Nuts & Bolts

Day 14

I've had a few questions.

So, do you just wash it every night?
I wash the dress about twice a week, but could probably wash it less than that.  Probably once a week would be enough, but I'm washing my pants too, so it makes sense to throw the dress in at the same time.  Plus, the fibers of the dress relax after being worn for a day or so.  Washing and drying the dress tightens all the fibers up again and gives it a nice fit.

I'd spill stuff on myself!  How do you keep it clean?
Well, I learned pretty quickly not to spill stuff on myself.  With only one dress, I take the time to make sure my coffee is fully in my mouth.  It's also a great reminder to  s  l  o  w    d  o  w  n.

How's the dress holding up?
It seems to be holding up pretty well.  The spot that was on it disappeared after the second washing, with no further encouragement than laundry soap.  I was originally worried that it might get smelly, but so far odors don't seem to cling to the fabric.  I do need to 'reset' it periodically to get its cozy flattering shape back.


I think I have everything settled for the wardrobe now.  I have a pair of leggings and a pair of capris that I am comfortable in and that I think will hold up well.  I have a new black merino wool sweater that is cozy.  It says dry clean only, but I think if I hand wash and dry it will be ok. ( I'm most concerned about body odor with this, since I can't machine wash it.)  And I have the one long sleeve t-shirt.  I have my everyday dress, and then I have a back-up dress.  I'm going to try to not wear the back-up dress and see how it works to just wear the one.  But the second is there if I need it.

So, how's it going?

Day 13

It's been almost 2 weeks in the same dress, with very few variations.  And I'm happy.  I'm more relaxed.  I haven't had a single day of wishing I had something else to wear. 

Laundry doesn't pile up and then sit in my corner unfolded.  Or folded and waiting to be put away.  Because I only have a small little pile of clothes that fits entirely in one drawer.  I could probably even smash them all small and they'd fit in half of a drawer. 

And I feel absolutely NO stress about packing for my upcoming trip.  (2 weeks, international travel)

The first few days I felt some misgivings, but I don't hear any of that negative mental chatter anymore.

I'm not so shy about being in one dress, and wish a few more people asked me about it.

It's nice.  And feels good.

Inspired!

There are few things in this world that make my introverted little heart twitter like anonymous love notes! 

Today I stumbled across this site: The World Needs More Love Letters.

I'm inspired! 

For my trip coming up, (Eugene---->New York ---->Istanbul---->New York---->Eugene) I will be bringing letter writing supplies as well as journaling supplies.  I will leave one love letter a day wherever I am. 

What?  You want pictures? 

Well, yes.  Yes.  I think I can do that.  I can take a snapshot of each letter nestled in its find-me-hidey-place and share it with you.

Let me know if you decide to leave anonymous love letters to be found. 

Dilemma

Day 10

So, here's the dilemma.  Sweet Skins does not have a second dress in my size in the same color.  They can throw another dress in when they do the next batch of slate blue dyeing, but that won't happen for several weeks.

And I leave on a 2 weeks international trip in 7 days. 

So, do I try and go with one dress on this trip?  And if I can make it on really just one dress for this trip, I definitely won't need to purchase a second dress at all.

Or should I just suck it up and get one in a different color?

I don't want one in a different color.  I want the same dress, same color, same size.  That was what made it easy for me.  No decision. 

But from slate blue to a dark grey isn't that big of a reach.  They're in the same color genre.  And I feel like it would be a burden to try and wash the dress frequently enough.  And a burden on the people I am staying with. 

On the other hand, I am also certain that the people I am staying with are happy to accommodate my needs and me needing to work around an occasional wash isn't the big of a deal.

One dress total, or pick up a second in a different color? 

thoughts?

One Dress & Dressing for Success

Day 9

So, I have a job.  I run my own business.  Which means I work on my own schedule.  And it's primarily online and on the phone (no, not internet porn, thank you very much) so it doesn't much matter what I wear.  I could be in pajammies and most people wouldn't know.

But today I got an email that gave me pause.

It was for a part-time job that I was interested in.  And so I responded saying I'd love to interview.

And then I realized.  I've committed to wearing the same dress for a year.  People don't wear the same clothes every day in a professional atmosphere.

So what do I do about this?

I can be really upfront and say, hey, I'd love this job AND I'm wearing the same dress for a year.  Here's my blog address.

Or I could just not mention it, and accept the job if offered, and wait until she says something.  But I'm a really upfront person, so this feels icky.

Plus, the dress isn't very professional.  It's cute, and versatile, and dress-upable enough for most of the occasions I attend, but definitely not professional.  Which means that I'd have to express that I know that my dress isn't the most professional attire.  Which means I'm back to explaining why I'm wearing a dress for a year.

My dear friend said I could hurry up and create a cause, that would make it admirable, respectable, blah blah.  But again, that's not really why I'm doing it and feels dishonest to use a cause when I didn't have one to begin with.  And she dismissed it pretty quickly anyway.

And I considered if I'd give up the one dress one year thing.  (no).  And I considered just wearing work clothes for work.  (which is a ridiculous idea).

So, I decided I'd be upfront and just tell her the story.  Either she'd be interested and be ok with it, or she'd think I was too kooky.

And then she emailed me and said she really needs someone yesterday, and my being gone for 2 weeks vacation makes it really hard when she needed someone yesterday.

So, professional crisis averted.  But it makes me wonder what the other onedress/oneyear people do about their work situations.

What would you have done?  Would you have been upfront or let it slide until the employer brought it up?  Or something else entirely?

(I wished her good luck finding someone right away.  And for her sake, I hope she does.  But I'll call when I'm back from vacation anyway, just in case.)

Out, Out!, Damn Spot

Day 9

Do you see that SPOT?

For some reason, I'm ridiculously fond of it.

Will I get BORED

Day 8

It's a pretty common question.

'Do you think you'll get bored of wearing the same thing every day?'

I might.  I really don't know.  I do have some variety; socks, scarves, wraps.  And my hair has kinda a life of it's own.  But I still might get bored.

Which kind of excites me.

We live in such a throw away culture that we really don't get a chance to get bored with things anymore.

Bored with your job?  Get a new one.

Don't like the color of your car?  That's ok, you can get a loan for a new one.

Kitchen hard to clean?  Go ahead, remodel.

Husband boring?  Trade him in for a more exciting model.

and on and on.. .. ..

So, while I'm less consumer based than a lot of America, I still don't really know what it means to be bored.  So I think I might welcome a chance to see how I respond to bored.

And I do wonder if it will even happen.  I don't find many opportunities to be bored. 

Home again, home again...jiggity jig

Day 8

Today I am home.  And relieved.

What a busy weekend!

I saw wonderful friends, and got to know a new(ish) friend, and was inspired by the education leaders in my state.  I gave two presentations (both went well) and attended 6 others.  I chatted, and networked and debated.  I participated in a fashion project (which turned out great!) and had a business breakfast and then was fed a yummy dinner that cooked while we played games with kids. 

And now I'm home.

I washed my wardrobe last night and slipped it on this morning, happy as a clam to be wearing the same thing.  And then sat around and read.  And went to a movie with my boys.  And ate a calorie filled Portland Cream, and wished I hadn't.

And in a moment I'm going to crawl in bed and let myself fall asleep.

A successful long weekend, I think.

At the Conference = Anxiety

This morning, I felt some anxiety when I got dressed.

I’m presenting both days at this conference.  Will people notice I’m wearing the same thing?  Will they judge me on this?

Normally, I don’t care much.  Normally I am pretty secure about myself and how/what people think of me.  But here I care and I’m feeling vulnerable.  These are people that are passionate about the same thing I am.  They are leaders.  They impact their communities in amazing and positive ways.  I look up to these people and respect them, and want to grow up and be like them.  I want to be part of this group, accepted and wanted.  And I want them to respect me.

And what am I worrying about? My clothes?  Could I get any shallower?  I’m not worried that my presentations will suck, or that I will do something colossally stupid, or that my technology will fail.  Oh No, I’m worried that someone will notice that I’m wearing the same thing as yesterday and then make some kind of negative value judgment of me.

Puh-leeze! 

Now, if you are reading this and thinking, ‘Oh yeah, I’d be worrying about that too’ then I don’t judge you for this.  I don’t think you are shallow.  Which is why it’s so comical to me that I’m judging myself.  What kind of silly double standard is this?

And I don’t judge if people are wearing the same thing day after day after day.  In fact, I think I’m so busy just trying to put all my figurative feathers back in the pillow that I doubt I even notice if someone is even wearing clothes!  So why would I assume that someone else has nothing better to do than notice I’m wearing the same thing as yesterday.  Again, what kind of silly double standard is this?

And the answer is, I don’t know.

I’m working on that. 

Which is why I’m wearing the same thing as yesterday and tomorrow I will be wearing the same thing as yesterday.  Whether they notice and judge me or not.

You Want to See Those Signs Closer, Don't You?

Day 3

You want to see those signs on my tubs closer, don't you?  I know you do.

These are my inspiration and encouragement signs.

 

What's Left of My Wardrobe

Day 3

Ok! So I got the closet emptied and the dresser drawers too.  What I have left are items that don't ever cause stress.

One blue dress (Made of a hemp/cotton mix)

Empty(ish)!

One blue long sleeve (to be replaced with something better)
One pair of black capris
One pair of grey leggings
A black cardigan (acrylic, I'd like to replace with wool)
One Bathrobe (the house isn't always as warm as I'd like)
One nightgown (because I like it)
Many pairs of socks
Plenty of underthings
One bathing suit (one can't always skinnydip!)
Several scarfs
One grey outer coat
Green boots
Red Dansko clogs
Chacos (for warmer weather)

That's my entire wardrobe.  Though, I didn't pack away my snow clothes.  Just in case.  And I give myself permission to root through my 'Do Not Open' boxes if I need warmth layers.

And I do need to go pick up one more dress.  Because today I had to sit around in my bathrobe for over an hour while the dress was laundered.

My Former Wardrobe, Now Packed Away

I'm excited to head to the conference that I'm presenting at this weekend.  Usually when I go to these things, and I'm presenting, it takes forever to pack.  And I think about my image, how I'm being seen, how I'm representing my organization, blah blah blah.  

The extent of my thinking this time was about making sure the dress is clean.  That's it.  

WHAT A RELIEF.

My Lovey will be happy to take over those drawers and closet space.

All you other one dressers...

Day 2

I'm so inspired and equally shamed!  All you other OneDressOneYear bloggers have chosen this as a way to bring awareness to something important to you, and I just want to be less stressed.  (Although my Lovey tells me that donating my half of the closet to things besides clothes is a worthy cause.)

And I thought about changing my spin.

But that wouldn't be me.

So even though I wish I had been inspired to do this as something more than personal gratification, I wasn't.  And it wouldn't be true.

But Hey!  I did get part of that closet cleaned out.  Yay me!

First Day

Day 2

This morning found me thinking a lot about what I'll be wearing today.  Which is funny since it's the first full day into my year.  But the habit is there.

So I donned the dress, and a pair of leggings and a sweater.  And am trying not to be critical in my thoughts.  Today I've started with a bit of naysaying about this process, about the feasability, about my intentions behind it, about whether I like the dress (I do), about if it's worth it.  So I'm working my way away from those thoughts.  Those kind of thoughts rarely produce a situation that makes me feel better or gets anything done.

I'd like to get around to emptying my closet today.  And my dresser drawers.  Right now I have half a closet of clothes, three large dresser drawers and a large tub.  I'd like to remove everything but what I will be wearing.  Lovingly pack it all away until next Fall.  I am excited to see an empty closet, except for my lone wardrobe of one dress, a pair of capris, one long sleeved t-shirt, a sweater and 2 dresses of the same color and style.  It will look so luxurious in that big old empty closet.

Here's a picture of half of my half of the closet:

Doesn't it look cramped and sardine like?

Do you see all those lovely fabrics and prints?

Do you see that unused splash jacket way against the wall that I've worn once in the last few years?

How about that maternity sweater that I haven't gotten around to putting in the maternity clothes bucket?

What you can't see is the other half of my half that has a large tub our out of season clothes in it, a bunch of shoes that I rarely wear, and even more sweaters.

And a laundry basket on my floor full of clean clothes that still need to be hung up.  That I haven't hung up because I plan to pack them away. (I took a picture for you, but it just looked messy, and it's too early in our relationship for me to show you how messy I can be.)


But I have a LOT of stuff to do today.  I am presenting at a conference this weekend, and have to leave tomorrow afternoon and I'm still polishing my .ppts.  And I also have a client meeting this morning and work to do for actual clients.  And a slightly messy house that I'd like to clean before leaving for my conference, and grocery shopping to do.

So I don't know if I'll get to packing everything away today or not.

But I'm wearing the dress.  And happy to be doing so.

The Dress.

Day 1

This is the dress I've chosen for the year.

Sweet Skins Spring Day Dress

Let's start by saying, This is not an image of me.  This is an image pulled from the manufacturer's website.

This dress was designed and sewn in Eugene, Oregon by Sweet Skins.

It's a hemp and organic cotton twill, and is a blue grey colour.

It hits right about my knees.

It will work well with leggings and a sweater and is modest enough for me to feel comfortable wearing it during the summer.

The Year Begins.

Day 1

This is the beginning of one year in one dress.

Several days ago I found a remnant of a blog about a choreographer in Seattle that decided to wear one dress for one year.  She made her own dress out of brown denim and made it through a full year.  Her blog site was later taken/absorbed/bought out/whatever by a different group but they preserved the original content.  (Here is the original blog in journal form:  little brown dress)

I was floored.  Amazed.  Fascinated.  Excited.  The idea of not having to choose what to wear felt like such a relief.  The idea felt so ... right.

And so I decided to simplify.

One dress.  One Year.  Beginning today.