History Main / ColorCodedPatrician

* The people have to be in authority, but not necessarily royalty.
* They have to ''wear'' these colors, not simply use something distinctly colored.
* Even though the most common colors are purple, blue, red, and gold, any color will do as long as those not in charge don't wear it.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* In ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'', Papa Smurf's red suit was originally just a sign of whatever family line he (and his first wife) represented, as the adult Smurfs all wore their own colors unless they were married, while the Smurf children wore white. It wasn't until ThePlague happened among Papa Smurf's generation of Smurfs that left their children without a parental figure that the red suit even became a symbol of authority. Even so, Papa's little Smurfs, including Empath, would adopt color clothing of their own over time, reducing the significance of Papa's red suit.

** The white toga with the purple border actually has a name: it's the ''toga praetexta'', and was traditionally worn by senators. So, it kind of made sense that they would regulate its usage; letting anyone wear them would be like letting anyone buy a school uniform: it would defeat the purpose. Those running for election would wear the ''toga candida'', a toga that has be bleached to a dazzling white with chalk -- this is where we get the term "candidate" for an office-seeker.
** In fact, the toga itself was a status symbol as only Roman citizens can wear it.

Of course, [[Literature/{{Discworld}} one particular Patrician]] dispenses with the colour choice by always, invariably, wearing black/

Of course/ [[Literature/{{Discworld}} one particular Patrician]] dispenses with the colour choice by always, invariably, wearing black/

* More obvious in the ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood'' novels and manga: the Empress is the only one to wear green. Her personal guard wear red and the nobles wear blue.
* In ''LightNovel/KyoKaraMaoh'', black clothes are reserved for the king. Thus Yuuri's [[SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack school uniform]] marks him as someone special in this universe, rather than as the OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent he is back home.
* In ''LightNovel/TheStoryOfSaiunkoku'', the main eight nobles families and the provinces they rule are named after colors. The royal house is purple and the Emperor's regalia is in the appropriate color.

** To show how seriously Catholics take this non-obligatory rule, there was a great deal of conservative Catholic sniffing when Cherie Blair, the very-Catholic but also republican-inclined wife of then UK Prime Minister UsefulNotes/TonyBlair, met with Pope Benedict XVI in late April 2006 wearing white. At the time, conservative Catholic commentators argued that her outfit was an intentional slap in the face to both Catholic tradition (as Tony was not at that point Catholic) and the Queen (since Tony was the head of government, not the head of state). As it turns out, however, Mrs Blair did not intend to wear white to her meeting with the Pope; she was at a conference at the Vatican the Pope was not expected to attend when His Holiness unexpectedly summoned her for an audience. Being a good Catholic, Mrs Blair responded to the summons immediately (as in, dropped everything and was in the Pope’s presence within minutes), and had no time to change out of her clothes, which happened to be white (considered in general terms a good/fashionable colour for late April in Rome[[note]]As that's when temperatures start to get hot in the Eternal City--temperatures are generally above 22C/70F and have been known to get above 27C/80F at that time of year.[[/note]]).

** To show how seriously Catholics take this non-obligatory rule, there was a great deal of conservative Catholic sniffing when Cherie Blair, the very-Catholic but also republican-inclined wife of then UK Prime Minister UsefulNotes/TonyBlair, met with Pope Benedict XVI in late April 2006 wearing white. At the time, conservative Catholic commentators argued that her outfit was an intentional slap in the face to both Catholic tradition (as Tony was not at that point Catholic) and the Queen (since Tony was the head of government, not the head of state). As it turns out, however, Mrs Blair did not intend to wear white to her meeting with the Pope; she was at a conference at the Vatican the Pope was not expected to attend when His Holiness unexpectedly summoned her for an audience. Being a good Catholic, Mrs Blair responded to the summons immediately (as in, dropped everything and was in the Pope’s presence within minutes), and had no time to change out of her clothes, which happened to be white (considered a good/fashionable colour for late April in Rome).

* Surprisingly to modern people, a true ''black'' was an incredibly difficult and expensive color, since there's no natural dye that produces a true black. (Hell, if you want to get technical, not even "true black" cloth is 100% pure black; nothing is except a black hole.) The best way to achieve it was to overdye "black" wool (which is usually a really dark brown) several times, and it still resulted in a fugitive color, fading to brown or greyish-blue quite quickly. Even today, people still need to take care of their black clothes to make sure they don't fade.

* In ''Series/BabylonFive'', The Emperor of the Centauri Republic wears all-white. All other Centauri wear various different colors.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'': Papa Smurf wears red, where (almost) everybody else wears white. Grandpa Smurf -- who is no longer a leader, but used to be one, and is considered a great adviser -- wears yellow. Brainy in the episode "Symbols Of Wisdom" attempts to emulate Papa Smurf by wearing a red pair of pants so that he could be recognized as a wise authority figure among his peers, only for him to be GettingTheBoot when it fails.

Other expensive dyes included royal blue, vermilion (a type of bright red), or gold. And that is why, in paintings of royalty, their [[RequisiteRoyalRegalia Royal Robes]] are almost always these colors. Despite this, this does not have to be the ErmineCapeEffect; ModestRoyalty can use these colors to ensure people know who they are.

* The Kelloggs "Special K" breakfast food is aimed at women who want to stay healthy, regular and slim. The adverts tend to use groups of happy, shapely, unconstipated-looking women. Swimming costumes, post-bath towels or skimpy summer clothes feature a lot, just to make the point that Special K keeps you slim. Most of the women in the adverts wear white or neutral grey. But ''the'' Special K Girl, the star of the show, the one who typifies the brand to platonic perfection, the leader of the gang, the one the others follow - she, and only she, wears the corporate red.

* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' the Soverign are mostly gold anyway, so one way this is shown is when the High Priestess visits a winter planet. Her subordinates wear [[PimpedOutCape gold capes]] lined with [[PrettyInMink white fur]], while her cape is mostly covered with white fur.

* In Creator/JasperFforde's ''Literature/ShadesOfGrey'', the entire society is arranged according to what color a person can see - Purples form the highest class. Additionally, wealthy people can show their money and devotion to their color by wearing artificially colored clothes.

* In the ''Literature/{{Deryni}}'' novels, Haldane rulers (Brion, Kelson, et.al.) wear red (unce Duke Alaric Morgan puts aside the black for other colors, he won't wear red because his king does). Prince Nigel Haldane, Duke of Carthmoor (Brion's brother and Kelson's uncle) wears royal blue.

* In ''Literature/DiamondSwordWoodenSword'', a fantasy sumptuary law dictates the color of your cape or cloak. A cloak or cape of a single non-white color means a high ranking mage of the Rainbow, who is a magocrat and automatically also an aristocrat. Two colors means royalty. Three - high nobility.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'': Papa Smurf wears red, where (almost) everybody else wears white. Grandpa Smurf - who is no longer a leader, but used to be one, and is considered a great adviser - wears yellow. Brainy in the episode "Symbols Of Wisdom" attempts to emulate Papa Smurf by wearing a red pair of pants so that he could be recognized as a wise authority figure among his peers, only for him to be GettingTheBoot when it fails.

* Red was apparently associated with royalty in AncientRome (the army too, but also royalty). It seems that when Julius Caesar started wearing red (specifically red boots--an old royal symbol), the Senate didn't appreciate the {{Foreshadowing}} (remember, Rome ''did not'' like kings) and plotted against him. And later, under the emperors, purple was the imperial color. Suspicious emperors would have people [[DisproportionateRetribution executed]] for owning purple robes. Depending on the period, the use of purple decorations (say, a border on a toga) was strictly regulated.
** The white toga with the purple border actually has a name: it's the ''toga praetexta'', and was traditionally worn by senators. So, it kind of made sense that they would regulate its usage; letting anyone wear them would be like letting anyone buy a school uniform: it would defeat the purpose. Those running for election would wear the ''toga candida'', a toga that has be bleached to a dazzling white with chalk--this is where we get the term "candidate" for an office-seeker.

** When the artificial purple dye mauvine was invented in the 19th century, it was sometimes marketed as "Tyrian purple" and soon became associated with political radical movements such as suffragism--the implication being "if everyone can wear purple, then everyone is a king, therefore everyone is equal".

* Traditionally, the Vatican has had a strict dress code about people who met with the pope--among the rules was that women always had to wear black, except for female Catholic monarchs and the wives of male Catholic monarchs, who could wear white (a rule called ''privilège du blanc''). Following this code is no longer obligatory, but it is generally observed.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': The ''Champions' Ballad'' DLC reveals the blue color on the Champion's Tunic, Zelda's dress etc. is actually the color of the royal family; each Champion's blue article of clothing was crafted by princess Zelda herself and awarded to the Champions by the king during an official ceremony.

** To show how seriously Catholics take this non-obligatory rule, there was a great deal of conservative Catholic sniffing when Cherie Blair, the very-Catholic but also republican-inclined wife of then UK Prime Minister UsefulNotes/TonyBlair, met with Pope Benedict XVI in late April 2006 wearing white. At the time, conservative Catholic commentators argued that her outfit was an intentional slap in the face to both Catholic tradition (as Tony was not at that point Catholic) and the Queen (since Tony was the head of government, not the head of state). As it turns out, however, Mrs Blair did not intend to wear white to her meeting with the Pope; she was at a conference at the Vatican the Pope was not expected to attend when His Holiness unexpectedly summoned her for an audience. Being a good Catholic, Mrs Blair immediately responded to the summons, and had no time to change out of her clothes, which happened to be white (considered a good/fashionable colour for late April in Rome).

[[caption-width-right:350:Guess who the emperor is.]]

* In ''LightNovel/SaiunkokuMonogatari'', the main eight nobles families and the provinces they rule are named after colors. The royal house is purple and the Emperor's regalia is in the appropriate color.

** The dye from the murex, interestingly enough, turns ''blue'' when exposed to sunlight before being fixed to the cloth. This is why this is considered likely to be the source of ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tekhelet tekhelet]]'', the dye Jews are commanded to use to color a few threads in the ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzitzit tzitzit]]'' (fringe-tassels) of their ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tekhelet tallit]]'' (prayer shawls). Today there is [[JewsLoveToArgue much argument]] about whether the sun-treated murex dye is proper for use in ''tzitzit''; the original dye is long-LostTechnology, and for some Jews absolute certainty is vital in such matters.