The history of purple is a lot more interesting than most imagine. Purple dye was ultra-expensive, worth its weight in gold, and very rare. This meant only the hyper-rich could afford lots of purple dye and thus purple game to represent the monarchy.
For most of Roman history, you could wear purple without punishment. However, wearing lots of purple would be considered garish, like someone wearing a solid gold suit today.
Purple was included in the “toga praetexta” which was worn by male citizen children and high-ranking members of the Senate. These were white Togas with a purple stripe, signifying their sanctity under the law and their connection to the monarchy.
The “richest” toga was the “toga picta” which was worn by Roman Generals during a Triumph. These Togas were solid purple with a gold outline, making them worth a small fortune. During the grand parade of the Triumph, the Triumphal General would wear this toga and paint their face red. The face represents the God of War and the toga represents authority. The message being conveyed here is pretty obvious.
By the time we get to Imperial Rome things have changed. Purple became the color of the Emperors and was only worn by the Emperor or those he allowed to wear purple like high-ranking officials and certain guards.
The Byzantines were obsessed with purple as wel, carrying on the tradition from their Roman roots. Additionally, the Catholic church liked purple too.
This all simply has to due with the rarity of purple dye. Only the rich could afford it and therefore only the rich ever wore it.
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