In the outside world, purple is the color of royalty, swing states and people-eaters. In Colorado, the Rockies have made it a color that’s OK to wear just about any place these days.
“Have we seen demand from Colorado? Of course we have!” said Adam Sheridan, owner of , a Seattle-based all-things-purple online retailer that sells such oddities as purple thigh-highs, purple trouser socks, purple cummerbunds and purple bow ties.
Sheridan said the site is seeing more than 10 times the usual demand from Colorado. The biggest sellers for Colorado fans are purple camouflage pants and shirts, and purple slogan T-shirts, such as the one that reads “Real Men Wear Purple,” he said.
Purple clothing, rather than Rockies logo apparel, might be an alternative for subtle Rockies fandom – at the office or on an evening out, for example.
At Neiman Marcus, spokeswoman Nancy Sagar said purple has been drawing interest, with the color on handbags, sweaters, T-shirts, outerwear and shoes.
“We are having a lot of success with selling purple. And fortunately, purple is such a strong color this fall,” Sagar said. “The playoffs coincided perfectly with the fashion trends.”
At the Pedestrian Shops in Boulder, owner Richard Polk said the store is selling a lot of purple, a trend he suspects is at least partly Rockies-driven.
Bryan Williams, an orthodontist in Evergreen and Conifer, is seeing more demand for purple rubber bands for braces.
“This time of year is usually dominated by requests for orange and black for Halloween, but this year it seems we’re doing about equal – purple for the Rockies and orange and black for Halloween,” Williams said.
Appropriately for the Rockies, purple is a common color signifying pride.
“It’s a very individual color and makes a statement,” Sheridan said. “People get excited about it.”
Rockies fever hasn’t quite reached the Primarily Purple store in San Antonio or its online outlet, purpleontheweb . But owner Jamie Martinez has a suggestion for would-be purple-wearers who haven’t quite settled on the perfect purple accessory.
“Let’s throw a purple wig on everyone,” said Martinez, whose online offerings include purple spirit wigs that are popular among certain sports fans.
Kelly Yamanouchi: 303-954-1488 or kyamanouchi@denverpost.com
