The taboo against exotic colors in age is not entirely an ageist one; my wife rawked Run Lola Run red hair for 30 and 31. The problem is that you can get away with Manic Panic and your friend's Wahl job when you're in your teens and twenties because it's kind of expected that your hair looks like shit. As soon as you're professional you need to be groomed and maintaining professional-looking Run Lola Run Red was costing my wife about $200 every three months.

I've had a pony tail down to the small of my back since... shit. 1992. But halfway through college I started shaving the sides - call it an "un-mullet." As a consequence, I appear groomed; I probably cut my hair more often than most men. This allowed me to have hair longer than my wife and a real job.

You've got short hair. Go to a professional salon - like, a good one - and say "I want it to be purple. The kind of purple that will work with a Brooks Brothers suit." I'll bet you they pull it off. I'll bet you you're also startled at the cost.