Maybe it’s a good thing, or quite possibly a bad thing, that the most controversial thing about Tuesday night’s State of the Union address was the color of the president’s tie. It was purple (or if you want to get technical about it, lavender), and as much as we admire his symbolic commitment to bipartisanship — no red or blue for this guy — there’s some substance to his style.

A bit of history: As far back as Roman empire, the rich and powerful would show they were rich and powerful by wearing clothes dyed in Tyrian purple, a shade derived from the expensive and rare boiled shells of the murex sea snail. After the whole decline and fall debacle, the color was taken up by generations of European royalty who’d wear robes in imperial purple. Ever since, variations of purple have been synonymous with wealth, status, and valor — see the Purple Heart, created in 1932 to honor American soldiers who have been wounded or killed while serving in battle.

In any case, none of this was on the president’s mind when he chose that particular tie; he had other things, like John Boehner’s crocodile tears, or Joe Biden, to worry about. But he was smart to go for a soft shade of purple (easier on the eyes, and better with navy blue tailoring), because whether he knew it or not, wearing purple is how you project power. And that’s exactly what he did.