Day Thirty: la fin

My go-to dress outfit! A bow in my hair, a flannel and a pair of chacos 🙂

And just like that, April is over!

I am so happy that I could participate in the dress project this year. When Grace first told me about it last summer, I was intimidated but intrigued and couldn’t stop thinking up outfit possibilities! While I am more fashion forward in my head than in real life, I did much better than I expected at actually wearing the dress in different ways instead of just throwing different t-shirts on every day.

Self Report Card:
Outfit execution 7/10- started out strong but could have upped the creativity and effort towards the end. I still have many accessories that I planned on wearing but never did.
Blog posts 9/10- I’ve been blogging a good bit this semester and found that I enjoy sending my thoughts into the void known as the internet. I think that my blog posts are funny and engaging but who knows!
Confidence 6/10- I usually wear comfy athletic/t-shirt/chacos/flannel type clothes because they work for a multitude of occasions. I felt out-of-place when wearing make-up, heels, and some of my dressy-er outfits. Looking like an “adult” is still weird for me, because I get mistaken for someone younger fairly often. I hadn’t realized this until TDP and it’s one of my biggest takeaways from last month.
Overall= C -Not bad for a gal that usually looks like Dora the Explorer!

As the sunsets for one part of the world,
it rises for another
It is a constant source of light and warmth-
even if you’re not the one feeling it

For now you can keep up with my shenanigans at my regular blog.

Until next time!

Day Twenty-nine

An 80’s outfit for my first final. Exams are exhausting (it took me almost 4 hours for two questions) thus I look dead 🙂

Day Twenty-eight

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My spring cleaning outfit ft a cheery yellow apron my neighbor gave me when she moved.

Donated 50+ books to the library today so they could be loved by another! I also went through my shorts drawer which I’ve been avoiding because I had some expensive(ish) shorts that don’t fit me anymore. I felt bad for not really wearing them so I put them in the back of the drawer to “deal with later.” After a mental reality-check, I realized that my unworn shorts could fill someone’s demand instead of having to produce a new pair of shorts. *while I recognize that it’s not exactly how that works, it made me get over my guilt so just go with it*

Have something you don’t use anymore but don’t know what to do with it? Most clothing, toys, household items, sports equipment, and other randomness can be donated to local charities. I have googled “where to donate____ near me” many a times and have been pleasantly surprised with the plethora of results! Things that can’t be donated may be recyclable. Check your municipal waste page to see if there are specialty drop-off days for things like old computers, stained/ripped/old socks and underwear and t-shirts. Arlington, VA page here! Unusual candidates like toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes are also recyclable! Check before you trash.

Day Twenty-seven

No dress today because I was a victim actor and make up artist for the National Airport’s mass casualty drill! The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires every major airport to simulate a plane crash so everyone involved can practice responding (having 60-200 patients at once is very chaotic!). I am the youngest member of the the Arlington County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and we help organize the actors for the exercises at National.

The four am wake-up was rough, but I had a good time with my fake broken arm and asthma attack. First responders have VERY tough jobs and I give them gigantic kudos for doing what they do. I made sure to include recycling in my comments to the director because they gave out plastic water bottles and cans but had no recycling inside!!! SMH!

My make-up injuries looked very realistic 😬

Days Twenty-five and Twenty-six

In my flurry of blog writing (on here and my other blog) I forgot to post my outfit from yesterday!

It was a chill day of doing work, writing letters and notes, and helping with the bee hives!

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  My AM outfit: helping in the apiary

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  PM outfit: giving thank you card to the teachers I shadowed

Today’s mini presentation (a starter version of what will be a 45 min talk on feral pigs in a week or so) called for a little dressy-er than my usual! Dressing for success (aka wearing what makes me feel powerful/ heels) helps me give more professional and put-together presentations!

Day Twenty-four

With all of the water quality testing I did last week and the rainy adventures I had due to improper draining in Atlanta this weekend, I decided to do a wild about water post!

Ever thought about how much water you use in a day? Drinking water and cooking probably come to mind first, followed by showers, sink use, toilets, laundry, and other household activities. What about the items you use?

A water-use breakdown of my outfit:
Cotton t-shirts take 659 gallons of water to produce. My dress is probably double the material of a t-shirt so let’s say 1,000 gallons
The button-down is cotton but slightly more complex to make- 1,000 gallons
My leather boots? about 4,000 gallons
With only three articles of clothing counted, I’m wearing 6,000 gallons of virtual water– that’s 120 bathtubs full!

According to the UN:

• Agriculture (including irrigation, livestock and aquaculture) accounts for 69% of annual water withdrawals globally. solution= eat more veggies
• Industry (including power generation) accounts for 19% solution= only buy/use what you need
• Household uses for 12% solution= wash your clothes only when they need it

The US per capita water consumption is double the global average (~1,800 gallons/person/day). Because of this, 40 out of our 50 states can expect to see water shortages in the next ten years.
See how your water use compares by using this fun water footprint calculator!

The consumer culture of our society not only wastes material goods but drains the single most important resource we have: water.

Choose to do better.

Save our rivers.

Because you can.

Day Twenty-three

Finals season has hit me like a brick! All of today has been spent staring at my laptop

Do I regret spending earth day out in the sun photosynthesizing instead of doing work? No, no I do not. I’m just out here trying to live my best life.

Today’s song and quote are one in the same:
“It’s not having what you want. It’s wanting what you got” – Sheryl Crow

Day Twenty-two

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!

I started the day with more layers but shed them as the sun came out. I also shed some hair when I decided to redo my undercut! Having less hair means less shampoo and less water used for washing it! I vehemently dislike baby hairs on the back of my neck when it’s hot out and shaving them off is very satisfying.

I hope everyone took time to enjoy mother nature and did something to benefit our planet on the greenest of days. Small things like walking or biking to school/work, bringing reusable bags, and avoiding artificial fertilizer and pesticides do have quantifiable impacts- everything counts! This is especially true when you share your actions with others (@thedressblog) as we have evolved to follow the paths forged by those before us in the name of self-preservation (word of mouth, recommendations from trusted friends, talk-show feature, etc).

One if the biggest little things you can do is THINKING about something before you buy it. Ask yourself a few simple questions before adding items to your real/virtual cart.

• Do you need it?
• What is the purpose it will serve?
• Will you use it to its fullest potential?
• Can you borrow/rent something similar?
• Can you get it second hand?
• Is there a more environmentally friendly version?

My outfits have been simple lately because it’s getting warmer out and I love feeling the sun on my (sunscreen protected) skin! I’m going to try to spice things up with funky jewelry and hairstyles now that I’m done travelling for the month 🙃

One of my favorite quotes and favorite songs for this lovely day of the earth.

Days Twenty and Twenty-one

Rubik’s cube party: you go in a bunch of different colored clothing and swap with people until you become sufficiently monochromatic. This involves wearing clothes you don’t mind losing which normally means thrift shopping but Uber rides add up and we were already eating at the mall so into Forever21 we went. I feel like years were taken off my life by all of the ~stuff~ in there! I am morally opposed to the store as it is the antithesis of sustainable fashion and thus did not purchase anything. Defne ended up with a rainbow of clothing that perfectly fit the bill and I left hating the fast fashion industry even more. Don’t get me wrong- trying on super strange clothes is fun, but I don’t understand how a store could have so much excess and such cheap prices that they have BOGO up to buy 4, get 4 sale racks overflowing with clothes! Very overwhelming on the whole but an interesting adventure

Defne’s shirt says “merry Christmas” and I found a white sequined tube?

Later that day we had a frisbee Seder for the Jewish holiday of Passover! It was a bunch of cool gals sharing food and singing and I had a blast. Got lots of compliments on my vintage lace tank that I wore over my dress for the occasion and we ended the night with a talent show/jam session! Emory Women’s Ultimate frisbee is a surprisingly musical team ❤️

To make up for the fast fashion purchases (not really but kind of) Defne sponsored us on Saturday and our friend Sarah sponsored Sunday!

Sunday was a dress-less day because it would have been a safety hazard rock climbing and I didn’t have time to change into it before my flight back to VA. Tomorrow the dress will return, clean and better than ever.

Day Nineteen

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Cheesing in ATL with my pals for the weekend 💕 Very very good day!!