day thirty-one!

Holy cow I'm done.  What is this.  Time has a really weird way of inching by at a snail's pace while simultaneously rushing past like yet another commonly used simile for the passage of time.

So here we are.  I guess I'm a veteran of sorts, of the October Dress Project, this being my third year participating in it.  Each year I've done the Project, it's forced me to reassess what I wear and how I present myself to my peers.  It makes me think critically about the subliminal message my clothing conveys, and yes, even though that sounds silly, this is a thing I do indeed take into consideration.  It actually helps a lot when I'm doing costumes for shows.

This year the October Dress Project has been about raising awareness for women who only have one dress to wear.  In particular, those women who have to wear that one dress while being forced to sell their bodies for commercial sex.  Learning more about sex trafficking is absolutely sickening, yet at the same time it's a galvanizing force that makes me want to do everything in my power to stop it.  The first step, after diagnosing the problem, is making more and more people aware of that problem, and then bringing them together to end that problem.  So in my own small way, I hope to be a part of that solution.  Because no one, man, woman, or child, should have to endure something like that with no light at the end of the tunnel.

So I raise my mug of tea in a toast to endings: bittersweet ones, because yes, however much the dress causes me issues, I still look on it with a kind of nostalgia.  And I toast to victorious endings as well-- maybe it's the end of one woman's experiences in a brothel.  Maybe it's the end of a brothel itself, and maybe it's the eradication of sex slavery.  Here's to happy endings and promising beginnings!

Today I wore the dress as a dress with a scarf, a dark brown belt, navy leggings, tall brown boots, and legwarmers:

When people asked me what I was for Halloween I told them I was an IB zombie.  Which I guess doesn't really count, seeing as I'm actually an IB zombie all the time.  IB zombies shuffle around, coffee in hand, rubbing the sleep from their eyes and muttering about CAS documentation and Extended Essay deadlines.  Oh well.  

Happy Halloween! 

day thirty!

Valjean:
One day more.... another day, another destiny... this never-ending road to Calvary.... this dress with static clings to me, and surely bunches at the knee, one day more....

Marius:
I did not live until this month.... how can I live when I've got pants on?

Valjean:
One day more...

Marius and Cosette:
Tomorrow will be Halloween... and yet, I cannot wear a costume!

Eponine:
One more day wearing this dress...

Marius and Cosette:
Will I wear it e're again?

Eponine:
One more day with much less laundry....

Marius and Cosette:
I was tired and so were you!

Eponine:
What a life I might have known....

Marius and Cosette:
And I swear I'll see it through!

Eponine:
But my pants are just right there....

Enjolras:
One more day before sweatpants!

Marius:
Do I wear that scarf today?

Enjolras:
And the sweatshirts (which are freedom)!

Marius:
Shall I wear a sweater too?

Enjolras:
Where the jeans are often worn--

Marius:
Do I change, and do I dare?

Enjolras:
Will the shirts begin with t-               (get it, get it.... t-shirts.... nope okay)

All:
The time, is now, the place, is here

Valjean:
ONE DAY MORE

Okay I need to work on college apps and stop procrastinating.  This is my "colleges please love me please" face.

Pink tights (think pink! Go away, breast cancer, and stuff!), lace shirt with grey tank top, brown belt, brown cardigan, grey flats.

day twenty-nine!

My eyelids flickered open and I rolled over to stare at the clock.  7:34, it said innocently.  I stared at it for a moment, uncomprehending, and then it clicked.  I sprang out of bed (yes, that is a think you can do), and was actually thankful for the fact that I already knew what I was going to wear today.  Yes, I did miss the bus (thanks for the ride, dad) but hey, I've got a uniform of sorts, so all's well.

I wore the dress as a skirt today with white tights, brown boots, a brown belt, a green scarf, a grey cardigan, a brown pullover.  I did in fact look up the differences between a sweater, a pullover, jumper, and cardigan, and what I'm wearing seems to be a pullover.  If you're interested in semantics like that.  

Also, this is what my hair looks like when I actually use a hairdryer?  

 

day twenty-eight!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we are in the home stretch! Coming around the corner is Claire Seaton, wearing a brown cardigan, purple tights, brown belt, white infinity scarf, and grey flats!  She's doing the Project not to reach the finish line on October 31, but for the sake of running the race itself.  She's not doing the Project just to check off another box, or to put on college applications, but for a much greater purpose than that.  

She needs to remind everyone of that.  And she needs to remind herself of that.  

While wearing sweatpants to school on November 1 is going to be great, it's not the goal.  

There's a phrase I always misquote, something about the journey being half of the destination.  And yeah, it's true.  I don't get a medal for this.  I don't get a congratulations pen from the principal.  Rather, I get another pair of glasses through which I am able to see the world.  

Happy Monday, everyone.

day twenty-seven!

But whatever happened to day twenty-six, you ask?  See, yesterday I went down to Charlottesville with my family and I had been convinced that it was going to be really cold, so I gave myself an excused absence from the Project for the day.  I probably could have still worn the dress but you know what?  What's done cannot be undone.  To bed, to bed, to bed.

Anyways, today I'm wearing the yellow skirt again with black tights, dark grey flats, a brown belt, and a grey sweater.  I am also safeguarding the Nutella.

Radical Face's new album, The Family Tree: The Branches came out on October 22nd, and it's beautiful and The Gilded Hand speaks to me on an emotional level and you should go and listen to it now.  

day twenty-five!

So, not gonna lie, this is a rather awkward picture, but I was in a bit of a rush to take it, so who cares, really?

Today I sported my super great W-L Madrigals shirt with a purple sweater, the dress as a skirt, belt, grey leggings, blue socks, and brown boots.

One week left! Not gonna lie, I am very much looking forward to pants. 

day twenty-four!

I've wanted to wear this skirt with the October dress for quite some time now, but it makes for a slightly awkward waistline because the skirt sits on my hips and the dress's waistline is higher up.  So I covered up the awkward with a sheer top, threw on some black tights and my ribbon flats, and called it a day.  By the by, the skirt is black leather with lace details that are rather hard to see in the picture, but trust me, it's pretty great.

Disclaimer: yes!  I know it's cold!  But it's cold outside!  When I was outside I wore the green hoodie.  Inside, it was nice and warm, thanks to this super great thing called heating that I have in my school.  It's been around for a couple of years now.

Also, I am not mad or ticked off in the slightest, though the tone of this blog post and the picture may suggest it.  Fear not!  All is well!