The characters are a motley crowd, with the two protagonists being the purple-haired girl (she, her) and Lethbridge (they, them; he, him; she, her). Lethbridge is usually invisible to others but sits on the purple-haired girl’s shoulder, when they are not creating imaginatively as a result of the purple-haired girl’s musings. Lethbridge is an allegory about imagination and creativity and letting the ability to come up with wonderful ideas stay with us.
With Lethbridge on her shoulder, the purple-haired girl need never turn off the spigot of creativity. While she was a child, it was sacred Imagination that rescued her, protected her, and set her free, which is why the first major colour ways that were used in the story were for the gold spirals and purple colouring of the cover. Violet is the colour of divine vestments and royalty (which society pays to place above itself, styled as Their Royal Highnesses). Purple hair covers the crown chakra, plus having purple hair was a little bit subversive in the 1980s.
When I came up with this story, only punks and old ladies had purple hair. In the 21st century, purple hair is more commonplace, worn by people who are simply declaring they love the colour purple. It is valuable as a marker of individuality in a society which standardises everything.
In the story arc of the purple-haired girl, she went to beauty school, but eventually transferred to a hair salon where she trained in hairdressing, specialising in hair dying – this gave her an excuse to try out the new fashionable shades of the season. Her burgeoning fashion career continues as a side-hustle and with the zany suggestions of her old friend, Lethbridge, the world is a more colourful place with her in it.
Above: after. Below: before.
Where to buy: Lethbridge: Imaginary Friend, and Lethbridge At Home.