... celebrate Earth Day with a green purchase?

Today is (or rather, yesterday was, by the time I finish this post=P) the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, a day to celebrate and increase the awareness of the Earth's environment. The years I spent in the Bay Area has made me environmentally aware-- I bring my own reusable bags when I go grocery shopping; eat local and/or organic where possible; use biodegradable cleaning products; walk or take public transport; recycle etc. However, I didn't feel like I should be doing something special for the environment on Earth Day in particular since environmentalism has become somewhat of a way of life to me. But while I did not partake in any Earth Day specific events, I observed it in my own little way-- with a green purchase!

Just over a year ago, I started taking an interest in environmentally friendly/responsible fashion-- Matt & Nat's pleather bags made of recycled plastic bottles; Edun's organic line of clothing that seeks to build Africa into an area of viable fashion production; Stewart + Brown's silk and hemp clothing line, Envirosax's foldable and reusable grocery bags etc. These were my list of go-to green brands. Today, I discovered another-- Doucette Duvall, a Manhattan-based clothing line that uses repurposed fabrics in a creative and elegant manner and ships in recycled boxes only (more online merchants should seriously consider this). In every collection, one will find their signature "Little Green Dress", a reminder of their commitment to the environment. I absolutely adore one-shouldered dresses (and probably have way too many of them!), so how can I resist this lovely forest green dress know as The Little Green Dress?

indulge in a little retail therapy?

I must confess that unlike some of my gal friends, I actually do not enjoy shopping that much (Not all the time, at least). I tend to do my shopping when preening away my time while waiting for my next appointment, or straying into one of those random shops I happen to walk by while journeying from point A to point B.

But on days when I do shop, I am like most girls in that I do find retail therapy therapeutic – After all, making the purchase is just a means to an end. It is the emotions attached to the journey that completes the experience...

My friends know that I am not a “red” person. Since I was thirteen, I have little to do with red. My wardrobe is filled with black, white, blue and brown. My shoes are black or brown. In summary, I don't have an adventurous sense of fashion. That said, not that I do not like "red" as a colour, but I often find it hard to carry it off...the colour would be too loud, too red, too much like an Ang Bao, too much of ...something, always.

So understandably, getting my first pair of red shoes (childhood doesn't count) was a big deal. I remembered being quite excited about it – it was probably akin to driving a car unsupervised for the first time after getting your car license. I thought about what clothes and accessories should go with it and imagined how they would look together.

Alas, it was not meant to be. I lost my first pair of red shoes the first time I wore it two years ago. I had gone visiting at a friend’s house during Chinese New Year and left the shoes outside the house. When it was time to go home, I found to my dismay, my red shoes lost to me forever.

I never gotten around to buying the same pair - maybe subconsciously, I don't want to remind myself of the lost shoes.

While I got over the shock of losing my first pair of red shoes (which was the first time it ever happened to me) fairly quickly, the second pair of red shoes did not come by as easily as I thought it would be. In the last two years, I have seen countless shoes that were red...But none to my liking. Until that fateful Saturday afternoon, when my eyes was drawn to it...there it was, on sales (the all important word that prompts most girls to action), waiting to be purchased.

And I was relieved. All the careful selection, comparing various shoe sizes, "test-walking" the shoes were worth it. It was the right size, the right price, just the right pair for me.

So there it is, my second pair of red shoes, contently rested at my shoe rack now.

My search for the red shoes has ended. I hope I do not lose this pair again.