One Dress Protest is me, Kristy Powell, wearing one dress for one year in order to protest the ideas and motivations behind how and why I wear my clothes. Over the year I aim to challenge the ways identity is constructed through clothing, what sustainability means for consumption, how our perception of others is so often based on external presentation, and what “fashion” ultimately means for me going forward.
{day 29}
One-Dress-Wardrobing
Ever since beginning my ODP almost a month ago (!!!) I’ve been meaning to write a post that concentrated on some of the practicalities that go into wearing a dress for a full year. A majority of peoples’ initial thoughts to my one-year-fast-from-fashion actually included lots and lots of questions about how I was going to pull this whole thing off, so hopefully I’ll answer most of those inquiries today.
(Before I get going, if you haven’t had a chance to look at the “Why?” section of the blog, it’s a good starting place for all questions related to ODP. Today, though, I’ll try to fill in some of the holes that it doesn’t quite cover.)
So as you’ve gathered, I’m wearing one dress for one year. And as you might have inferred thus far, I gave a lot of serious thought to just what I’d be wearing for the year’s duration. Mainly, I wanted to cover a few key criteria in my one-year wardrobe: first, I wanted it to be made of sustainable materials; second, I wanted it produced by a person I could call by name, and someone who ideally made the dress within 150 miles of my home; third, I wanted the dress itself to be versatile enough for my generally casual clothing preferences but still appropriate for work (or really any other situation in which I might find myself over the course of a year).
On a side-note, I should also say that I intentionally didn’t want to wear a new design that had been created specifically for me. I actually felt like that would be a bit too special for what I intended to explore through ODP. I liked the idea of wearing something other people owned–no frills, no uniqueness, just normalcy. I wanted to strive to be “nothing new under the sun,” because in the end ODP is not about re-defining myself in the dress I’ve decided to wear for an extended period of time. It’s about learning to define myself outside of it, outside of my clothes.
I ultimately decided to go with a dress made by the lovely women over at the Uniform Project, a non-profit fashion organization focused on opening peoples’ eyes to “stylish, sustainable and socially conscious” clothing. I was initially really attracted to U.P’s larger mission, which is to revolutionize the way people perceive fashion through socially responsible consumption. Here is the mission statement that comes with purchasing a U.P dress (I just love it):
In a crazy world like ours, perhaps it will take paradoxes to set things straight. It is from this peculiar perspective that we boldly claim : Buying our dress will in fact help curb fast fashion. Wearing the U.P LBD will turn uniformity on its head. By buying one, you will avoid buying more. And by embracing a constant, you will spark your greatest creativity. So forego the rules. Wear it for something you believe in. Then wear it again. And again. And join us in changing our world one dress at a time.
Don’t mind if I do U.P! Further, I was also inspired by Sheena Matheiken’s undertaking and mission. She, too, lived a year in this dress, and I was happy to be connected to her own project.
Yet I quickly learned that the initial criteria I had set forth for acquiring my dress would be particularly difficult to come by. I finally decided on wearing U.P’s Little Black Dress (LBD), a simple staple design (an A-line silhouette), but was a little disheartened that I would only hit the first and third stipulations on my dress checklist. That is, (1) the dress was sustainably produced from a proprietary fabric of organic cotton and native silk that U.P developed themselves, and it was made in an ethically certified factory; and (3) the dress design itself would certainly be amenable to whatever lifestyle circumstances I might need it for. But–and this is a big “but” that I had to learn to live with–it was made in Bangalore, India, a far cry from the proposed 150-mile radius I was trying to keep to (I was only off by some 8,000 miles). Yet I could take solace knowing that the factory that produces my dress donates proceeds from each dress to provide education for local Bangalorean children.
Needless to say, I’m still not thrilled about this aspect of the dress. Yet I’ve learned that two out of three isn’t so bad — especially when you’re not having someone design a dress for you from scratch.
Next: accessories. I’m choosing to not accessorize my dress since accessorizing can help to create new “looks” from day to day. In fact, I want to look the same everyday: I’m attempting to fast from fashion. The only accessories I’ve decided to wear are my wedding rings, my watch, a couple pairs of earrings I’ve set aside for the year, as well as a necklace.
However, this doesn’t mean I’m not dressing seasonally. I’ve kept out the following to wear in addition to my dress to get me through walking to and from work and wherever in the snowy Connecticut winter: black tights, black pants, a black turtleneck, a black sweater, a handmade knit sweater, a knit scarf, a knit hat, a black pair of gloves, and my heavy winter coat. For the spring, since it doesn’t really warm up here until April, I anticipate still needing to wear tights and a sweater, but by the summer I’ll be down to wearing just the dress.
Like I shared last week, my first dress shrunk considerably after its first wash, and I had a bit of a rough transition from the first shorter dress to the longer second. After a few days, I’m now completely at home in the longer version of the dress and am thankful for having made the switch. It was my original intention to begin with the longer dress, but the holidays got a little crazy and I simply wasn’t able to start things out like I wanted to (meaning the longer dress simply was not ready to be worn yet).
That said, the short dress, fortunately, is not being shoved to the back of my closet, never to see the light of day again. Actually, it will be put to good use somehow, perhaps by a friend of mine who is considering joining me in my protest (and who is small enough to get away with wearing it).
And finally: caring for the dress. Like I said, I learned a hard lesson from “fluffing” the dress in the dryer once I first washed it. It shrank over three inches in length! Honestly, I was really sick with myself once I had realized what I had done. I mean, seriously, I’ve committed to wearing one thing for a year and I shrank it violently the first time I washed it. To be honest, this was all because I was being lazy and attempting to avoid possibly ironing it. It didn’t take long to learn that laziness and sustainability aren’t best friends. I actually just washed and hung the longer dress tonight and it seems just fine hanging out to dry.
All that to say, though, that I’ve found that the dress doesn’t necessarily need to be washed as much as one might think. And perhaps this is too much information for some of you–I get asked this ALOT, so I figure it’s worth sharing–but since beginning ODP, instead of washing the dress over and over and thus wearing it out more quickly, I’ve decided just to shower more than I did before. This strategy has worked pretty well so far — I take a shower every couple days, and I don’t wash the dress more than once a week. This is, after all, also a protest in the sustainability of the entire world of fashion — it takes a lot of energy and resources to wash our clothes as frequently as we do. Hence, I’ve had to “put my money where my mouth is,” so to speak, in figuring out how my dress’ maintenance can bow to more sustainable practices.
So I’m not just wearing one dress for a year, but I’m attempting to build new practices for myself that I can carry into my later years beyond this one. I hope that hits most of the questions I’ve received; but if you have anymore, leave a comment and I’ll field it as best as I can.
Your project is really inspiring!
Just a little note to you, showering to much and wearing deodorant make you actually sweet more. So try to just showered every third day or so, and cut the deodorant down. And you’ll be just fine..
If you wonder more about this, I would just google it.
Thanks!
So I’ve been told. I don’t wear antiperspirant in the first place and I went from showers every 3-4 days to every 2-3 so I’m hoping I don’t make things worse for me… Ha.
I wonder if deodorant does cause you to sweat more, or just antiperspirant. I’ll have to google it as you suggested.
The dress sounds (and looks) like it’s perfect for your needs this year. Keep us posted.
Thanks, and I will! I hope to share in this journey with you.
Guess it’s lucky that you don’t sweat much, and so you don’t have to wash the dress too often.
I’ve got a favourite pair of trousers that I wear all the time, when I’m not in my black work pants, but problem is that they’ve faded so much that the colour is no longer even. Some parts look very worn.
So is your dress likely to fade much over the year?
Oh, I’m not saying I don’t sweat much, David. But rather that I’ve had to learn not to care (which was impossible most of my teenage years and I used every horrific non-sweat cream to clog my pores and never sweat again. Didn’t work, thankfully.).
And I think it will. I noticed it did a bit when I washed it the first time. I’m thinking it’s going to be gray-ish by the end. We shall see…
I really like how you are NOT incorporating accessorizing into your protest. So many people would do the opposite and find ways to be fashionable in their onedress, which truly isn’t a fast from fashion, but more of a fashion challenge. Love you.
You get it, dear sister! Not only is accessorizing not authentic to who I was, it would completely defeat this whole deal for me. I’ll leave that up to the girls of the Uniform Project – they do an exceptional job at engaging some of the same issues I am while being ridiculously fashionable. I admire them, while it is in no way what I am going for in my protest (even though I just happen to be wearing the same dress for one year as Sheena of the U.P did).
I’m also really glad you’re not doing the whole accessorising thing – to me, that defeats the object as you’re then needing vast amounts of hats, scarves, jewellery etc, which the world’s poor just don’t have.
After spending an agonisingly boring afternoon shopping with my best friend the other day for a new pair of jeans because she was ‘bored’ with the ones she’d got (all of which were in perfect condition and flattered her figure beautifully), I was ready to read about somebody like you
You bring up a good point, Julia, about not wearing what the poor don’t have. While that was a factor in my desiring to do this (aligning myself with the poor), I must admit I have at least one of everything I need to stay warm through the winter (one pair of gloves, a warm coat, a pair of warm boots). And so in this way I’m not sacrificing near the level of truly aligning myself with the poor.
And choosing to value friends and time spent with them can be difficult when the preferred activity of said friend is shopping. I feel I’ve had to battle this for a couple of years now (acknowledging I’ve dragged many a friend to some of my favorite stores, too). The greatest challenge of these experiences for me has been in continuously loving and preferring my friend rather than judging her.
Hai,
I take a shower everyday at night because in my opinion its nice to go to bed clean and wake up clean and be ready for a day of work.
How can you not shower for 2-3 days? doesn’t it feel sticky??
Might be a good idea to handwash the dress.
It doesnt have to be too much touble. Just mix some detergent/soap into a warm water, put the dress in, let it sit there 30 minutes-2 hours, what ever, and then just rinse it until the soap is out. easy.
i used to handwash my 7 t-shirts for a year long or so. I always felt totally fresh, the color didnt fade, the size didnt change.
Your protest is a good idea! wish u the best!
Def. a good option.
Thanks!
I just found your blog, I’m fascinated by your project and love you approach. I was disappointed with the project on the uniform project website – I suppose it had a different purpose, but changing accessories everyday seemed to be cheating! I think you’re doing the right thing by removing accessories and not washing the dress so frequently. I actually do something similar by default as I have to wear a uniform to work (at an industrial site), I try to get through the whole week in one uniform (so I don’t have to iron). I really enjoy having a work uniform and not having to think about fashion, as I would if I worked in the city. Keep up the good work and I look forward to reading more!
Yes, the UP had a different, yet overlapping, intention from my ODP. I was quite inspired by Sheena’s ability to wear a dress for a year, it was great encouragement to my ability to do so (thus, why I’m wearing the same dress to link myself to the UP). I wouldn’t call changing accessories cheating, at least not for the UP intention… but it certainly would be for me.
I’m glad you enjoy your work uniform. I do think it simplifies to have a work uniform, but it is a whole new challenge to chose to uniform yourself outside of work when no one is requiring that you do so. Give it a go maybe?!
Thanks for your One Dress Protest, Kristy! GREAT contribution to life, to beauty, to conscious awareness, and to society!
The discussion is so helpful too. Here, I especially like the focus on how to be clean without over-doing.
One of the black A-line dresses I have made for everyday use is a blend of hemp and tencel. To wash by hand, infrequently, is a must if one wants to wear the dress for many many days. The other dress I make for everyday use is wool with a bit of spandex. It is even more durable than the first; it needs washing even less often, actually! I wash the stretch wool really well and dry it in the dryer before I cut out the dress, but once the dress is made, it needs to be aired out each night, spot cleaned, and brushed. A wash by immersion in water (doing so gently by hand in cold water is best) need only be done every 10 or 20 wearings.
With regard to bathing and deodorizing the body…. Have any of you tried using a deodorant crystal (the stone that one simply rubs on the skin is available at any drug store or grocery store) instead of stuff that is spread or sprayed on the skin? I think the deodorant crystal works wonderfully, even in hot weather, and there is nothing from it to get on the clothing.
I have made dresses for every, every, every day use. I would love to make some more of them and lots of variations are possible. But I also love the idea of remodeling existing dresses for use during fashion-fasts. There are about six billion options for this approach to fashion-fast dressing, and most of those cost way less than the cost of a custom- designed, custom-made dress.
Bravo to all those fasting from fashion! –Kathleen