The Proper Attire
Every teacher is expected to come to school in the proper attire. In some schools, teachers wear a uniform while others don’t share the same policy. Julia was teaching in one of these schools where she could wear her own outfits.
The Proper Attire
Dressing for School
Julia Mooney was 34 years old when she began working as the new art teacher. Her new school’s name was William Allen Middle School located in Moorestown, New Jersey. She had her outfit planned out for her first day.
Dressing For School
Her Dress
Julia’s Jazmenia dress was gray and placed in pristine condition in its box. Although the design seemed harmless, it turned out that it would soon cause much controversy. However, this was the last of the new teacher’s concerns.
Her Dress
Online Shopping
Julia had spotted this grey dress in an online store, and she quickly realized she had to have it. This was a typical dress that could be acceptable to wear on her first day at school, but it was rather shocking to the rest of the school.
Online Shopping
Meet the Teacher
Julia Mooney wasn’t like regular middle school art teachers in New Jersey. She was a mother of two beautiful kids and lived an unconventional lifestyle outside of her working hours. But how did this disrupt her work life?
Meet The Teacher
Family Time
Although she loved her work, Julia enjoyed spending time with her family. She always prioritized this family time over anything else. One of her favorite activities was to take her children to farms.
Family Time
Her New School
Even though Julia expected to receive a few strange looks, she never expected this reaction from students and other teachers. She understood that now was the time to make a change, but this didn’t make it any easier.
Her New School
On Her Way
After getting her children ready for school, Julia was set to begin her commute to her new school. She was dressed in the item she bought online and felt like she was ready to take on the world.
On Her Way
The Rising Temperatures
Julia went about her first day feeling quite optimistic. Her introductions to the students had gone without a hitch, but this started to change once the temperature began to rise. She was becoming more comfortable by the second.
The Rising Temperatures
Getting Hotter
Even with the rising temperatures, Julia attempted to maintain her lesson plan. However, she was becoming increasingly embarrassed, uncomfortable, and sweaty. By the end of the day, Julia believed she had failed to make a good impression.
Getting Hotter
Quick Retreat
The new teacher retreated to her car after the end of the school day. It was a relief to be in her air-conditioned car, but she was mortified about all the sweat that had collected around her dress.
Quick Retreat
Another Day
Although Julia’s first day didn’t go as she had planned, she didn’t see that it was about to get much worse. After arriving at the school for her second day, students quickly realized that Julia wasn’t like other teachers.
Another Day
Noticing
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 at school in the same dress as the previous day.
Noticing
Whispers
Pre-teen girls are widely known to be aware of their image and clothing. That’s why it wasn’t a surprise when these girl students noticed Julia’s attire. She was wearing the same outfit from the day before.
Whispers
Wearing the Same Dress
Nobody had decided to ask Julia about her dress or why she wore it to school each day. However, it was evident that everyone was noticing and Julia knew it was a matter of time before someone asked her.
Wearing The Same Dress
Some Remarks
Before she knew it, Julia had become the topic of many discussions. More people were starting to notice that she wore the same dress each day. Teachers became concerned about why students started speculating. Things were only going to get worse.
Some Remarks
The Elephant in the Room
Although she could feel that there was an elephant in the room, Julia continued to teach. She knew about all the snickers and whispers happening in the school. Julia had even noticed her colleagues were acting and treating her differently.
The Elephant In The Room
Not Breaking the Rules
From Julia’s sense of dressing, many people began questioning her ability to teach. It became so drastic that parents approached the principal about the matter. Was Julia going to lose her position as a teacher?
Not Breaking The Rules
Financial Issues
Although it was virtually impossible to only own one dress even if you had financial issues, people still speculated that this was the reason for Julia’s attire. They possibly didn’t see that she came in different shoes and scarves each day.
Financial Issues
Becoming Curious
Many individuals were so intrigued by the teacher’s never-ending outfit while others grew disgusted by her lifestyle choice. Nonetheless, nobody had an idea why she was doing this each day. The truth was bound to shock everyone.
Becoming Curious
Her Reasoning
Julia had been working at the school for almost three weeks. At this time, students and fellow teachers could no longer contain their curiosity. The new teacher was waiting for someone to come and ask her what everyone was thinking.
Her Reasoning
Planned Out
Everyone only saw that Julia was wearing the same outfit each day. They didn’t realize that she had everything planned out from the beginning. She had specifically chosen this dress because she knew she needed to wear it many times.
Planned Out
Carefully Created
When Julia first created this plan, she understood that she needed an item of clothing that was versatile. This was because she knew she was going to wear it for both the summer and winter months. Everything had been carefully documented on her Instagram page.
Carefully Created
100 Days in One Outfit
Her Instagram page was called one outfit for 100 days. Her first post was featured on the page detailing everything. It stated that for no less than 100 days, she was going to be wearing the same dress. However, many people asked why she chose to do this.
100 Days In One Outfit
Time-Saving
The new teacher had good reasons behind this plan. One of these was that only having one outfit allowed her to save time. By doing this each day, she could easily remove the irritating question of what she should wear.
Time Saving
Slow Fashion
Another reason was to advocate for supporting slow fashion. This type of fashion supports fair labor practices while also offering good quality items. This is the opposite of fast fashion, which is trendy, cheap, and low quality.
Slow Fashion
Worker’s Rights
Most countries are known to employ underage workers in the clothing industry, as this helps satisfy the forever growing market. There aren’t any laws protecting these workers, so not buying such clothing reduces the damage for cheap labor.
Worker’s Rights
Reducing Her Carbon Footprint
One of Julia’s many goals in doing this challenge was also to establish herself as a conscious consumer. This would also help her fight the fashion industry’s environmental impact, which is commonly known to deplete the planet’s natural resources.
Reducing Her Carbon Footprint
Food for Thought
Julia is generally met with disgust when talking about these environmental issues and sustainable choices. Some people believe that it’s unhygienic to wear the same dress each day. However, she challenges this idea and she washes the dress and arrives at work clean.
Food For Thought
A Culture-Based Image
Julia planned to challenge the idea of whether we need as many new outfits as we have. This image comes from a culture of caring more about our image than what we do in society. What would happen if we did well rather than looking good?
A Culture Based Image
Gaining Support
Julia received a considerable amount of support for her campaign, and her Instagram page rapidly gained more than 6,000 followers. She was creating a lot of awareness around the fashion industry and sustainability.
Gaining Support
Her Cause
After everything was said, Julia continued by stating that everyone has their own opinions. However, the objective is always to respect each other’s beliefs while maintaining the lifestyle choice that best suits you.
Her Cause
Think Before Buying
The general challenge behind what Julia was doing was to tell people to think before they purchase something. Many individuals should rather think about purchasing more sustainable items, used clothing, or simply buying less.
Think Before Buying
The End of Her Challenge
Once this challenge was over, Julia took to her Instagram to post that she’s going to change her outfits more often. However, she refuses to consume more than she previously did. Her goal is to shop mindfully and sustainably while hoping that others do the same.
The End Of Her Challenge
Julia’s Challenge
The new teacher’s ‘one dress for 100 days’ challenge came to an end on February 13th, 2019. Her fellow teachers showed their solidarity by wearing the same outfit as Julia for her three remaining days of the challenge, which was an excellent way to end what the new teacher had started.
Julia’s Challenge
Dealing with Criticism
Julia later celebrated the end of this challenge by taking the dress and making new items out of it. She then went on to state that the best way to deal with adversity is to not get defensive. This is the best way to deal with criticism.
Dealing With Criticism
A Lost Art Form
It’s a rarity for anyone to fix their clothing because new, cheap clothing is convenient and attractive. That’s why it doesn’t seem worth the time to fix your own clothing. However, this mending has almost become a lost form of art even though it’s a method of saving money.
A Lost Art Form
The Truth
Let’s face it, we all look at what a person is wearing. However, living a more sustainable lifestyle doesn’t mean you can’t be fashionable. You can still enjoy fashion and use it as a method of expression.
The Truth
A Healthier Planet
By living more sustainably and supporting the slow fashion industry, you can help make the world a better place. This is because you’re reducing waste from fast fashion creation while decreasing child and cheap labor.
A Healthier Planet
How Can You Help?
Many methods of helping live more sustainably exist today. One of the most prevalent is to limit any unnecessary purchasing you might partake in. Another would be to repair any clothing that might be broken or missing a button.
How Can You Help?