Just the Right Side of Purple
Ah, that lovely shade of blue somewhere between violet and blue. Real periwinkle flowers of the myrtle herb range in shades from a rather fake candy pink that makes my teeth hurt, to lovely celestial blues, and hues just on the wrong side of purple. Wikipedia places it exactly at #ccccff which is a disgusting sickly sweet lilac colour. I’m putting it somewhere like #6989e5.
From left: hyacinths (from edenbrothers.com); periwinkle (from flowerinfo.org); hydrangeas (from Wikipedia)The first recorded use of periwinkle as a colour name in English was in 1922, although it seems to be used more often in American English than Australian in my somewhat limited experience – I only discovered this evocative name fairly recently via Etsy. I would have formerly associated the shade with hydrangeas, or hyacinths – both flowers I love and certainly more majestic looking than the humble myrtle herb.
The common periwinkle, a marine molluscThere is also a little marine gastropod – or mollusc – that moonlights under the name of periwinkle. It is pointy and cute looking, and apparently a rather tasty sea snail. It is believed that they have been a common food source in Scotland since 7500 BC (where they are called simply winkles), and are considered a delicacy in Africa and Asia today. They were introduced to North America in the mid nineteenth century, but I don’t believe they have emigrated to Australia as yet.
Fashion Notes
My lovely 30s style blouse came from Rosebud store Vintage Now. By Melbourne label Kinki Gerlinki, it is made from white silk, and I fell in love with the polka-dotted pattern of playing card suits – too sweet! There is a little ruffle down the front closure. The only drawback was the fact the belt was missing, but I soon fixed that.
The velvet bandeau is vintage 50s, and I utterly fell in love with it just for its colour when I stumbled across it at Etsy store Izzy’s Vintage Garden. The chandelier earrings I bought in Bijou Brigitte, a cute jewellery boutique in Lisbon last year – they are just cheap tin, but they create a lovely circusy tinkle when I wear them. The belt I made myself from vintage Swiss ribbon and a refurbished rhinestone vintage buckle, and the ring is almost vintage too, being a repro of 1920s jewellery designer Rhoda Wager.
A Periwinkle Gallery
Here is a gallery of other periwinkle tinted things that also look almost good enough to eat.
(Left) Buttons from Etsy store Becall Jewels (sold); (right) Leaf series necklace in periwinkle blue by Jess Dare, from http://jessdare.com/w/leaf-series/43
(Clockwise from left) Banjo & Matilda top in periwinkle, available in other colourways at www.banjoandmatilda.com; Macau cushion in periwinkle, from www.ecochic.com.au; vintage dress from Etsy (since sold) seen at Oh So Lovely Vintage at ohsolovelyvintage.blogspot.com.au
The jaw-dropping Mondrian Soho, New York, inspired by Jean Cocteau’s La Belle et la Bête