Good-bye, October Dress 2011

I have worn my 2011 October Dress after the project was complete many times and enjoyed it. It was looking pretty rugged, but overall I still enjoyed the simplicity and versatility of the garment. Sure, it had a couple of holes and it was all balled up and in certain light in looked see-through, but it was still wearable. Right?

My sister-in-law informed me while having it on a couple of days ago that you could see my entire bra through the back of the dress. Yikes! I am thankful for her honesty! Who knows how long I would have continued wearing this dress, holes and all for the world to see right down to my skivvies? I had Craig take pics of the dress one more time as a final farewell to this wonderful piece of clothing. And to show you how bad the dress really was and the denial I was obviously living in by continuing to adorn my body with it!

The final curtsey from the 2011 October Dress.

My 2011 October Dress is now in the garbage, as was my 2010 October Dress shortly after that month ended. Putting them in the garbage has made me think more about planned obsolescence and the type of clothing I purchase. Usually I focus on how it looks on me, how versatile the piece is in my wardrobe, if I like it and the cost. I frequent the discount racks at Target and the local Salvation Army for the majority of my clothing, keeping to our modest one income family budget. I am not a huge shopper, but like to look put together, classy and stylish all at the same time as mothering two preschoolers.

If you read my blog, you know I truly love the October Dress Project and am already thinking about this year's dress and starting to ask others about their participation in the project. And that brings me to what dress I will wear starting on October 1, 2012 and for every day after that until Halloween night. Because the last two dresses have not help up well to the continual wearing, I am thinking about trying something different.

My convictions tell me to shop fair-trade and organic, but that is hard on a teacher's salary. But isn't the equitable and fair treatment of another person worth it, regardless of the cost? I say it is and am going to change the way I purchase clothing.

I haven't decided what dress I will wear yet, but I can tell you it won't be from a discount rack at a big chain store this year. This choice might not be right for everyone, but it is for me. It might be a dress I have owned for years, or I might make the jump and purchase my first organic/fair-trade clothing for this October.  

You will have to wait until October to find out...