This week in the molechat: SF wine bars, Sunday sidewalk sale on 5th & Clement, what educators wear to work, brands like Sue Wong, 2000s fashion nostalgia in GIRLS & deciphering a “coastal farm cocktail” wedding dress code. Paid readers get to start threads.
Word on the street is that purple and red is shaping up to be the defining color combo of fall 2026.
Several fashion publications have called out Prada SS26 runway and Dua Lipa’s Cannes Ferragamo outfit as trendsetting data points; I’ve noticed they love to include that one boatneck Flore Flore tee in their “get the look” shoppable edits.
On the fashion Substack front, Sarah Shapiro pointed out that Alex Mill updated their IG profile pic to a purple and red version of their logo, and MacKinley Jade made a case for the “decadence of “papal purple.”
Whenever colors(s) bubbles up in the trend cycle, I like to do a free association of where I’ve seen those colors. You’d be surprised what random things come up—i.e. if I think about where purple shows up in my daily field of vision, the Substack purple check mark would be one of them.
This exercise helps me situate a color trend in a cultural context and map out the references it might conjure on a broader level.
I am sure this list will look different for everyone! Here’s mine:
November 2025: Alexa Chung wearing this leather Miu Miu set on Bella Freud’s podcast Fashion Neurosis. I remember thinking, Alexa is dressed like a mood ring in a therapist’s office. Words that come to mind: intuitive, unknowable, mixed feelings.
2019/2020: Kamala Harris Presidential Campaign. The campaign’s branding was centered on three main colors—purple, red, and yellow—and intended to serve as a visual homage to Shirley Chisholm’s historic run in 1972 as the first African American woman presidential candidate in US history.1 It was the first thing I was reminded of when I saw the updated Alex Mill IG photo.
Source: Wide Eye. 
I do think that on some level, purple and red trending right now reflects an existential mood towards the political future of this country. I.e. it’s 2026, we’re wondering what it will take to turn this decade around, how to swing the pendulum back from conservatism. And one of the oldest meanings of purple is that it marks royalty, which brings up themes of authority, power, and “who is next in line for the throne.”
1996: Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. My earliest reference point for purple and red (and arguably the first in a fashion context) was this beloved children’s book. This story will likely ring a bell if you’re a 90s baby like me. Every color trend has to have an undeniable nostalgia factor in order to take off, and in the case of purple and red, it doesn’t get more OG than Lilly.
It’s a story about a precocious girl mouse. One day she comes to school with a purple plastic purse that plays music when it’s opened, and it’s very disruptive to the classroom…so the teacher confiscates her purse for the day. The horror!!!!! I won’t spoil how the rest goes, but it’s a comforting read at any age :)
Of course, I had to pull together some secondhand style picks based on her main outfit.
I decided to focus on her purple purse and red star boots, because I see those as the most recognizable elements of her outfit. The blue polka dress is sweet, but I think don’t it reads as obviously LILLY if it was styled with something like, idk, sneakers and a tote bag.
Below the paywall:
Secondhand links for purple purses and red boots
A list of vintage designer brands I’d search to find eclectic print/polka dot clothes
The Titular Purple Purse
The most Lilly-coded accessory you could wear. I put together this curation of secondhand purses with the Anna Sui/Betsey Johnson woman in mind: someone who wears slip dresses with crochet cardigans and loves the witchy femininity of purple.
Here are 10 purses are under $100:
