In fact, it can be considered disrespectful and unlucky to wear purple if you are not attending a funeral, as the color has a sacred, devotional meaning to it. In Thailand, purple defines sorrow, and is reserved for widows to wear while mourning the death of their spouse.
If you can't wear black, some staple colors to wear at a funeral are dark and muted tones such as navy blue, charcoal, deep greys, maroons, deep purple, etc.
Purple – Thailand and South America
In Brazil, Catholics wear black and purple as joint colours for grief and associate purple so strongly with mourning that it can be deemed unlucky to wear it at other occasions.
For a funeral, keep your dress shirt simple. A clean, white dress shirt is the best choice. A subdued color like gray or black can also work. Again, avoid bright colors.
What is appropriate clothing for a funeral? Traditionally, funeral etiquette suggests men and women wear black clothing that's conservative and respectful. Black or dark colours are most common, but some cultures expect mourners to wear a less traditional funeral colour.
Dark or muted dresses are traditional and don't take attention away from the service. Shoulders should be covered in most cases. Skirts and dresses should reach the knee. Suits are also considered respectful and appropriate.
To this day, we think of purple as the color of royalty and luxury. Consequently, it brings up a feeling of trust and reliability. Purple's rarity also gives it an air of mystery. It's associated with creativity and the realm of fantasy — think about how many times magic gets portrayed as purple in popular culture.
The color purple is often used to symbolize creativity, royalty, femininity, and spirituality. In some cases, purple is used to symbolize wealth and extravagence. It is also sometimes associated with magic, peace, and pride.
The color of purple signifies pain, suffering, grief, and mourning and is used to acknowledge the loss of loved ones. One can see purple used in this fashion in the Catholic Church, especially during the season of Lent when it is used to show sorrow and suffering.
Avoid dressing in casual clothing, such as athletic wear, tank tops, or shorts. Skip the flip-flops, tennis shoes, sneakers, or boat shoes. Remove the neon necktie, purse, or accessory. Shy away from wearing jeans, even black ones, because they are considered too casual for a funeral.
You Don't Have To Wear Black
However, colors like dark grey, dark blue, darker green, white, and beige can be appropriate. If you don't own any black clothing, you may always opt for a subtle hue that is appropriate for formal settings. In addition, stay away from anything with distracting patterns or prints.
It might seem disrespectful not to attend a parent's funeral, but this is ultimately a personal choice. There is no obligation to attend a funeral, and you might find that you would like to say goodbye in your own way. If you were estranged from the parent, you may have already grieved their death in your own way.
Catholic Funeral Mass Etiquette and Dress Code
Black is traditional but any dark color is usually considered appropriate.
Blue. peaceful and soothing color. But for some cultures, it represents sadness, loneliness and depression, thus you get ”the blues.”
Blue the Color of Peace
As a primary color (and the most popular color on the spectrum), blue is a building block for many other colors and shades, but in its purest form, blue represents peace and tranquility.
Purple ribbons' meanings are often associated with pancreatic cancer, epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease. Though it's also commonly associated with ADHD, domestic violence, epilepsy, lupus, sarcoidosis, testicular cancer, and Crohn's disease.
In 1989 the United States National Recovery Month, September, was founded and a new color – Purple – was selected as the recovery movement's official color. Today, the color purple has expanded its reach to include the addiction recovery movement.
Solid purple color ribbon is one of the most widely used awareness ribbon. It stands for a lot of things including Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Pancreatic Cancer, Lupus awareness and Epilepsy awareness.
As a consequence, in color psychology purple is strictly related with feelings of power, nobility, luxury and ambition. For its rarity, it conveys wealth and a bit of extravagance. The colour has also a variety of good effects on the mind and body, including uplifting spirits and calming the mind and nerves.
? Purple Heart emoji
It is commonly used to represent love, support, close bonds, and admiration for things that have some relation to the color purple.
(Red symbolizes action, strength, energy, and passion)
Avoid beach-ready wear, bright prints or party outfits, unless the obituary has specified a funeral dress code. It's proper to wear hosiery and closed-toe shoes to funerals, but dress sandals may be acceptable for women to wear in summer months, if they conservatively complement the outfit.
A funeral is a time to show your respect as you honor the life of the deceased, and your clothing should reflect that. For men, dark suits or slacks and a dress shirt is preferred. For women, a dress, business suit, or dress pants and nice sweater. Stick to colors like black, navy, grey, or red-violet.
The appropriate attire for a funeral or memorial service is simple: dress to show respect for the person whose life you are remembering. This means selecting clothes that are more conservative, not flashy or brightly colored. Darker dresses, suits, pants, jackets and sweaters are appropriate.