A purple dress has a famous screen moment in Anita's dress from the 1961 film West Side Story, which Vogue credits to the costume designer Irene Sharaff. Sharaff won the 1962 Academy Award for Costume Design in color for the film. This is how to choose a purple dress that feels bold and not royal.
Purple Dress: Anita, Irene Sharaff and 1961
The dress Anita danced in
Vogue names Irene Sharaff as the designer of Anita's famous purple dress in West Side Story, released in 1961. FIDM's Nick Verreos said that Rita Moreno wore a lilac-purple dress as Anita, and that when the film was remade in 2021 costume designer Paul Tazewell chose yellow for Ariana DeBose's daytime scene. At the 1962 Academy Awards, Sharaff won Costume Design in color for West Side Story. A purple dress has a long memory of movement, and it still makes a room look alive.
The purples
Purple is a family, not one color. Lavender is soft and sweet. Lilac is spring-like. Plum is deep and elegant. Violet is bright and bold. Eggplant is moody and flattering at night. Check a dress in daylight, since purple can shift to blue or pink under different lights. Pick the shade that makes your skin look rested.
Fabric and shape
Satin and crepe give purple a rich surface. Chiffon makes it dreamy. A velvet purple dress looks like a winter party. Picture her in a plum satin slip with a black leather jacket and boots, riding a night bus to a concert. Choose a neckline that frames your face and a length that suits the occasion.
Colors that sit beside it
Purple looks striking with green, which is its opposite on the color wheel. Gold warms it, silver cools it, and black makes it dramatic. For something quiet, try cream and soft gray. Avoid wearing it with too many other jewel tones at once.
What I would skip
I would skip a purple that looks like costume velvet and a cut that is too ornate. Purple is a strong enough color alone. Let the dress be simple and let the shade do the talking.
