Off the rack to off the hook...with heart.

Courtesy of the Uniform Project

This week I write, inspired by two serendipitous moments which transpired over the course of the last few weeks. It started out with a fabulous coffee date with one of my favorite stylists-turned-fashion designer and friend, Simeon Dacumos. During our conversation, he mentioned an amazing project that raised money for charities using fashion as a mode to communicate their social change message. How brilliant, I thought! A few days later, my Lucky magazine issue arrived and there it was again! There was no denying that I had to let the world (or at least my blog world) know about this project.

Enter: The Uniform Project.

The story is truly told best in their own words from www.uniformproject.com:

"The Uniform Project™ started in 2009 when a young woman realized she was drowning in the doldrums of an advertising career. To counter the uninspired demands of the corporate world, she came up with an unusual creative challenge; to wear the same dress for an entire year – but, and this is where the real challenge came in, she'd have to make it look unique every single day and do so without buying anything new. The challenge was also designed to be an online fundraiser, raising money to send underprivileged kids to school.

Thus, in May 2009, with fashion as her medium, and education her cause, U.P founder Sheena Matheiken launched the Uniform Project, pledging to wear one little black dress for 365 days as an exercise in sustainability and a fundraiser to support the Akanksha Foundation – a non-profit organization providing education to children living in Indian slums. And for the next year, Sheena reinvented her uniform solely using accessories that were either vintage, handmade, reused or donated."

So what did we learn from Sheena? We learn that fashion:

1) doesn't have to cost a lot and can be recycled or reused. Vintage is chic, ya know! Good for the piggy bank AND good for the planet!

2) can literally be worn 365 different ways with one basic LBD.

3) accessories really can be your friend. Jewelry, belts, hats, shoes, bags are great pieces to have to help accentuate and enliven any outfit. Just be sure to keep it organized so you know what you have so you can use it. But remember Coco Chanel's saying about accessories...in case you forgot already, refer to last week's blog post. ;)

4) can be glamorous but at the end of the day, the most admired accessory any woman can wear isn't a ring with the most bling or the bag with the most bucks, it's compassion and kindness.Women like Jackie O, Audrey Hepburn and Princess Diana were admired not just because they dressed well but because they had heart. And heart outlasts any fashion trend, any season.

It's timeless.