Could All That Purple...Mean a Lot of Green?

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Purple-0130.mp3

January 30, 2013

Magenta, aubergine, violet--call it what you like, but no doubt you’re seeing an awful lot of purple around Baltimore these days. As the Ravens prepare for the Superbowl this weekend, we thought we’d take a look at the “purple economy.”

At a Party City store in east Baltimore, they’ve stocked hundreds of boxes of purple merchandise to prepare for the demand--including purple hats, purple sunglasses, fishnet stockings, and eyelashes. Meanwhile, as soon as the Ravens won the AFC championship game against New England, Owings Mills florist Flowers and Fancies called growers all over the world requesting purple flowers.

And our senior producer Lawrence Lanahan noticed his friends turning to Facebook to solve their purple acquisition needs—particularly for purple lighting. His friend Brad Price, who lives in Timonium, went to multiple stores to find purple flood lights. Carlos Guillen, who lives in Canton, works for EventTech, a company that does event production--and a company that's suddenly selling more purple lighting gels than usual.

Our fashion consultant, littleBIRD CEO Zoey Washington, says there's no wrong way to wear the color. "If you’re going to support the Baltimore Ravens, I say no holds barred," said Washington. "I think it makes complete sense to do head to toe purple. There’s no need to look chic when you’re trying to support the Ravens."

Whatever happens this weekend, all that purple means that Maryland businesses could be making a lot of green.

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There is purple!