The October Dress Project

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The October Dress Project - Columbia SC Moms BlogMy invitation came via social media.

An out of town friend posted this article and I was intrigued. Intrigued, as in, this sounds cool, I’ll share it on my facebook page.

Almost immediately that notification ding came through and a local friend replied, “I’m in.”

Oh, —-. I was committed.

Committed to wearing a dress for the month of October.

Did I mention it was a dress? One dress? The same dress? Every day for thirty-one days?

This happened all because I shared the article on facebook with no real intentions of doing anything other than passing on what I thought was a neat little thing that younger ladies were doing in Canada because a grandfather mentioned once that back in the day girls had one dress for weekdays and one dress for Sundays, and we didn’t need all the extra in our lives.

Be careful what you share, friends. Be careful.

Someone may challenge you to commit.

I think it’s been six years for me. I’m not usually that committed.

My Experience With The October Dress Project

I’ve invited a lot of people to this once a year monthly gig. Some have joined just once and some have, like me, stayed the course. There are few expectations, so don’t be too afraid.

Several other local SAHMs have come along. Neat enough. It’s cool to hang with people living life like you are.

But I date myself with my neat and cool and hang word choices there. So I’ll let you in on a secret –

My favorite October Dress Project buddy started as a teenager. She’s made two moves since that first ODP year and is now a young woman nearing college graduation. We’ve stayed connected, but we really connect in Octobers. This is a fun inter-generational adventure.

The October Dress Project - Columbia SC Moms Blog
She even sent me my dress in 2013!

My surprise year was the time that twenty or so career women at one single place of business came along on my October journey. They invited me to lunch when it was all over. The debrief in their magnificent conference room was a change of pace for me. That year I was more often than not delivering PB&J’s all alone to the elementary school at that hour. Their camaraderie was the same community I’d felt within my ODP Facebook group.

Why Do It?

Just the other day, that Facebook group asked, “Why do you do this?” and I threw out a few reasons I’ve heard along the way.

  • Someone said, “I bet you can’t do that,” and I’m going to prove them wrong.
  • It simplifies my day. Who wants to waste time every morning figuring out what to wear…
  • I’m getting creative with how to accessorize.
  • I wondered what it was like to live with less. This is a small taste of poverty.
  • I’m saving my clothing budget for this month and making a game of wearing this one thing.
  • I wondered if people really notice my clothes.
  • I wondered if people only notice my clothes.
  • I usually wear workout clothes. I’m wearing a dress to see if I’m treated differently.
  • I usually wear workout clothes, I’m seeing if “dressing up” makes me feel any different about myself and my life.

Would you wear the same dress for a month?

You’re invited to join me on this anti-consumerism, pro-simplicity, anti-conformity, pro-imagination journey!

The October Dress Project - Columbia SC Moms Blog
Get ready! It’s almost dress time!

The October Dress Project - Columbia SC Moms Blog

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