The Proper Attire
All teachers are required to show up to school in the correct attire. Some schools have a uniform for their teachers while others don’t. That’s why many teachers need to plan their outfits in advance. Julia was one of these teachers.
The Proper Attire
Dressing for the Occasion
Julia Mooney was 34 years old when she accepted the position as the new art teacher at the William Allen Middle School located in Moorestown, New Jersey. She planned to dress for this occasion to celebrate the new position. She never knew this outfit would cause so much controversy.
Dressing For The Occasion
The Dress
Julia’s Jazmenia dress was pebble-grey in color and lay in pristine condition in its box. The design of the dress seemed harmless, but it turned out that it would soon lead to a load of controversy. However, the dress was the last of Julia’s concerns.
The Dress
An Online Purchase
Julia spotted the grey dress online, and from that moment, she knew she had to have it. However, this wasn’t the type of dress that her colleagues and students expected her to wear on her first day of school. Their shock spread all across the school.
An Online Purchase
Meet Julia
Julia Mooney wasn’t just a middle school art teacher in New Jersey. She is also a mother of two beautiful children. She may seem like any other teacher from Moorestown. However, her lifestyle choice can be considered anything but conventional.
Meet Julia
Time with Family
Julia loves spending time with family and prioritizes to do it as often as possible. She enjoys taking her children to farms and teaches them about the different animals that they encountered. She also likes to knit clothes, especially for her children to wear.
Time With Family
The New School
Julia expected to receive strange looks from those in her new school. However, we never expected to be so incredibly self-conscious about what she was wearing. Julia had always been someone who didn’t care what others thought, but things were about to change.
The New School
On Her Way
Once Julia had gotten her toddlers ready for school, she was set to start her journey to her new school. She was extremely happy with the new dress that she had just purchased, which was a relief because it had cost her $50.
On Her Way
The Rising Temperature
Julia thought that her first day was looking pretty optimistic. She had introduced herself to her sixth and seventh-grade students without a hitch. However, things quickly started to change as soon as the temperature began to rise. That’s when she started to sweat.
The Rising Temperature
Hotter and Hotter
Julia tried to maintain her lesson plan, even though she was becoming increasingly embarrassed and sweaty. The hours went by slowly as the summer heat kept climbing. After the day had ended, Julia felt like she hadn’t made a good first impression on her students.
Hotter And Hotter
Retreating
Julia quickly retreated to her car once the school day had finally come to an end. She was relieved that she was able to get into an air-conditioned vehicle but mortified to feel her dress stuck to her back from all the sweat that had built up.
Retreating
Her Second Day
Although Julia’s first day wasn’t a good start to her new position, it would only get worse from there. Her students realized that she wasn’t like other teachers when she arrived at the school the next day.
Her Second Day
Starting to Notice
The next day, Julia arrived in the same dress. Her students began to notice after the third day, and from there, the news spread like wildfire. Nobody understood why Julia kept arriving to school in the same dress as the previous day.
Starting To Notice
Students Began Talking
Pre-teen girls are known to be increasingly aware of their clothes and image. That’s why it doesn’t come as a surprise that some of the girl students were the first to notice Julia’s choice of uniform. However, she didn’t just wear the dress to school. She also wore it on weekends and when she was out in the city.
Students Began Talking
Why Did She Wear the Same Dress?
Nobody had worked up the courage to actually go up and ask Mrs. Mooney why she continually wore the same dress to school. However, Julia knew that it was only a matter of time before someone mentioned it to her. She was ready to answer any questions people had as soon as they started asking.
Why Did She Wear The Same Dress?
The Remarks
Soon enough, Julia became the talk of the entire school. People were beginning to notice that she had worn her grey dress consecutively for an entire week. Some teachers were concerned, and the students were starting to speculate. However, things only got worse.
The Remarks
Avoiding the Elephant in the Room
Julia continued to teach while carefully avoiding the elephant that was present in her classroom. She was well-aware of all the whispers and snickers that followed her as she passed through the halls and while on the playground. Even her fellow teachers were treating her differently.
Avoiding The Elephant In The Room
No Broken Rules
Many people began to wonder if Julia was too strange to be teaching. Others also wondered if her behavior would be affecting the kids she was teaching. Some parents even came forward and spoke to the principal. Was Julia going to be fired?
No Broken Rules
Financial Problems
No matter how poor you were, it was virtually impossible only to own one dress. Many still speculated that the reason for Julia wearing the same dress was because she had financial problems, even though she came to school in a new pair of shoes and wore different scarves.
Financial Problems
Curiosity
People were being driven crazy by Julia’s never-ending outfit, while others believed Julia’s lifestyle to be disgusting. Different opinions circulated, but no one could really guess the teacher’s real reasons for having such a habit. However, when the truth finally did come out, it was truly shocking.
Curiosity
The Reason
After Julia had been at the school for three weeks, the students and fellow teachers couldn’t contain their curiosity for any longer. Julia could easily see the questions on their faces, and she could also tell that it was coming time to address the elephant in the room.
The Reason
Everything Was Planned Out
Julia had planned this all from the start, and there was a specific reason for her choosing that particular grey dress. It was common for Julia to hear people questioning why she was wearing the same thing, but she couldn’t help but smile at these remarks.
Everything Was Planned Out
A Carefully Created Plan
When Julia was planning her repeat outfit, she knew that it needed to be versatile because she would be wearing it through the entire winter season and some of the hotter seasons. When her students finally mustered up the courage to ask, the answers were all present on her Instagram page.
A Carefully Created Plan
100 Days in One Outfit
Her Instagram page was called one outfit 100 days, and it showed her first post. This post read: ‘For no less than 100 days, I’m going to be wearing this exact dress, through everything I encounter.’ Still, many people asked why she was doing this. She had four good reasons for why.
100 Days In One Outfit
Time-Saving
Julia’s one reason for wearing the same dress each day was that it was incredibly time-saving. A minimalist lifestyle appeals to many people, especially Julia, who has two toddlers. In doing this, she was able to remove the annoying question of what she should wear each day.
Time Saving
Advocating for Slow Fashion
Another reason for Julia wearing this dress repeatedly was to advocate for people to support slow fashion. Slow fashion features fair labor practices and makes good quality clothing. This is the opposite of fast fashion, which is classified as a cheap and trendy fashion that’s cost-effective but isn’t very durable.
Advocating For Slow Fashion
Worker’s Rights
The majority of countries employ underage workers to make clothes in factories to produce huge amounts of cheap products to satisfy the forever growing market. There are also no laws in place to protect these workers. Not purchasing such products aids in reducing the demand for cheap labor.
Worker’s Rights
The Reduction of Her Carbon Footprint
One of Julia’s many objectives is to establish herself as a conscious consumer. In doing this, she’s also fighting the environmental impact of the fashion industry. It’s commonly known that unsustainable ecological practices are the reason for the depletion of valuable resources on the planet.
The Reduction Of Her Carbon Footprint
Food for Thought
Julia is met with disgust when discussing the topic of her environmental choices. Many believe that it isn’t hygienic to wear the same thing each day. She can provide an answer that’s food for thought. She states that it isn’t a project about hygiene, but she washes it when needed and arrives at work clean.
Food For Thought
A Culture-Based Image
Julia challenges the idea of whether we really need as many new outfits as we have. The idea continues asking if we’re living in a culture that is based on what we wear instead of what we do. What would the world look like if we did good instead of looked good?
A Culture Based Image
Receiving Support
Julia gained tremendous support for her campaign, and her Instagram quickly received more than 6,500 followers. The teacher was creating massive awareness and integrated sustainable strategies into everyday items. Many of her fellow teachers and students followed in her footsteps, as well as her husband, who wore the same t-shirt for 100 days.
Receiving Support
Maintaining the Cause
Julia has gone on to say that there are always going to be people who want to rationalize their own conclusions. The goal is to respect their decisions while maintaining your own beliefs. She’s also gone on to say that hemp is an incredible fiber and that all dresses should be made with deep pockets.
Maintaining The Cause
Think Before Purchasing
The general challenge that Julia was presenting was to think before you purchase anything. Consumers should possibly think about buying used clothes, buying sustainably, or buying less. Learning to sew is also a good asset. You shouldn’t just buy into a culture that cares more about what you look like more than anything else.
Think Before Purchasing
The End of Her Challenge
After all of this was over, Julia took to her Instagram to post that she’s going to change more often, but she refuses to consume more than she once did. She plans to shop mindfully and sustainably, and she’s hoping that others do the same.
The End Of Her Challenge
Julia’s Challenge
Julia’s ‘one dress 100 days’ challenge ended on 13thFebruary 2019. Her fellow teachers wore the same clothing Julia’s three final days of her challenge as a way to show their solidarity with what Julia had done. This was definitely a great way to end her challenge.
Julia’s Challenge
Dealing with Criticism
Julia later celebrated by using different parts of her dress to produce new ones that detail what we have learned from her challenge. She has also offered guidance to those who may be facing negatively, which is never to get defensive.
Dealing With Criticism
A Lost Art Form
It’s rare for anyone to mend clothing because cheap clothing is attractive and convenient. Thus, it doesn’t seem worthwhile to fix your own clothes. However, this mending of clothes has virtually become a lost art form. It’s a way to save money, which isn’t being utilized.
A Lost Art Form
The Truth
It’s clear that we’re all looking at what a person is wearing. Just because you want to live a more sustainable life doesn’t mean you can’t be fashionable too. You can still like clothes and use it as a way to express yourself.
The Truth
A Healthier Planet
In living a more sustainable life and supporting slow fashion, you’re able to help make the world a better place. This is environmental because you’re reducing waste caused by the creation of clothing, as well as reducing child labor and the demand for cheap workers.
A Healthier Planet
How Can You Help?
There are many ways you can help live more sustainably. One would be to limit the amount of unnecessary clothing you’re purchasing. The next would be repairing any clothing that may have a missing button, broken zip, and little rip. You can also buy used clothing.
How Can You Help?