costume in the movie.
Royalty, Creativity, and Wisdom
In ancient times, the color purple was so expensive to produce that only the super elite, like royalty, could afford such a decadent dye for their clothing. This linked the color purple with royalty. In addition to luxury, purple has associations with creativity, wisdom, power, ambition, and even magic.
Purple can be both stimulating and calming because it’s a mix of red and blue, making it either cool or warm depending on the amount of either pigment. Cooler shades of purple are violet, periwinkle, indigo, and so on. It’s also based somewhat on my perception of the color since purple can be tricky to tell it’s temperatures sometimes.
This list ranks cooler purple costumes from period movies. Costumes from Modern set and Fantasy/Sci-Fi movies have separate lists, as do warmer purple costumes. Articles of clothing, like undergarments, cover-ups, sleepwear, and outerwear are not included.
Costumes are ranked by aesthetics, memorability and how they suit the character/film.
List is subject to change.
10. Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby (2013)
Designer: Catherine Martin
Baz Luhrmann is known for his over-the-top decadent and lavish approach to film and his 2013 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby is no different.
As part of Jay Gatsby’s grand plan to reconnect to his love Daisy, he arranges to have her come to tea at her cousin’s house. To this tea Daisy wears a day look. The sleeveless dress is made from a is grayish purple lace layered over a purple. The dress is embellished with muted gray periwinkle tulip shaped detail sewn on to the dress at the shoulders and tiered at the hem, making them function akin to fringe.
Her hat and fingerless gloves are made from the lace adding to sense a feeling of romance of the scene as Jay and Daisy see one other again.
9. Barbara Novak from Down with Love (2003)
Designer: Daniel Orlandi
As a plan to get her controversial book more attention, Barbara Novak (Renée Zellweger) arranges to meet with journalist, Catcher Block for an interview. The trouble is he keeps canceling on her. The final straw for Barbara is during a breakfast meeting when she proclaims that she would never meet with him. This is, however, all part of her grand plan.
To this failed meeting that she knew Catcher would not attend, Barbara wears a charming light vibrant dress. It’s very fashion-forward for 1963 as it is form-fitting, whereas the fuller skirts of the 1950s were becoming slightly dated.
The fabric is textured and ruched at the seams. The neckline is straight across with little white beads at the edge and down one side to the mid-bust. Also on the bodice are four round buttons. It sleeveless gives the looks cool vibe which suits Barbara’s “cool blonde” persona. She pairs the look with a matching straw hat with a wide ribbon that is in a bow at the center front.
Down with Love is criminally under-rated.
8. Fanny Brice from Funny Girl (1968)
Designer: Irene Sharaff
Set in the Edwardian period prior to World War I, Funny Girl is a biopic and comedy drama about Fanny Brice played by the incomparable Barbra Streisand. During the dinner scene with Nick, Fanny wears a deep royal violet color that has a slight hint of gray to it. Nick compliments her on how the color looks good with her eyes, to which Fanny makes a quip about how it only looks good with the right and she hates what it does with the left.
The color of the dress pops against the rich red tones of the room The costume is definitely a 1960s interpretation of an Edwardian evening gown. The bodice is empire and heavily beaded, and there are some lovely longer stands of beading lining the arm holes. The lower skirt is gathered up into a poof around the knees and trimmed with a thick band of darker purple flowers.
Below the poof the skirt fits slightly closer and the fabric looks like it has a pleated texture. The lining fabric looks like a dark green gray color. This look is not only lovely, but super iconic.
7. Queen Elizabeth I from Elizabeth the Golden Age (2007)
Designer: Alexandra Byrne
Elizabeth the Golden Age is the 2007 follow-up to the 1998 movie Elizabeth, which followed Elizabeth’s early days as Queen. The Golden Age shows her in conflict against the Spanish Armada. Queen Elizabeth I (Cate Blanchett) wears this rich royal purple when she learns that the Spanish Armada is approaching and when she learns of a perceived betrayal from one of her ladies.
The fabric looks to be a heavy moire silk. The collars are different in the two scenes as she wears a high collar and neck made from a black lace when the armada is closing in and not as high and without the ruff detail in the scene with Bess. Black lace is used as cuffs on the long sleeves which are cut wide at the top, giving it a leg of mutton appearance. Shoulder guards are made from purple velvet offering a nice texture contrast.
At one side of the bodice there is an asymmetrical beaded draping of five strands of silver beads. This draping starts at the shoulder and crosses over the bodice and is attached at the opposite lower side front. Down the center-front of the skirt there is a wide band of velvet that also edges the hemline. At the edges of this velvet is beading. The costume certainly displays Elizabeth’s power and authority, but it also suggests a level of somberness.
6. Queen Victoria from The Young Victoria (2009)
Designer: Sandy Powell
The Young Victoria is one of those unassuming movies that is often missing from the amazing costume movie discussion. The period of fashion that the movie depicts is one of transition as the young Queen herself transitions from heir to sovereign and from child to adult.
This gown, which was designer Sandy Powell’s favorite costume, is seen towards the end of the film when Victoria (Emily Blunt) and her husband Prince Albert get into a fight. The gown is a deep vibrant periwinkle color. The sleeves on this gown are notably less full that the sleeves seen on other costumes which shows a shift in style.
While the elbow length sleeves are more fitted, they have a double layer of white lace. The neckline is off the shoulder and the bodice comes to point, which is another fashion forward aspect of the gown. The neckline and headpiece are adorned with irises.
5. Paro from Devdas (2002)
Costume Designers: Abu Jani, Sandeep Khosla, Neeta Lulla, and Reza Shariffi
The 2002 version of Devdas is an opulent feast for the eyes. Based on the novel of the same name the story is set in the early 1900s in Bengal. While the production did do reaseach on the period to reflect the fashion of the period they also embellish the style to suit modern taste and to be more elbornate especially with the length of the fabric.
Paro (Aishwarya Rai) is the childhood sweetheart of the main character Devdas. The two share almost supernatural love and early on on the movie it seems like they will overcome the barriers of status and Devdas’ family machinations and get married.
One scene before Devdas’ family reveal that they have no intention of allowing their union is during a family celebration as a song and dance performed Paro’s mother is being performed. Paro and Devdas are absent from the party as they down by riverbank. This is symbolic of the Radha Krishna myth that the sung. Much can be said about Paro and Devdas’ interactions during this scene * however the scene is meant to be more romantically charged and Paro’s costume suit the scene very well.
Paro’s saree is made from light-weight ethereal lavender. It has delicate details along with an almost sheer blouse all of while added to the ethereal and intimacy of the scene.
Purple has different symbolic meaning in India as opposed to western traditions. Purple is linked to spirituality and the crown chakra. The crown charka links to the wisdom of the universe, enlightenment, and a deep sense of inner peace. The crown charka is the perfect represent of Paro’s feelings toward Devdas
(I did once in university but that is a different matter.)
4. Estella from Great Expectations (2012)
Designer: Beatrix Aruna Pasztor
The 2012 version of Great Expectations is a coming-of-age story that highlights intergenerational trauma. This can be seen as the former jilted bride, Miss Havisham (Helena Bonham Carter) uses her ward, Estella (Holliday Grainger), to get revenge on the men of the world by deceiving them, seducing them, and finally breaking them.
The costumes are a modern take on the last regency. The costume designs were inspired by the work of both artist Thomas Gainsborough and Alexander McQueen to create the look of the costumes. As an adult, Estella wears a lot of rich colors as a means of contrasting the lighter colors she wore as a child.
She wears this costume when she famously tells Pip that she doesn’t have a heart. The gown is deep rich purple which reflects her position and cool attitude. It has that very classic regency silhouette with a high empire waist line. There is a high standing collar at the back of the neck which looks like petals, but the edges are raw and rough- looking.
Down the bodice there are black and purple ruffle-like flower details. The sleeves are long and tight-fitting with ruffles at the cuffs. These ruffles continue on the outer skirt layer. The ruffles go down the front opening as the outer layer is split. There are also three rows of ruffles at the hem. The underskirt is black.
3. Queen Gertrude from Hamlet (1990)
Designer: Mauizio Millenotti
Say whatever you want about the infamous 1990 version of Hamlet that Alicia Silverstone quoted in Clueless, but the costumes are without a doubt amazing. Queen Gertrude (Glenn Close) arguably gets the best costumes in the movie, especially this gorgeous purple look—which screams excessive royal decadence.
While there are a lot of colors in this look, the soft light purple stands out quite a bit against the rich blue-purple, golds, and white. Most of the components of this costume are heavily detailed with lots of heavy beaded embroidery and jewels on the crown, waistband and belt. The crown also has a veil with pendilia which are the dangling ornament that hang off crowns.
2. Lucilla from Gladiator (2000)
Designer: Janty Yates
The costumes in Gladiator are a mashup of Roman and modern aesthetics. On the whole the costumes are great, especially the fashions of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), the former lover of Maximus (Russell Crowe) and the older child of Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris). They perfectly showcase her imperial position in the Roman empire.
As Lucilla watches the gladiatorial arena, she wears a bright royal blue-purple toga-like garment. The color reflects her status as a member of the imperial family, as only they could have afforded such a luxurious color. The fabric has sheen, so might be made from a silk satin rather than the traditional wool. The most notable detail is heavy metallic embroidery at the shoulder.
Over the toga-like garment she wears a darker purple stole that also has metallic silver embroidery along the edges. The costume is also accompanied by a stunning crown.
1. May Welland from The Age of Innocence (1993)
Designer: Gabriella Pescucci
The Age of Innocence is another film akin to walking fashion plates. All the looks in this movie just perfectly capture the grace and spectacle of the Victorian bustle of the 1870s. While all the costumes are lovely, the standout is May Welland’s purple evening gown.
May (Winona Ryder) wears it to a going away party for her cousin, who also happens to be the lover of her husband. Basically, the scene is a checkmate for May, who proves that she hasn’t been as sweet and naïve as once thought. She hasn’t been the ideal Victorian young lady who needs protection, but instead is cool, calculating, and the smartest person in the love triangle.
To match May’s persona as the authority amongst the lovers, she wears an impressive bustle gown. The gown consists of a shade of purple. The bodice is a panel of floral darker purple velvet while skirt and bustle are a slight coolish lavender with horizontal gathers and pleats at the hem.
She is majestic and shows that she is the true victor in this story, playing the game of society better than the romantic dreamers, all while looking the part of the sweet, gentle Victorian beauty.
More Violet Colored Movie Costumes
