World Smile Day: How One Purple Dress Turns Ordinary Moments into Global Joy

Nearly a decade ago, my distant cousin Gena visited from LA with news of an upcoming wedding near Newport, Rhode Island, known for its famous Cliff Walk mansions. She was excited about visiting the town where the bride grew up, but also expected to wear one of those purple bridesmaid dresses—the kind you wear once and never again. Especially not Gena.?

Gena is the kind of person who avoids buying new things unless absolutely necessary. Her money goes to the orphanages she supports, budget-friendly travels, and thoughtful gifts and letters to her friends and family. The idea of spending hundreds of dollars on a dress was absurd to her.

I offered my purple palette wardrobe, but nothing was suitable, so she eventually, with the help of her sister and Macy's, begrudgingly bought a purple chiffon dress and flew to Rhode Island. Being the world traveler she is, Gena wasn’t planning to head back to California after the wedding.?

Instead, she booked a trip to go backpacking in Iceland, ironically for less money than the wedding was costing her. But the purple dress was in the way. She asked the bride and another friend to take it back to LA, but that didn’t work out.

So, Gena made a decision: she would wear that purple dress everywhere. And she did. She hiked waterfalls and glaciers in it across Iceland, wore it to her arm surgery, took it to the top of Machu Picchu, on safari throughout Africa, camel camping across the Moroccan Sahara, and to multiple beaches and even the corn fields where she grew up in rural Indiana.?

The purple dress became part of her travels, and when the moment and scenery were just right, Gena would don her dress and ask a passerby to snap a photo. Imagine the reaction of fellow hikers—what are you doing? Conversations were ultimately sparked and connections made, which are both part of Gena's travel goals. Gena also appeared on Jay Leno’s game show in the dress!

A few years ago, Gena joined us in Mexico, where we photographed her snorkeling in the ocean, the dress already beginning to fray. Over time, her quirky tradition caught the attention of the dress’s designer, who was taken by Gena’s journey and "liked" her posted photos on social media. There was even a request for a Macy’s photoshoot. The dress has been to probably 35 countries or more; Gena to nearly 80 countries and counting.

If you want to smile, check out Gena’s Instagram (@Redressingtheglobe) and see how her purple dress tradition has brought joy and laughter to people around the world. Gena’s commitment to turning something ordinary into a source of extraordinary memories is an inspiration to us all.

On this World Smile Day, let’s remember that a little creativity and a lot of heart can turn even the simplest things into a source of happiness. How will you bring a smile to the world today?