U.N.I.T.Y

Pants: Express, Shirt: Express, Blazer: Forever 21, Bracelets: Buckets, Ivy&Leo, Handpicked, Stella&Dot (jackiekspang@gmail.com for S&D), Target, Necklace: HandPicked, Target, Watch, Michael Kors, Shoes: Off Broadway, Purse: Shoe Dazzle (photos: Carrie Hawkins Foust)

Red pants...oh how I love thee. This pair was purchased a few weeks ago from Express  (ordered online...FYI, they don't carry "longs" in store except in selected styles in the color black...bummer). My very first pair of red pants, however,  were purchased in 2001 from Banana Republic. I was a junior in college and had just been cast in the play, The Vagina Monologues. The Women's Student Union and some incredible female faculty (shout out to Sue Micieli-Voutsinas and Vivian Garcia) decided to bring VDay to our very own SUNY school in upstate New York. If you have never heard of the VDay movement, please go to www.vday.org and pick up a copy of the Vagina Monologues. It just may change your life. It did mine. "V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls. It is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women. Through V-Day campaigns, local volunteers and college students produce annual benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues (among other plays and performances). V-Day also stages large-scale benefits and produces innovative gatherings, films and campaigns to educate and change social attitudes towards violence against women." (vday.org) That same year, in 2001, I actually had the once in a lifetime opportunity to travel to NYC to see a star-studded live performance of The Vagina Monologues at Madison Square Garden.  That performance starred: Oprah Winfrey · Jane Fonda · Glenn Close · Gloria Steinem · Queen Latifah · Rosie Perez · Marlo Thomas · Calista Flockhart · Ricki Lake · Brooke Shields · Rita Wilson · Teri Hatcher  · Eve Ensler  · Claire Danes · Cynthia Nixon · Julia Stiles · Joan Osborne and over 50 other amazing, fearless women. That particular performance inspired me beyond measure. I experienced it with women of all ages, backgrounds, ethnicites, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds. We were all different, yet all the same. To say it was "powerful" is the understatement of the century. My most memorable moment came when the two 80+ year old Jewish women sitting next to me grabbed my hands and sang along with me to  Queen Latifah's U.N.I.T.Y. It was awesome. The Monologues birthed my love of bright red pants AND bright red lips (neither of which I would have had the confidence to sport before the experience). The Monologues also inspired me beyond measure. Lifted me. Being a part of The Vagina Monologues made me feel strong, unstoppable, small, humble, aware, and blessed beyond measure. The Monologues are all about empowerment...so it only makes sense that red is Vday's signature color. So, the next time you see bright red lips or fire engine red pants on a women, fight the tendency to judge her (possibly even labeling her a "tart" or not so nice version of that term). Consider for a moment that it just may be an expression of  her (new found) confidence and  POWER, and then go out and find your own version and ROCK IT 'TIL THE WHEELS FALL OFF!