Monday, February 18, 2013

Dress For Change! Register Today!


Hello ladies! I’m assuming at this time you are all wondering what this “Dress for Change” business is about; well I am here to tell you! How many of you have ever said, “ Ugh, I have nothing to wear!” I sure am guilty of it. When reality is, most of us have a closet full of clothing but our lack of accessorizing and realization of our closet’s potential forces us to believe our closet is empty. While we are all coveting over the latest trends and designer collections, there are little girls in foreign countries who cannot afford a dress for school, forcing them to stay home and continue to stay uneducated. Do not get me wrong; staying up to date on trends and latest fashions is definitely not a bad thing. Being the fashionista I am, I encourage all of you to be your own little fashion icons but I have developed a project that can benefit not only you but underprivileged girls as well.
            My name is Sheyanne Root. I am a senior at Burns High School. Every senior that passes through Burns High is required to complete a senior project. My entire life I have had a dream of becoming a fashion designer and making a difference in the fashion industry so I decided, why not begin my influence in this industry with my senior project? My love for fashion and my desire to make a difference was the foundation of my Dress for Change project.
            As I was brainstorming on the possibilities I had for my project, I came across the Uniform Project, which is a fashion consumerism project that raised funds for education. A girl vowed to wear the same Little Black Dress for 365 Days. She changed up her outfit everyday by accessorizing differently. Burns High School took part in this project for the first time last spring. I was fortunate enough to participate and had the opportunity to be a guest blogger and wrote a few pieces for newspapers about the project and my personal experiences. The project taught me so much about my closet’s potential and accessorizing and I only wore the same dress for 7 days.
            I am assuming now you are wondering, what exactly can I do to get involved? Well, on April 1-7 2013, I will be holding the first annual Dress for Change Week. I need women like you to pledge $5 and vow to wear the same black dress for one week. For every woman that participates I will sew a dress for a little girl in Africa. All dresses will be sent to Dresses for Africa, a charity organization that has provided over 1.5 MILLION dresses to African girls already. As you wear your dress for one week, you will not only be forced to accessorize, but you will be helping change the future of a little girl’s life. Because these girls have a dress to not only protect their bodies, they also have clothing for school, and will no doubt find joy with their first dress. Because of your sacrifice of $5 and wearing your black dress for one week you will allow a little girl to be one step closer to receiving an education because she will now have clothing to wear to school. Also, these girls will be able to feel that amazing feeling we’ve all had of wearing a beautiful dress that gives them higher confidence. I know that whenever I purchase a new dress I feel like I can conquer the world. You can make that difference for these little girls!
            So what do you say? Will you stand up with me and Dress for Change? You can register today by emailing your name to lbddressforchange@gmail.com. You can make your payment using PayPal on this blog or a mail in option. The PayPal button is on the right side of the screen. If you choose to do the mail in option make a note of that in your email and I will send you the address.
            All participants are encouraged to photograph their experience so we can share your stories on this blog! I will be posting my experience from last year to give you all an idea on how to accessorize and mix things with your black dress! Be sure to share this project with anyone you can. I am willing to make as many dresses as possible and the more women who pledge, the more girls who receive dresses! Stand up with me and let’s Dress for Change ladies!

24 comments:

  1. What a great idea! You go girl!! I'm spreading the word and hope this is a huge success! :)
    Best of luck~
    Andrea Letham

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  2. Thank you Andrea! I am hoping it's a huge success as well! Thanks for registering!

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  3. I'm in! Thanks for doing this!! Such a great idea.
    Beth Huntington
    aka The Renegade Seamstress
    www.chicenvelopements.wordpress.com

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  4. I'm in too! I just saw Beth's ( The Renegade Seamstress) blog post about your idea and had to sign up. You are an inspiration to us all.

    Anne Maskell
    http://www.amaskellantics.com/
    stitchingbynumbers@hotmail.com

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  5. Do you need any fabric for the dresses? I bet I have some I could donate, if you'd like.

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    1. Thank you ladies for all your support! Beth, the dresses actually are made out of pillow cases but I add pockets and use bias tape as the straps! If you have any fabric, pillowcases, or bias tape that you would like to donate your more than welcome to! Just send an email to me at lbddressforchange@gmail.com and I can give you more information! Thank you for your willingness to help! I love the response I am getting from such amazing women!

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  6. Hi, what a wonderful project - all the very best with it - I am looking forward to wearing my dress with different accessories already! Liz aka LeapingTracks

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  8. A friend told me about your project. I'm in! This is such a fantastic idea! I'll even write a post about it on my blog to get my small group of readers to participate. Let's make this project viral!

    visit me: http://cinderelladuty.blogspot.com

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    1. Getting the word out is so important! Thank you for your help and support!

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  9. Great idea, but here's the trouble: I do not own any black dresses, not a single one. Why black? The color of mourning and negative thoughts for such a beautiful project?

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  10. If a black dress is out of the question, you are more than welcome to wear a different color or even black pants or slacks. Whatever works best for you!

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  11. This is a fabulous idea! I will participate and spread the word!
    ~ Kasey
    http://mylifeonthedivide.blogspot.com/

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  12. I wish you the best of luck with your project. I will be posting a link back to your blog from my blogs and spreading the word.

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  13. I love this so much! I'm in and am spreading the word!
    -Rebecca at http://rebeccamdaniels.blogspot.com

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  14. I found you through Rebecca! I'm in :)
    -Kirstin (www.casselljourneytoafrica.blogspot.com)

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  15. What a great idea! I definitely want to join in. I'm working on a FB invite to friends to join with me and just want to clarify: will the $5 be used for materials? Will it go towards the shipping? I'm so excited!

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    1. It's going towards the materials, shipping, and advertising

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  16. this is an awesome idea! i'm in. i've actually already done a challenge like this where i wore the same black dress for 7 days. it's quite a fun exercise in creativity. and this time it's even more awesome that it'll be connected with providing dresses for girls in africa.

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  17. This struck such a nerve with me that I signed up today! My eight year old daughter and I will be documenting our journey on my blog... thanks for the inspiration and for reminding us just how blessed we truly are!

    http://tondradenise.blogspot.com/2013/04/didnt-you-wear-that-yesterday-part-one.html

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  18. "Annual" Dress for Change week? Will you be doing this again next year?

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  19. I just found you through the Renegade Seamstress. I'm wondering how everything went. Have you put your results anywhere? I see that this site hasn't been updated for quite some time.

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