In ancient times, purple was a super-rare and expensive colour to produce, which is why only royalty and the super rich could afford to wear it - it was like the ultimate status symbol! The ancient Greeks and Romans, for example, used purple to dye the robes of their kings and emperors, and it was a major big deal to be able to rock the colour.
But, what's really cool is that the process of making purple dye was actually pretty gross - it involved extracting a special liquid from shellfish and then mixing it with other substances to create the colour! Can you imagine having to tell your friends that your fancy new robe was made from squished up shellfish?
