>>64277178
>Blue is impossible to make in Europe.
Woad has been cultivated in europe since the neolithic. It requires extra processing to produce dye from it, which obviously makes it more expensive than other dye sources like madder or weld, but not to a point that it would be as hopelessly unobtainable as you describe for anyone not extremely wealthy (deep vivid blues notwithstanding of course since they would require multiple dyeings in fresher dye; lighter, duskier, or pastel shades would be far more feasible).
Indigo, imported all the way from south asia at considerable expense, was sought after because it produced the same dye chemical in greater concentration (and thus more vivid blues), but that doesn't mean blue dye was impossible to make in europe, any more than Japan importing lamborghinis means they're unable to make cars.
>Almost purple-level unobtainable and uberexpensive.
Tyrian purple certainly was, but nearly everyone bringing this up seems to forget that purple is literally just a combination of red and blue, and can therefore be made by overdyeing one over the other; as far as I'm aware, this only wasn't done more historically due to sumptuary laws restricting use of the color, because anyone of status legally entitled to wear purple (or rich enough to flex that they can afford the fines in addition to the expensive clothes) would absolutely be able to afford the snail juice and wouldn't be seen dead in anything less.
Even without the legal factor though, given the cultural associations the color had developed, I kinda wonder if society might have perceived such cheaper overdyed purples like how we today might view someone who acts like they're hot shit for driving a twelth-hand scuffed up Bentley with 300k on the odo.
