If a survey by a popular MNC in the UK is anything to go by, purple’s the best bet while looking for a date, considering that 36% women concurred to accepting a date from a man donning a purple dress shirt.

Well, we say, “Great Going!” but there’s lot more to the colour purple than just playing Cupid. For starters, the colour purple has been associated with royalty, power and wealth for centuries now, dating as far back as the Roman and Greek civilizations. It was a rare colour and often only affordable only to the elite. Why?

Because the dye that was used to make the colour came from a small mollusc found in Mediterranean Sea, in the region of Tyre, today called Lebanon. More than 9000 mollusks were required to create just one gram of purple, and thus could earn the patronage of only wealthy rulers – which is why only the royalty from Rome, Egypt and Persia were found wearing purple.

The colour’s association to royalty carried over to the Elizabethan era, where Queen Elizabeth I laid down laws that forbade anyone but relatives of the royal family to sport purple.

Soon after, thanks to an opportune accidental experiment by an 18-yr-old sciennce student in 1856, the colour soon became accessible to the lower classes as well, and was renamed to mauve, after the French name for purple mallow flower. And thus purple was born again…

While the colour embodies class, its many hues hold many a connotations. While lighter shades spark romance, darker could border on grimness. Bright shades reflect fun, excitement and playfulness, while a lavender signifies calm & peace… The colour setting the stage for its many moods.

Here are your three must-have Runway Looks

• Perfect Summer Suit: A lilac classic-collared Bankers shirt, sporting a slim dark purple silk tie teamed with a khaki suit. Or opt for a maroonish purple striped shirt combo teamed with a dark maroon silk tie.
• The Boy-next-door: Rolled up sleeves, dark purple & white plaids open shirt with a white t-shirt inside paired with a washed out denims, slim tan belt and moccasins.
• Smart Casuals: A slim fit mauve shirt, with a metallic grey tie worn with grey chinos and tartan sports blazer. Alternatively, try a light purple or violet dress shirt with mandarin collar and navy blue slim fit pants.

Buy made to measure shirts with a range of customization options offered by Vitruvien.