4, my parents let me choose what colour I wanted my room to be. I AGONISED over two shades of purple, finally picked one & never looked back. Later, when I was 13, it was time to paint my bedroom again — in a new house this time. Again, I went for lavender. It is, obviously, my favourite colour for a bedroom. In fact, I have only ever had a white or lavender bedroom… & I like it that way.

Why the trip down memory lane? Lavender is going to be big-big-big in the fashion stakes in 2010. The delicate hue was omnipresent on the runway this year, in practically every incarnation possible, from angelic ruffles that bordered on the insane at Viktor + Rolf to floral slips & icy eye-shadow at Dior.

Lavender

Lavender

Lavender

...& the shoes, oh the shoes. I’m so glad platforms have not yet been pushed from their perilous pedestal!

So the lavender craze is great news for people like me, who just cannot get enough. It’s such a lovely shade of purple but please note that it can be hard for some people to pull off. It all depends on the shade, but the paler ones in particular can make a lot of us look like we’re battling to stay alive. If pastels don’t suit you, go a bit brighter. Try violet, or team your lavender pieces with black for contrast.

Again, you can really wear any colour, but if it’s not quite the right shade for you, just don’t wear it next to your face! Lavender leggings (like these from We Love Colors), a pair of gloves or a bottle of nailpolish are an easy & inexpensive way to get in on the fun. Here are some other ideas for those of us who are probably not going to be rocking the latest Burberry Prorsum ensemble any time soon…

Lavender
(Product information)

(I am absolutely in love with that purple satchel from Cambridge Satchel Company — expect to see me frolicking around with one very soon!)

How else can you bring a little lilac into your life? Try wearing purple with grey, white, yellow or blue. Start using a periwinkle highlighter on your to do list. Let plum-coloured socks peek from above the top of your ankle boots. Wear MAC Cosmetics’ Violet Trance eye-shadow. Drink parfait amour over ice — it is vivid purple, tastes like roses, vanilla & almonds & is my favourite drink bar none. Sign documents in violet ink. Dye your hair with Special Effects in Wildflower (!!!). Wear a big, sparkly purple heart necklace. Paint your nails with OPI DS Mystery. Don a grape Ring Pop. Wrap all your gifts with layer upon layer of violet & lavender tissue paper (& lots of silver stars). Buy a purple collar for your cat or dog. Make a miniature altar to Willy Wonka. Listen to Prince all the time. Buy lavender bed linen.

If you need a little more inspiration, commit this poem to memory. Then go forth & purple!

Warning by Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes
that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.


Love letters & feather headdresses,

<3
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Comment

  1. AH!! I love lavender too! I badly want lavender nail polish—the shade you listed is beautiful. I also would like those gloves, please & thank you! : )

    <3 emily · Nov 17, 10:06 AM · #

  2. emily — OPI’s Designer Series is my favourite nailpolish EVER, it’s so sparkly & it lasts forever!

    <3 Gala · Nov 17, 10:14 AM · #

  3. Aw, the Red Hat Society poem! Have you seen any of these women out and about? You have to be over 50, and the go out in their purple outfits and red hats…truly fabulous!

    <3 Becky · Nov 17, 10:19 AM · #

  4. Those Christian Louboutin’s are delicious! I do like lavender, it’s soft and romantic, and worn right it has the power to look rich with an air of decadence :3

    <3 Luana · Nov 17, 10:26 AM · #

  5. Lovely. Purple is so good. So is pink. I pretty much embraced the hell out of pink for the first time last fall/winter, and I still cannot get enough of my favorite pink cardigan. I keep finding new ways to wear it — over a black dress, with business attire, or against a blue skirt. Woo, contrast! I think you’ve inspired me to give lavender a road test this year.

    Oh, and I’m so glad you included that poem. Bless … :-D

    <3 Mary · Nov 17, 10:30 AM · #

  6. This makes me want to wear my lavender eye shadow today! And those Versace shoes! Oh my goodness are they gorgeous!

    <3 Vanessa · Nov 17, 10:33 AM · #

  7. My bedroom is currently lavender, it’s one of those beautiful calming shades and hey they do say the scent of lavender helps you sleep so prehaps by painting your bedroom that colour it’s sending you subliminal scent messages :D

    <3 Cate · Nov 17, 10:36 AM · #

  8. I wear purple every day, people comment “ Do you own clothing in any other color”. I look forward to being an old woman and finally being able to wear that red hat with all my purple.

    <3 vic · Nov 17, 10:36 AM · #

  9. That satchel is lovely! The Versace shoes are also droolworthy. Yumm.

    and I can vouch for SFX Wildflower, I used it before. Very pretty shade of lavender, that also bleached out to a nice platinum. Unfortunately lavender isn’t super flattering on me, so I haven’t used it again! My hair is a dark purple right now though…does that count?

    <3 Michelle · Nov 17, 10:38 AM · #

  10. Those Versace shoes are to die for!
    Lavender is a nice color, but I must admit I’ve never owned anything in it. The first color I ever painted my room was “shamrock green” looking back, it was quite and eye-sore.

    <3 danini · Nov 17, 10:46 AM · #

  11. Thanks for opening my eyes to lavender lol. I’m loving it.

    <3 denise · Nov 17, 10:52 AM · #

  12. Purple is awesome – I find the paler shades look a bit odd with my hair, but I have a bright purple knit dress that’s a winter favourite of mine!

    My hair used to be bright purple, but I switched to red because chemical dyes don’t stain showers as much as the vegetable dye I was using, and also because I had to re-do it far too often for my schedule!

    <3 Vixel · Nov 17, 10:55 AM · #

  13. oh gala, this entry is bringing a mist to my eyes. Purple has been my favorite color since the first day on kindergarten when I opened my brand new box of crayons and picked out the purple crayon. It was like I was seeing the color for the first time and I was absolutely smitten. Pretty much every drawing I made that whole year was in shades of violet.
    Since then purple has remained an essential part of my life,although I am guilty of letting it sit in the backround. I haven’t been wearing purple as much, and I’ve been feeling down. I bought a Lilac cardigan the otherday and my live is renwed! I am very excited because I’m about to re-do my bedroom in shades of purple and grey, and I’m on a purple rampage!

    This post has helped to remind me to start wearing purple! To not be shy and let the color bring sunshine back into my life. Purple makes me happy, why shouldn’t I wear it everyday?.
    (also I’ve been saving my pennies for that satchel for some time, isn’t it just devine?)

    <3 Lillian · Nov 17, 11:00 AM · #

  14. Ah purple…I wear purple eyeshadow all the time, it makes my green eyes go POW!

    <3 'Becca'lise · Nov 17, 11:01 AM · #

  15. Oh, purple is my favorite color! As long as I can remember, I had a purple bedroom. My most favorite purple shirt is from Gap. Oh, I love purple so much… the color of royalty.

    <3 autumnh@comcast.net · Nov 17, 11:03 AM · #

  16. Hey! I went to NY this past weekend and everything that I bought is purple…For me purple is a fine line between insane and commonsense, because I wear a crazy color but I still look “normal” (with blue hair…)

    <3 honeyange · Nov 17, 11:09 AM · #

  17. Oof. I really want to inject some lavender into my hair – I’ve done it before though and it’s taken me so long to grow it back to its natural state that I’m kind of scared! You may have just pushed me over the edge with this here post, though…

    <3 Amelia · Nov 17, 11:21 AM · #

  18. I love any shade of purple!! Is my favourite color…and of course lavander is prettyyyyfull! Lavander nailpolish is a great way to wear it! I also love any lavander accesory, but I prefer dark purple for my clothes.
    As my mom says, my skin is “matte”; medium-yellowish, so any shade of purple suits me :) I recommend it to anyone that has yellow-undertones, you’ll look awesome

    <3 fran · Nov 17, 11:53 AM · #

  19. I love this grouping/selection! I’m very into plum (today I was told it’s my color) and I’ve been finding lilac to be a good pop to add in with it.

    <3 Stella · Nov 17, 12:02 PM · #

  20. You should definatley get the satchel, I got a regualr brown one from the Cambridge Satchel company and it is ace, a purple one would be double ace!

    <3 Debbie Johnson · Nov 17, 12:13 PM · #

  21. I feel like everyone loves purple. But seriously, how can you not? This shade has only become my favorite in the last couple of months. I’ve gone through a couple nail lacquer bottles because the last little while, I’ve been obsessed with this shade of purple – lavender. It just seriously makes me happy and puts me in a good mood when I look down and see my nail color when I’m doing everything (like texting, reading something where my thumb is on the edge of the page, just everything!).

    <3 Alexis · Nov 17, 12:55 PM · #

  22. I don’t like purple all that much, but it loves my green eyes and blonde hair. I wear purple eyeshadow a LOT. And I love that collage, especially the Docs.

    <3 Nadine · Nov 17, 12:56 PM · #

  23. Those doc martens are amaaaazing!! the nail varnish is incredible as well! purple has been my favourite colour ever since i did a project on the egyptians in primary school and my teacher told me the egyptians didn’t use purple and i used it on every single page of the project. haha, i was quite a rebellious little child.

    <3 Maya · Nov 17, 01:00 PM · #

  24. Ooh lavender is so pretty! I can imagine it’ll look so pretty on your walls! Purple eyeshadow and lips are also popular now in the beauty world :) So I must get me some lavender eyeshadow! :D

    P.S. I want that Versace outfit!

    <3 Renee | Beauty Fool · Nov 17, 01:03 PM · #

  25. Surprised this hasn’t come up yet…

    Gogol Bordello, you’ll all love it!

    Music Video for “Start Wearing Purple,” Ukrainian Gypsy Punk for the Win!

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM1Ahn…

    <3 Kayla · Nov 17, 01:18 PM · #

  26. Your blog is wonderful. I really enjoyed reading some of it, very positive and uplifting, so fun to read. You’re also beautiful! Keep it up!!!

    <3 luxirare · Nov 17, 01:36 PM · #

  27. Purple has always been my signature color! I too have a purple bedroom, but with plum curtains and a lavender bedspread. I love that belted Burberry dress.

    PS I second Kayla’s motion! Go listen to “Start Wearing Purple” by Gogol Bordello!

    <3 Alzy · Nov 17, 02:01 PM · #

  28. Ooo I LOVE lavanders too, especially with make-up right now!

    By the way, where did you get that outfit (especially the skirt) in the new love and sequins photo? I adore that purple skirt!! And the black top too =D

    <3 Sunny · Nov 17, 02:06 PM · #

  29. I saw a wonderful group of old women on the train a few months ago, all wearing purple outfits with red hats! Except one, in a red outfit with a purple hat, because it was her birthday. I grinned from ear to ear the whole trip!

    <3 Annabel · Nov 17, 02:16 PM · #

  30. Not sure I’ll be partaking of the lavender lovliness (heavy metal and pastel shades do not an appropriate pairing make) but I ADORED that poem.

    Also, I have lavender planted in my garden and it makes fantastic lavender biscuits and cupcakes!

    <3 Steff Metal · Nov 17, 02:22 PM · #

  31. I love the satchel and the gloves! Purple has always been my favorite color, but since I have pale skin and blond hair, I tend to go for the darker shades!

    <3 Mausumi · Nov 17, 02:23 PM · #

  32. Yay Lavendar! I will certainly keep my eyes peeled for some pretty purple pieces. I love the Versace outfit the most.

    <3 Lorelle · Nov 17, 02:43 PM · #

  33. Oh bejeejus, lavender is the color of my childhood.

    <3 Jandruff · Nov 17, 03:13 PM · #

  34. purple has been my favorite fade of color so far, it’s what i’m at right now. i took this right after i woke up this past weekend:

    farm3.static.flickr.com/2589/4…

    totally my favorite color as a child, too. funny.

    <3 karen · Nov 17, 04:16 PM · #

  35. I have a gorgeous lavender nailpolish, and I love it. I’m more of a red & orange kind of girl, though.

    <3 Miss Sofia · Nov 17, 04:21 PM · #

  36. Mannn, purple has been my favourite colour for ageeesss!
    In fact, I own those particular Doc Martens and am wearing a lavender bathrobe this very minute! I definitely have to get that satchel now, it’s such a beautiful shade.

    <3 Loulou · Nov 17, 04:36 PM · #

  37. Yes!!! Loving the lavender! Today I bought a new purple pen to start afresh in my new moleskine: I’m oddly ecstatic about it. Something about starting a new journal makes me want to overhaul my entire life, it’s like a blank slate. I’m busy scribbling intentions and quotes and new sartorial directions, all in a loverly violet!
    Oh and that poem is an old favourite of mine, thanks for reminding me of it.
    xxxxx

    <3 Lottie · Nov 17, 04:38 PM · #

  38. That’s funny, I read that poem for an English class assignment the other day.

    <3 Janelle · Nov 17, 04:43 PM · #

  39. I loved when you had lavender hair—it was so pretty and unique! It was always my favorite of your hair colors… until you bleached it to bones platinum (can I tell you again how chic your hair looks?).

    <3 Annie Spandex · Nov 17, 05:36 PM · #

  40. I LOVE purple!!!! My room is the most beautiful lilac mauve color. One day I noticed that purple was everywhere in my life: the color of my brush, the color of my shampoo, pens, SHOES!...then I knew that I had found my color.

    <3 Autumn · Nov 17, 05:51 PM · #

  41. oh my goodness… i remember that poem!! i think i learned it in 6th grade…

    i have a post on lavender all lined up for this week. it’s SUCH a gorgeous color and a perfect substitute for a soft neutral… LOVED your runway picks!

    <3 cassandra @ coco+kelley · Nov 17, 06:25 PM · #

  42. I love the Red Hat Club… they’re the cutest old ladies ever. There’s this boutique in a small town near where I live and all they sell is purple clothes and red hats… AWESOME.

    <3 Hannah · Nov 17, 07:33 PM · #

  43. Those Louboutins are GORGEOUS. I absolutely LOVE the color purple. I can totally understand what you went through with the lavendar paint and all. Purple was my favorite color all throughout childhood (my mom says that even when I was a baby I would favor purple things), and it’s still my favorite color. Almost every pen I own is either purple or black, and I have a very large collection of purple eyeshadow (I don’t have Violet Trance, though—-it’s a little too dark for my light skin…my favorite is probably Clinique Rock Violet, but I love MAC Stars N’ Rockets too). I’m very glad that purple is in style this season! I’ll be rocking my sparkly lilac heels.

    <3 Doreen · Nov 17, 09:02 PM · #

  44. I LOVE that poem! where did you find it?
    Also, I’ve been trying to wear purple since I was 11! I have yet to find a shade that looks good on me! I’m 36 now & it’s back in again! Should I bypass this trend & just give up hope of finding my purple hue? I so desperatly love the colour.
    I’ll be the 1 u see gazing longingly at the purple sweaters in the display window. Any advice?

    <3 Kerry · Nov 17, 10:24 PM · #

  45. OH MYYYY. Our highschool had a select women’s choir sing Warning by Jenny Joseph, it was awesome. Everyone was smiling and laughing by the end, LOVE IT.

    <3 ~kate · Nov 17, 10:33 PM · #

  46. LOVE the print on the Versace shoes, but the poor Viktor and Rolf model… she looks like one of those furry microfiber dusters. :x

    <3 Hendrix · Nov 17, 10:45 PM · #

  47. I think that Lavender is one of the only colours that suit nearly every skin tone. Its the only pastel colour i can wear without looking sallow

    <3 Christy · Nov 17, 10:47 PM · #

  48. Ha, my room is currently purple… I loved it madly when I first did it. It’s been about five years now though, I’m a little sick of it, but lavender is such a pretty color for clothing! It’s one of those colors that goes with almost anything, but yet few people seem to wear…

    <3 Limespark ~ Please Feed the Bears. · Nov 17, 11:03 PM · #

  49. YES, I’m with Kayla. Gogol Bordello’s Start Wearing Purple was the first thing that came to mind after reading this article.

    Great job as always, Gala. I’m gonna go dig out that purple top I knew I had…

    <3 Yukino · Nov 18, 12:55 AM · #

  50. Weird, I just sat down to read this post with my breakfast of coffee and toast covered in blueberry and lavender jam!

    <3 Caroline · Nov 18, 03:09 AM · #

  51. I am in love with that poem! So good!

    <3 Miss Peregrin · Nov 18, 04:36 AM · #

  52. OH MY GODDDDD!!!! I’ve just DIED and gone to heaven!! I effing LOVE you! This is the best post EVEERRRR!!

    I’m getting my boyfriend to buy me all those things for christmas! Especially the pastel purple doc martens, I’ve been lusting over those for MONTHS!!

    Once again, I love YOUUUUU!

    <3 Kerry · Nov 18, 05:14 AM · #

  53. Fun post! I’ll look forward to seeing it everywhere next year :)

    <3 drummbellina · Nov 18, 06:11 AM · #

  54. i love purple in all shades. my screen name/email has always been “ultraviolet”. i love it so much my tattoo (a nordic compass) is shades of purple. that satchel is definitely on my wishlist!

    <3 ultraviolet · Nov 18, 08:37 AM · #

  55. My bedroom has always been a sweet shade of purple too! I love it.
    I just bought some lavender bubble bath to get in the spirit:)

    <3 Sarah · Nov 18, 09:50 PM · #

  56. i had a lavender bedroom! from the age of 5 til 17!! i couldn’t bring myself to change it.. the walls were lavender but the cornice and skirting boards were a dark shade of purple! my mum and dad let me choose.. and i remember thinking how old i felt.. being able to choose the colours! i miss that bedroom :( im loving those versace platforms! im madly inlove with peach and orange at the moment.. it matches my hair perfectly!

    <3 Haels · Nov 19, 08:16 AM · #

  57. Ooh ooh! I personally love Essie St. Lucia Lilac over OPI DS Mystery—too dark, too black, not enough sweetness for true lavender!

    I can’t wait to wear it with black lace over it! Aaaaah!

    <3 Riki · Nov 19, 03:57 PM · #

  58. Oh my goodness! My lovely gray cat Lavender is so happy to hear this! As am I!

    Also,
    Thank you for bringing an extra little sparkle and colorful inspiration to my life!

    <3 Elizabeth · Nov 20, 11:30 PM · #

  59. OPI’s nailpolish in “Done Out In Deco” perfect lavender.

    <3 Kt · Nov 21, 03:27 PM · #