Day 31: Final Thoughts

I made it! It's been quite an interesting experience. I was quite surprised at how easy it was at times, and how hard it was at others. I hit a wall after the first week, feeling like I had run out of cute ways to style it, but then got a fresh wind. Then the last week, I just felt over the whole thing, and was sick to death of the dress. Here are my final thoughts:

Stuff I liked:
I am proud of myself for participating for the full 31 days.
I have more confidence in my creativity.
I feel more comfortable with creating a stylish feel for myself.
Feeling like I had conscientiously stepped out of the consumer dependent mindset.
I am more aware of the quality and quantity of my stuff.
Always knowing what my core piece for each day did take a lot of the guess work out.
Overwhelming support from my family and friends.

Stuff I didn't like:
Wearing a dress EVERY day.
Realizing I have WAY too much stuff.
Spending time managing stuff, when I could be spending time with people I love.
I wish I had been able to go on a complete shopping fast too.

Overall, I this was a positive experience, and I'm really glad I did it!

Days 26-30 The Lost Days

Yep, so, no pictures for days 26-30. I know, it's terrible. Life caught up with me, and the photos just didn't happen. I swear I wore my dress, and I have witnesses.

I am sad to say though, that I'm not sure the dress is wearable after this month. The coming-apart-seam has, well, come apart. All the washing has shrunk it slightly, so the zipper's wonky. And the cotton is not as soft as it once was, and it starting to pill. I'm a little sad that it seems, literally, worn out. If you consider that I probably would have worn it on average, maybe once every other month, I've stuffed 3-5 years worth of wear into one month.

It also means that as I add clothes to my wardrobe (in moderation), I'll be looking for well constructed stuff that won't fall apart soon. That means I'll probably have to pay more up front, which means I'll need to be a more conscience shopper. Its a win win for me, I think, against the culture of stuff.

Day 25: Legwarmers

Legwarmers! After ripping back, giving up, bad gage and a few other knitterly problems... I completed my legwarmers. I LOVE them, though they don't seem to be a favorite with the rest of the world. Of course, now that they are complete, the weather is changing and I'll probably be in flip flops by the end of the week. Oh well!

Day 24: Hand Knit Sweater Day

I finally finished my red sweater. I used Suri Merino, which I LOVE, and Knitting Pure and Simple's Wrap Cardigan pattern. I love it AND it goes with my dress!

(If you're a fiber artist, you can find my work on Ravelry)

Day 23: Gotcha!

Had a friend sneak up on me at the park today, to check and see if I was wearing my dress. I am of course. Silly hubby made me take the above picture, which normally would have never seen the light of day, but I figure we need one silly one in the slide show to keep people guessing!

Day 22: What Will I Wear??

I am grateful for the people in my life who continue to encourage me with this project. But honestly, I've started to forget I'm participating. People say, "Are you tired of it yet?" and I have to respond, "Tired of what?" Oh, that's right, the dress. For me, I know this means I have really moved on from any anxiety I had about how I look, dress or the project itself.

I really love the simplicity of rearranging some core pieces; and I love that I didn't need to buy a whole new wardrobe to completely change my perspective on how I dress. I also love that I feel "put together" everyday, and still feel comfortable. I do not have the time, energy or emotional reserves to dress with a dedicated sense of style. But this project has made me feel stylish, maybe not Vogue stylish, but creatively and expressively dressed none the less, with very little effort. In fact, in reflecting on the ease with which I get dressed each day, I'm starting to worry about November 1: I'm going to wake up, and wonder what to wear!

Day 21: Ten More Days!

Still cold and rainy, but I found my leggings again! I'm knitting a red sweater that's almost done, and some red legwarmers, too. Can't wait for them to be done so I can wear them with my dress!

Day 20: Gray Skies Are Gonna Clear Up

Yes, there is still a red dress under there. Its been cold and rainy for days now, so I've been over using my jeans. They are what I wear everyday every other month of the year, after all. I've gotten into a very comfortable rhythm, and I'm really enjoying not really having to think about the core of each outfit. This red dress really was the best choice for me, because the rest of my wardrobe really is pretty neutral.

Day 19: Please Don't Die, Red Dress!

Sorry for the sad state of this photo, I didn't have a photographer today. I rather liked the effect of the white button down blouse under the dress, with jeans of course.

I have noticed some wear on my dress. Apparently, washing is what's wearing out our clothes, not wearing them. Ok, my logic is flimsy, but I'm sticking with it. I really think if I wasn't washing this dress so often, I'd get more wear out of it. I can't be sure, but I think the color is fading, there's a seam threatening an ugly episode, and the zipper's looking wonky. Both the fading and the zipper are the result of washing, I think. Rest assured I'm not beating the clothes on rocks down by the river, I have an HE front loader, and I use homemade detergent that is, theoretically, sans fillers. Maybe it's the dryer? If we get some clearer sunny days, I may line dry and see if that helps. Hang on dress, 12 days to go!

Day 18: Back to School

I had my husband snap a quick picture as I was off to class. Its chilly today, so my brown wool sweater makes its debut. Enough people are in on my project now, that I get comments on the dress pretty frequently. As far as I can tell though, most people don't care what I wear. (I think that's the big bad secret of the fashion industry, shhhh!)

Day 17: Recycling

I have a full schedule today, and so I recycled the above outfit. I forgot to take a picture, so I used the one from the last time I wore it. I swear that's what I wore.

Day 16: We Moved to Oregon

Ok, we didn't really move to Oregon. But with drizzle-y weather, we like to pretend. Nothing much new in my outfit today, but I'm still loving the cooler weather!

Day 15: I wandered lonely, as a cloud...

Lovely overcast day! My dear friends the clouds are back, and as all my friends at our local homeschool park day shivered, I, in my many layers was quite comfortable! In fact the weather calls for cooler days all this next week, which can only mean good things for me and this dress!

Day 14: There Is More Than One Way To Skin a Cat!

I am an Allied Health student: If you feel strongly about animal dissection, you should just note how cute I look, and move on to tomorrow's post!

Today my outfit will forever be known as the outfit I skinned a cat in. As my lab partner (who did most of the work, thanks girl!) cut into our cat, I seriously considered that perhaps my lab work should merit a wardrobe exception. In case you haven't read my FAQ's , there are some exceptions to wearing this dress everyday: workout clothes, bathing suits and pajamas. I may need to add a lab work outfit to that. I mean, I did have a lab coat, but still, eewww! And, since there are roughly 8 groups in our lab... there definitely IS more than one way to skin a cat. I'm just saying.

Day 13: That Red Sweater

I forgot I had this red sweater, and threw it on before I went out the door: new outfit! I am seriously considering finding a gray or black knit dress and throwing out half my wardrobe. There are so many ways to wear the same thing and still feel original and stylish, so why do I have a closet full of clothes I hardly wear? All it ends up being is "stuff." It may be great stuff, but it's stuff I have to manage, store, wash, move, etc. I have so many things I would rather spend my physical and emotional energy on that managing my stuff!

Day 12: I'm Over This

It is definitely easier to wear the same thing every day. Technically, I already do this: my standard jeans and t-shirt uniform was born out of necessity and perpetuated by apathy. While I like the simplicity of this project, I also am technically more dressed up this month that I usually am, and that does something to way I perceive myself. I think I take myself more seriously.

Day 11: It Feels Breezy In Here To Me!

So, um, it's gonna be hot all week. And, um, I'm a-wearing this dress: stuck some leggings under it, and a black tank, but you can't really see it. Never gave it a second thought all day, until I came out of the bathroom (at home, whew) with my dress tucked in my leggings. Husband's are good for a lot, like saying, "Honey, why can I see your butt?"

Day 10: Relief

This was the first day that I woke up and was filled with relief that I already knew what I'm wearing. Sunday mornings can be hectic in my house, more so than the rest of the week. Trying to get 6 people clean, hair brushed, wearing clean clothes and, I don't know, shoes... to get everyone out the door, at the same time, well its a new miracle every week. Add that to some fabulous whole fruit margaritas (hey they were on the color coded calendar; see yesterday's post) from last night, and I was thrilled to not have to think too much about what to wear. I threw my flip flops in the car so I could wear my "I'd like to break my neck" strappy heels. The sweater only made it to after lunch.

Day 9: Hot!

I am fortunate to have a house that naturally stays on the cooler side, most of the time. So this morning when I woke up, I was chilly. This is what I put on:

It was short-lived. Today, my color coded calendar and I are tackling 5 sports games and two birthday parties. After the first soccer game, it was clear I was going to have to take half of those clothes off. This is what I ended up with:

Much cooler! Yep, I really do own a floppy red hat. When you hear the weatherman talk about the UV index in CA, and he says fair skinned people will burn in minutes, HE MEANS ME. So I have big floppy hats and I buy stock in sunscreen. There you have it.

Day 8: Ok, This is Dumb.

It's warm. That's bad for layering. I can't find my blue flip flops, the ones that would match this shirt and pull the whole thing together. Some of my children, who now wear the same shoe size as me (that should be another tenet of our religion), borrowed them and lost one. One child offered me a green flip flop. "It's kind of blue." No, no it's not.

My husband said to me this morning, "Hey hun, you should wear that red dress today." Then he laughed hysterically. This is the 7th morning he's said that. I've never thought he was that funny. I believe I've hit the end of week 1 wall. I hear that this is the hardest point, but I'm not sure why. For me, I thought I was sick of this stupid dress. It's patterned. It's red. It's dumb. I'm tired of trying to sit correctly in a dress. But actually, I think what I'm really tired of, is trying to make it look cute, EVERY day. I'm stressing myself out. My normal wardrobe is NOT cute. Its comfy jeans and t-shirt- my favorite tees say insulting things on them. There are a limited number of ways I can wear this dress, with the options I have on hand. Wearing the same dress every day for a month, is actually fancier than I normally dress. But it need not be so complicated. Right?

PS. The smile in this photo is for Trina. See why I tend not to smile in photos? Enjoy!

Day 7 - Caught With Too Many Clothes On!

Now, I felt pretty good leaving the house with this on. It was cold when I left. But as is typical with most SoCal weather, it warmed up by mid day, and I had far too many layers on. Blech.

Interestingly enough, no one has asked me why I keep wearing the same thing. I mean, those who know me already know, because, well, I can be chatty. But, people I see regularly, but may not know well... well, they ain't talking. So, is it because they don't notice? They notice, but they are too polite to say anything? (Really, there can't be that many polite people. My commute would be better if there were.) Perhaps they are all mocking me behind my back, too self-involved to find out what's going on. The reality is probably less dramatic. Really, most people probably aren't concerned with what I'm wearing. After all, I don't remember what any of them wore this week. Not even the people I like!

Day 6 - Tights!

I dug tights out of my drawer. I don't even know why I have these: typically anything resembling pantyhose is against my religion. We also despise mornings.

The green scarf (hard to see in my crappy picture) is a lacy triangle scarf I made from a cotton linen blend- I love it.

More rain rain rain today. I even had to throw a coat on over this, after all it was below 70, and as we all know, in SoCal that's nearly blizzard weather: brrrrr.

Day 5: Same Dress, More Rain

In Southern California, we have two seasons: Summer, and Not Summer. I'm thrilled to have a week of rainy weather forecasted. It's so, well, Autumn-y!

Today I actually got complimented on my outfit by a stranger! Those of you who fall out of bed looking chic probably wonder what the big deal is, but for those of us who support the mom jeans industry, it's not a common occurance.

Day 4: Rain!

I'm so relieved to wake up to a lovely overcast sky and drizzle! It's a great opportunity to wear my hand knit red wool socks and cashmere scarf!

Day 3: Warmer Weather

It was cool enough for the jacket in the morning, but it soon warmed up. The warmer temps make me nervous, because if I can't layer, this dress is going to get really old, really fast.

Day 2: Anti Consumerism?

So far so good. I switched it up, and it's not too hot, so my layering plan is in full effect. I'm feeling so good about things, I decide to go public and post the project on facebook. I know I'll get some stares and giggles, and some "I'd never do that," and I'm ok with that.

I'm a little shocked to realize not everyone is on board with an anti-consumerism outlook, and they actually think it's irresponsible for me not to do my part to stimulate the economy, but I recover soon enough. While I understand that perspective, I don't identify with it at all. A friend pointed out that this project has some themes in common with Annie Leonard's Story of Stuff Project. We spend all this time as Americans acquiring and managing stuff, and I definitely want off that merry go round.

I'm very grateful for the support I have received for this project, both in person and online. Thanks guys!

October One: The Red October Dress Project

Last year, some cooler friends of mine participated in the October Dress Project. At the time, while I was impressed with their creativity and, well, gumption, I never considered doing it myself. I don't like dresses. I didn't have the right dress. I didn't have any fashion sense. I didn't have the nerve.

As I starting hearing about the project again this September, I realized that I've come a long way since last year. I still don't have much fashion sense: my minimum criteria is whatever is clean. Since that's also my maximum criteria, you can imagine I'm not much of a fashion plate. But I and my family have made some major lifestyle changes this last year. We eat better: organic, more raw foods, more whole foods, less high fructose corn syrup, less fast food, and less processed food. We have shifted to using cloth napkins and kitchen towels in an effort to reduce our trash. We have limited our new purchases, and instead choose to re-use, re-purpose or purchase used items. We have stopped purchasing anything on credit, and upped our charitable giving. We had a largely handmade Christmas last year. Suddenly, wearing the same dress for a month seemed like a good way to continue our current priorities of simple, frugal living. It seemed like a good way to practice being content, and to consider how else we can extract ourselves from this consumer based society that promises the happiness of stuff, but just seems to bring discontentment and debt.

I have always had a rather anti-establishment bend. So this project fits right in with that. My current approach to fashion has mostly been one of sheer necessity. At one time, not too long ago, I had 4 children under 5: I mostly dressed to try and appear like I wasn't totally freaked out. Even after my girls got a little older, my focus was still on making them look presentable, and so mom jeans and comfy t-shirts made up the majority of my wardrobe. Additionally, I didn't GO anywhere, and if I did, I was hanging out with equally (un)freaked out moms, and our camaraderie was palpable. Even further, we belong to the most awesome diverse homeschool crowd possible: no one was ever going to comment on my mom jeans. These people are the epitome of acceptance and diversity.



This project is the perfect opportunity for me to reinvent myself, fashion wise. No more jeans and tees this month! I picked my favorite dress, which wasn't hard, since I only own a few. It's not black or brown, so I'm a little worried about my accessory options, since I'm starting from such a fashion-stunted place. I briefly considered buying a new dress, but since I might as well scrap the whole thing if I do that, I'm stuck with the red one.

Here goes nothing... my Day One photo.



Day one was easy. I hadn't even told anyone I'm doing this. We had a surprising thunderstorm, which was great, actually. Cooler temperatures lend well to layering: if it climbs back up to 110+, layering will be out the window and it will just be me and this dress. Everyday. Great. Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good, because I can still quit and no one will know. Yay me!