one dress 365 days

[imagine]

I found this website about a lady that is going to where the same dress everyday for a whole year. She calls here blog One Dress Protest fasting from fashion

This Week in the Dress and on the Web | One Dress Protest

She is exploring fashion/ or the lack of and the affects of fashion on who we are. And how others see us or think about us based on our clothes or lack of.

I have been enjoying reading her blog today and it has given me lots to think about.

I grew up with tons of clothes. My mom has closets ( yes closets) full. My Hubby thinks all your clothes in season and out of season should all fit in your dresser.

I also grew up with Mennonite friends who had two or three dresses and they were all the same pattern. They also only made new ones when the old were beyond repair and/or they outgrew them.

So many thoughts

So I thought I would share this blog find with you.

[bumplett]

thank you so much for sharing!!! I'm going to enjoy this blog.

[imagine]

I look forward to hearing your thoughts as you enjoy her blog.

Maybe we can talk about our thoughts?

[Ramona]

This is great! I have a very basic wardrobe, good quality, some sewn by me and I'm content.

[bumplett]

I read through to get up to date I do tend to agree more with her thoughts about lack of accessorizing, compared to the original U.P. way - while that's the most beautiful woman with great fashion ability, it does tend to take away from the initial principals of the challenge.

I'm feeling sympathy for her over the shoes. I've always seemed to have similar issues regardless of my personal challenges - even something as simple as not buying groceries, etc... there is always something, even trivial, that comes up that makes me feel like I failed. while the realistic side of me says - oh, just buy the shoes.... I understand her concern.....

[krbshappy71]

*Snicker*...does she go nekkid on laundry day?

[Imarachne]

I'll never forget a high school teacher of mine who said to buy really good quality basic black, neutral colors and buy a minimal quantity . They would coordinate and from a basic 6 piece wardrobe, you would have several outfits. No need to have closets full !

[bumplett]

*snort*

I figured she sleeps nude.....

[ladykemma2]

what does she do on laundry day?
or does she rinse it out every night? and hang it up to dry? yuck, i live in a hot sweaty climate and cannot wear the same clothes two days in a row.

edit: ok, i read the article. she has two identical dresses, one off, one on. they are too short, in my opinion for work. i think she needs to restart her experiment with two dresses that fit better.

[imagine]

what does she do on laundry day?
or does she rinse it out every night? and hang it up to dry? yuck, i live in a hot sweaty climate and cannot wear the same clothes two days in a row.

edit: ok, i read the article. she has two identical dresses, one off, one on. they are too short, in my opinion for work. i think she needs to restart her experiment with two dresses that fit better.

She going to have one dress but she shrank the first one the first day and found that it was too short for work when wearing tights instead of leggings. So she ordered another replacement. She said the second one is getting shorter by the day. the lesson learned was research the fabric better before making your choice. (hers is cotton and silk)

She says she washes it everyday and stretches it out and hangs it to dry. A few times the dress was not dry and she did wear the to short one.

Both dresses are essentially the same which is what the experiment is about not just can you live with one one article of clothing.

[imagine]

I'll never forget a high school teacher of mine who said to buy really good quality basic black, neutral colors and buy a minimal quantity . They would coordinate and from a basic 6 piece wardrobe, you would have several outfits. No need to have closets full !

That reminds me of another experiment that I saw called 6 things. I will see if I can find a blog about it and post it.

The challenge was to pick 6 things out of your closet and and dressers and only wear those 5 things for a month.

[imagine]

I read through to get up to date I do tend to agree more with her thoughts about lack of accessorizing, compared to the original U.P. way - while that's the most beautiful woman with great fashion ability, it does tend to take away from the initial principals of the challenge.

I'm feeling sympathy for her over the shoes. I've always seemed to have similar issues regardless of my personal challenges - even something as simple as not buying groceries, etc... there is always something, even trivial, that comes up that makes me feel like I failed. while the realistic side of me says - oh, just buy the shoes.... I understand her concern.....

I agree on both statements also. The accessories and shoes.

I do admire her for sticking with not buying the shoes but I feel that it ends up being the same as when she needed to buy another dress. Lesson learned move on. Well maybe it is different since she does say she has a pair of ballet flat that will work.

[imagine]

I assumed she slept in a night gown or PJ's and that didn't count because it was one dress 365. She also said she misses her dress when she teaches Pilates so I assume she doesn't wear her dress during that time.

I also assumed during the time the dress was washed she was wearing her pj's or her leggins and shirt or something similar at home.

[mama2James]

I read through the blog, I think that what she is doing is great! Not that I could bring myself to do the same I can say though, that my family and I naturally consume less clothing and "fashion" than the average Americans. My husband wears the same jeans and t-shirts for both work and at home. He has two good quality pair of jeans that he rotates as long as they are serviceable. He also has a handful of other items that are appropriate for a job interview, wedding etc. He is a creature of habit and prefers to dress that way. I wear scrubs to work, I have about 5-7 work days worth of "outfits". I have recently asked my supervisor if I could switch to wearing business casual clothes with a white lab coat instead. Scrubs never fit me well, they fade and look old quickly and are really only appropriate for work. Also, they are quite expensive to replace since second hand ones aren't generally in good shape anymore. They are usually priced at least 15-20 dollars for a top or pants. If I wore "street clothes" to work, I could also wear them in my home life. Outside of work, I prefer to wear dark wash jeans or capris and simple cotton tops and sweaters, depending on the season. I have a couple of dresses for special occasions. I purchase basic clothing for my kids, second hand whenever possible. Jeans and cotton shirts make up the majority of their wardrobes and I try not to purchase more than a week's worth of items for each season. 1 or 2 pairs of shoes each, replaced when outgrown, pajamas are kept until they just DO NOT fit anymore and faded or stained t- shirts and sweatpants become pj's. If we are just staying around the house for the day, the kids and I will very often just stay in the pajamas we wore the night before to save on laundry I agree with the blogger that the level of clothing consumption that we as a society currently engage in is unsustainable and unethical... thank you OP for recommending the blog!

[imagine]

That reminds me of another experiment that I saw called 6 things. I will see if I can find a blog about it and post it.

The challenge was to pick 6 things out of your closet and and dressers and only wear those 5 things for a month.

Here is a lady doing the 6 or less challenge. It is an older challenge so most of the links I found were gone but this lady still has hers up.

krissi_sixorless