Mum obsessed with purple racks up £42,00 debt replacing everything she owns in the colour

One young mum from London landed herself in thousands of pounds worth of debt as she purchased furniture, clothes, cutlery and loo roll – all in the colour purple

One mum’s obsession with her favourite colour has led to her wracking up a massive £42,000 in credit card debt as she splashed out on the shade. Vanessa Allen, also known as Vanessa Purple, spends thousands on clothes, furniture, and paint all in hues of purple – she has even called her daughter Violette.

Vanessa’s obsession began back in 2015 when she rode a bus with purple seats, sparking a love for the colour. She said: “It all started in 2015 when I added a single strand of purple to my hair with dye and I spotted a random woman wearing a purple bag on a London bus.

“I am now absolutely addicted to the colour purple and refuse to buy or wear anything else,” Vanessa added. The 27-year-old has been collecting purple items ever since, which includes decking out her whole house in the colour, including her 11-month-old daughter’s toys and nursery.

Vanessa, who lives in London, said: “I’m living in a purple world and loving every minute!” but this obsession has caused her to fall into serious credit card debt.

When the fixation began, Vanessa was earning less than £300 per week working full time for a loan company so she applied for six online credit cards to fund the purple habit. Without realising, the mum managed to build up debt to the tune of £42,000 which she is still paying off.

Vanessa said: “My mum always knew I was a bizarre child, she was never shocked with anything I had done as I was full of energy and very artsy. I had gone through multiple phases growing up where I experimented with being gothic, girly and quirky.

“So when I developed an obscene love for the colour purple, my mum just considered it as another one of my phases. But she was very wrong.

“I took out a bunch of credit cards and began indulging myself in purple, I went absolutely bonkers! I have invested around seven years worth of my salaries on the colour and am still paying it back.”

When Vanessa moved into a new flat with Violette she decided to decorate it in her favourite colour, starting with paint and new purple furniture but continuing all the way to crockery and loo rolls. She shared: “I got rid of everything in the flat that wasn’t purple and began replacing it with everything that was.

“When I’m food shopping, I go for purple-packaged food so I can fill my shelves with aesthetically-pleasing purple items,” she added. “It’s even better when the food itself is purple.

“People always ask questions as they don’t understand why or how I’m able to live like this; it shocks people that this is what I’m like everyday.”

If there wasn’t a purple option to her liking, the 27-year-old would buy “tins of paint and [make] them purple” herself. Her entire flat is now covered with purple items but she doesn’t plan to stop collecting, Vanessa wants to keep buying items in her favourite colour.

Vanessa and her ex-fiancé were together for six years before splitting but he also loved her purple obsession, even creating a YouTube channel about it. Their wedding plans included purple wedding accessories, which Vanessa spent money on before the couple split.

The doting single mum loves dressing her daughter in purple too, she said: “In December, I gave birth to Violette and my life changed.

“I love being a mum and she’s my world but equally, I love dressing her in purple too. Violette’s nursery has a gorgeous purple cot.”

Vanessa did admit that she is aware Violette “is either going to love it or hate it as she grows up” but this isn’t going to deter her from splashing out on purple. She added: “I know I am crazy for the colour – but it doesn’t bother me – if anything, I like it when people recognise how much purple I am wearing.”

Now Vanessa is planning to spend more carefully and purchase bargains or bulk buys rather than splashing out to fuel her obsession. She has also started a YouTube channel and Instagram to share her purple adventure, although she does get a mixed reaction from the public.

“I get mixed reactions from people about my obsession and addiction with the colour purple. My best friend was not too impressed – but my family like it,” said Vanessa. “Whenever they see the colour purple when they are out and about they think of me.

“My nickname derived from people noticing my purple hair. On my way to work, I’d hear mums stop, point and say to their kids, ‘look it’s the purple girl.’ My town now knows me as purple and since then I vow to become the colour purple itself.”

Purple has got her into trouble before at work, she added: “I have been asked to change my work trousers to black before and I have been picked on at work for wearing only purple so now I only work in places with either purple uniform or that do not require a dress code.”

Her obsession is not just a fascination for Vanessa but rather a way of life, she said: “It makes me feel a sense of belonging, kind of like always being at a place you call home. I’m not sure why that bag on the bus stood out to me or why the bus had purple seats that day but I genuinely believe purple chose me.

“I believe I was always destined to be monochromatic.”