Have you ever wondered what mauve is or where it came from? Most of us have seen the color before, but we don't really know much about its origins. In this article, we will uncover the mystery behind mauve and learn about its fascinating history.
What is Mauve?
Mauve is a pale purple color with pinkish undertones. It's not quite lavender, and it's not quite lilac; instead, it falls somewhere in between. Some people describe it as a dusty rose color, while others call it a muted magenta.
The Name
The word "mauve" comes from the French word for mallow flower - "malva". This flower has soft purple petals that are very similar in shade to the color mauve.
Shades of Mauve
Mauve can come in different shades depending on how much white or grayish-brown pigment is added to ultraviolet red. Here are some common variations:
- Deep Mauv
- Pale Mauv
- Old Rose
- Pale Magenta-pink
The Birth of Modern Chemistry
Nowadays, dyeing fabrics has become an exact science requiring complex chemical formulas and processes which was absent back then. Let’s go back nearly 200 years ago when men rocked beards unironically hailed from families concerned more about survival rather than dressing snazzy soirees suited superheroes & villains on TV currently do today!
So enter teenage William Henry Perkin (WHP), read every teenager who wanted to make something cool out there? But unlike teenagers now WHP was not creating viral dances (cue Y2K nostalgia) No this chemist dropped lectures at college because he discovered one day during Easter break that his kit could lead him beyond his mundane experiments-i.e., making essential oils.
In April of 1856, the 18-year-old chemist WHP accidentally created a purple-ish liquid while he was tinkering away in his family's home laboratory. The substance turned out to be the world's first synthetic dye!
Happy Accidents
The story goes a little something like this: WHP was trying to create a cure for malaria (as you do) using quinine bark when he stumbled upon magic instead of science. As it turns out, when Perkin oxidized aniline with some other chemicals using hydrochloric acid and potassium dichromate and mixed in distilled water - He made history.
His 'accident' changed both chemistry & fashion forever because now every man-woman-and-child could finally wear colors that looked great on them without having to wait hours under sunlight or scouring through natural pigments since these synthetic dyes required no special conditions unlike natural ones(don’t get me started). If your shirt had any hint of purple/blue hue from then on there’s enough possibility it might have even been inspired by this happy scientific mistake.
Making Mauve Mainstream
Incredibly chic French couduriers quickly adopted mauve as their new darling around 1859 subsequently popularizing its appeal far beyond Europe. It became known as “the Queen’s color” almost overnight after Queen Victoria sported her favorite dress available only due to advances in synthetic dyes which included-but-not-limited-to- good ol’WHP’s discovery!
Even royals couldn’t help notice how much prettier they looked than before with the new found hues at their disposal-some say she felt more confident while wearing mauve clothes (which just goes to show…everything looks better in basic colors am I right?).
In Fashion
While ‘50 Shades of Grey’ might still garner legions of followers online but Light shades of grey has never looked sexier anywhere else than on a sharp suit or dress combined with mauve shirting(Think silver cufflinks paired up distinctively playfully modest ties).
Mauve might have had a shaded past but it’s all sunshine and daisies now!
Symbolism of Mauve:
In 1895, the singer-songwriter Charles Mitchell wrote a song called "The Bowery" where he famously sang: “the pale reporter is to blame for every kind of ruction/For he told his jolly countrymen that bismarck was in functon”. The line has nothing to do with the color purple; we just wanted to share it because it sounds cool! But what did become associated with this subtly gorgeous shade? Well look no further (sorry!), as we present you some fun facts about its symbolism-
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In Victorian Era, it was used to represent something being discreet.
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This lovely hue also symbolizes humility.
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It can be used in place of black during mourning periods (Bestowing us melancholic looks)
Flowers
It's worth noting here that "mauve" as a flower isn't actually one specific type. Different types flowers might come under these shades and thus belong more specifically elsewhere - 'Hardenbergia violacea'(happy wanderer) for example has substantially darker hues compared other types like heliotrope which remains within light floral 'mauve'. Other plants such as thistle orchids or violets could fall within similar spectrums e.g., lavender & lilac shades,but that belongs another article altogether so let's move on shall we?
Conclusion
While the origins of WHPs discovery continue fascinate chemists around globe, not only did it revolutionize dye industry forever paving way brighter cosmopolitan society birth synthetic colour but also made fashion statements less daunting-since people could experiment without spending fortunes getting faded patterned fabric. Now you too know where mauve came from and its history which proves that sometimes the most valuable discoveries are stumbled upon accidentally(sorry folks-no mammoth ideas anytime soon for us)