A century ago, U.S. suffragists carefully chose the colours of their flag. Purple represented loyalty and was a nod to England's suffragettes. White symbolised purity and contrasted with the flag's darker colours. Gold paid homage to the sunflowers in Kansas, where Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton had campaigned for the right to vote.
The suffragists' outfits of purple and gold sashes over white dresses were intended to look appealing in newspaper photographs, Boggs Roberts said. The white was also intended to look non-threatening so people would have a harder time criticising the women's appearance as aggressive or masculine.