“When I am an old woman I shall wear purple…..”

My family (Yorkshire) used "sky blue pink with yellow dots on". It was used (as were so many phrases) to shut chidren up.So if you were pestering about something and asking for minute details when you asked the colour you would be told "Sky etc."

Juliet27

^I’d go for sky blue pink myself^

As a child I used to say that was my favourite colour but wonder now whether it was just made up so Oops it’s good to hear you use it

In my family too we used the term Sky blue pink! (Surrey and Home Counties based on both sides.

Thats the saying I grew up with, 'Fur coat, no knickers' used for someone was all show, but not as well off as they pretended.

Yes, ‘fur coat, no knickers’ means ‘all for show’ .

I’ve heard ‘fur coat, no knickers ‘.
I always thought that it meant tarty, but in retrospect I think that it means that it’s ‘all for show’; no substance

Re the Red Hatters - my Mum had a saying ‘red hat, no knickers’. No idea where it came from but I’ve never forgotten it, nor had a red hat!

Hetty58

M0nica, 'like a corpse' - same here, but because I'm (fair?) always very pale. I use plenty of blusher when I don't want to appear dead.

I find moving about, even speaking, usually convinces people I am still alive.

As a child, I was told by my mother that “purple is an old woman’s colour” which has probably influenced how I feel about it, harsh, unforgiving and unflattering.
When I first came across the poem years ago it seemed fresh and daring and assertive. But it has become such a cliché that it now sets my teeth on edge.
I came across a group of “Red Hatters” in Waitrose coffee shop some years ago shortly after I had retired and they were very friendly and welcoming - but for me, just too “full on”. I didn’t feel that being of a similar age was enough to form a friendship group, but good luck to those who enjoy their company.

I like all of those colours and purple is very on trend this year in the form of Veri Peri.

Its the poem I dislike.

I’m very pale too. In fact, my legs often appear fluorescent white

It would be a blueish pink; as ‘pink’ is the noun, and ‘sky-blue’ the adjective

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202201/medium-634329-b6af33ad-f2ae-47ba-9a5b-0c4e7d4bd6fd.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202201/medium-476335-ab0bbc89-95b7-45a9-ae88-46ae1b613ac1.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202201/medium-406924-829a3c09-79a7-4e20-9df2-a71eefcaf2b0.jpeg

Oopsadaisy1

Juliet I’m not sure if was a bluish pink, or a pinkish blue……..

According to the dictionary it’s ‘a non existent colour’
I’ve come up with these images, one of which is a paint colour (I’ve forgotten the make - already)

M0nica, 'like a corpse' - same here, but because I'm (fair?) always very pale. I use plenty of blusher when I don't want to appear dead.

nanna8

Oh dear- maybe when you get old you are entitled to be entitled. No one else thinks you are, so you might just as well think it yourself. We can't all creep round like little mice.

I would say feeling entitled to be obnoxious would be self defeating since it would make people avoid you.

People can be anything they want, but there are consequences to being obnoxious.

Juliet I’m not sure if was a bluish pink, or a pinkish blue……..

Juliet I’m pretty certain that sky blue pink is made up, but I can visualise it. It’s a very pale, subdued lilac

Great photo, nanna8! Perfect headline! ♥️??‍♀️?????

I’ve just read Joseph’s poem ‘Warning’. It’s not really how I remember it.
It’s quite an unhappy poem which portrays a very frustrated person (I think). There is a lot about food that I didn’t remember.
She wrote it aged 28 and didn’t like the colour purple.

I’d go for sky blue pink myself

As a child I used to say that was my favourite colour but wonder now whether it was just made up so Oops it’s good to hear you use it

Oh dear- maybe when you get old you are entitled to be entitled. No one else thinks you are, so you might just as well think it yourself. We can't all creep round like little mice.

Um, do you know what the purple poem makes me think of Varicose veins, bruised legs and the pinky purple bits round the eyes...

I don't dislike the colour ,purple, but the poem seems to allude to someone entitled and obnoxious with little self control or self awareness. I am sure there are ways to have a lot more fun and enjoyment, which the writer doesn't mention!

I cannot stand the purple poem. Why should old age be seen as being either invisible or 'mad old bat'?

I am 78 and I have yet to be seen as invisible by anyone. And I am not a mad old bat.

Any colour to replace the ever ubiquitous grey in furnishings would be welcome.
I know superstitious classical singers who won’t wear a purple evening dress (unlucky in Italy, religious connections). It’s only for royalty and the clergy isn’t it.?
Fed up with that purple poem, it comes round like clockwork.

This thread has inspired me to wear a favourite purple top today.

If the link in the OP is a UK one, why is "colour" spelt without the "u"?

And as to the question in hand: I have no opinion as such, but do have the odd purple item of clothing. I sometimes combine it with puce or fuchsia. It doesn't make you any less invisible though. May as well wear beige.