A lovely reader recently turned us on to The Uniform Project, a project by the very creative Sheena Matheiken, who has pledged to wear one little black dress for 365 days. In her own words:
Starting May 2009, I have pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion. Here’s how it works: There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day I will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies.
We here at Academichic could not be more supportive of a project that not only pledges sustainable fashion and responsible spending but also works to raise money for education:
The Uniform Project is also a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots movement that is revolutionizing education in India. At the end of the year, all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for slum children in India.
Not only is Sheena Matheiken supporting education and being a responsible citizen, she is also a force to be reckoned with in the fashion blogosphere. Just check out her stunning ensemble for a recent wedding:
We always knew that a Little Black Dress was a must in our wardrobes, but this project will prove just how far such an item can be stretched! Check The Uniform Project for more images and information and to make a donation if you can!
I love this. Her creativity is ingenuous–and an inspiration to people that must wear the same old uniform everyday.
Amazing concept! This project is definitely showing how accessories can transform an outfit.
This project really is astonishing.
There was a similar “project”, detailed at http://www.littlebrowndress.com . I don’t believe there was the fundraiser aspect, and that is a welcome addition. I would go crazy wearing the same thing each day, but I find following the chronicles of those who do fascinating.
i’m glad someone else credited the little brown dress project. the wearer of the brown dress went on to do a year wearing only items she had made herself – if i remember correctly, she had some struggles with shoes!
This person has nothing on my boss who wore the same dress for 4 years. Not 5 different copies of the same dress…the exact same dress. For 4 years. Every day.
That is amazing! Good luck to her, I hope she manages to raise lots of money for the cause.
I couldn’t do this. I would go INSANE!
I love this idea! I love seeing people who combine being socially aware/active with being interested in fashion etc. I like to mix the two together as well. I call myself part Sex and the City and part Hippie!!
I think it is an intriguing idea, but if there are 7 identical dresses, then she is not wearing the same dress for an entire year. If she had 1 dress, she would be. So if she has 7 identical dresses, why not just have 7 different outfits instead? If she’s going to have the pieces then it might be more informational to show how a limited number of pieces can be worn for an entire year.
We can learn a lot from Sheena. Not only about being creative and having great concern for others, but about saving some pennies instead of spending them on new wardrobes. I can still make use of the idea, although I’ve been wearing adar scrub uniforms for a couple of months already.
[...] in June of last year, we featured The Uniform Project in one of our Spotlight Series posts. Meanwhile, word of this endeaver spread like wildfire over the [...]