The Colour Purple

Oscar Wilde once said: "Lead me not unto temptation / I can find the way myself."

The right shade of purple is the snake in my garden; the apple on my tree; the cocaine in the shopping mall. A mere glimpse of a perfectly hued amethyst, or the sight of lush, inky dark velvet cloth somewhere inside a store, makes me lose all sense of reason and self-control. The object has to be touched; has to be had.

If the colour verges on crushed mulberries, there's no second glance. Where cool lavender and midnight blue find refuge in the heart of purple, there's healing there – and hope, and inspiration, and pleasure.

Everyone should have a totemic colour. Not just broad colour, but a specific shade. The preciseness of variation is the key, for those who know this, know you.