When tie-dye started trending in 2019, I joked with my festival-hopping, Denver-migrating friends that our culture was being appropriated by the fashion machine. Luxury sunbursts of blues and greens with triple-digit price tags undermined the labor of love that is doing it yourself, or scouring thrift stores for the perfect addition to a heady collection. Of my personal repertoire, one ultimately takes the cake. Her name is Purp, and we’re in it for the long haul.
Purp is a purple tie-dye t-shirt. On her top left corner are the words B&D Productions. As my initials are DB, our meeting felt serendipitous. When I pull Purp from the bottom drawer of my rickety IKEA dresser, the intro riff to Jimi Hendrix “Voodoo Child” fills my sun-soaked apartment. She is the color of the crystal ball emoji and the material embodiment of doing someone’s birth chart. And anyone who knows me knows my eternal ice breaker is, “What time were you born?”
I found Purp at the Salvation Army in my hometown of Danville, Pennsylvania, where the school colors happen to be purple and orange. Between Purp’s source, hue, and hippie spirit, she evokes a certain Dazed & Confused nostalgia. I recall burn runs on back country roads listening to the Dead and feel a deep contentment exclusive to formative memories and Richard Linklater films. I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted at 16, but I was present, and I was happy. Wearing Purp makes me feel present and happy.
Purp is too long to wear with shorts and too short to be a dress. Notwithstanding these limitations, she remains the most versatile item I own. I pair her with black jeans and black ankle boots for a chic pop of color. Sweatpants and Air Maxes for a cozy streetwear vibe. Harem pants and Tevas to see Bassnectar for the 12th time. As the foundation of multiple distinctly different, yet distinctly me looks, Purp is a supreme reflection of my personality: colorful, oversized, and fluidly interested in absolutely everything.
As I approach 30, clothes like Purp remind me that when life feels too serious, we always have fashion. And if A$AP Rocky ever needs a feature for a Purple Swag remix, he can look no further than yours truly.
