Obsession with Orange
An orange jacket that brings a zest of life and an unexpected transformation in me.
It was a chilly afternoon in November 2015 when I was doing online retail therapy and browsing the different websites to search for a new winter jacket. I was going to be spending my first winter in Canada that year. There was only a black oversized winter coat hanging in the wardrobe and I couldn’t wait to donate it to Value Village. I wanted to do a mini wardrobe makeover and change up my style for the season.
As I looked at the selection of winter coats on Hollister’s website, an orange-coloured winter jacket with a fleece inner layer caught my eye. The design was simple but it was love at first sight so I ordered it immediately. A week later, the jacket arrived in my mailbox and I anxiously put it on. I was pleasantly surprised that it looked flattering on me, kept me warm and it complement my skin tone. The orange jacket became my unofficial uniform that winter.
Over the past few years, I have received many compliments on the jacket from friends and co-workers. I realized that whenever I wear that jacket, I would have an amazingly strong confidence, pride and happiness. Even if there are the very few who joked about the colour, I remain unfazed. My fashion sense has also transformed as I become more adventurous with colours and orange is my new black. Though I have added more orange clothes to my wardrobe, I will always wear the Hollister jacket once in a while when it is cold enough so I can bask in the nostalgia of my very first winter in Canada. The shade of orange on the jacket may have changed after many washes but the emotions and confidence that I felt while wearing it will never change.
As Frank Sinatra once said, “Orange is the happiest colour.”
There will be a day when my beloved orange jacket will be worn out and I can no longer wear it out to the streets. But I know that I will always reserve a spot in the wardrobe for it to serve as a reminder that I should have the courage to embrace what I love and not be swayed by others who think otherwise.
