One dress, 365 days. An Indian web designer in US shows how thrift can be chic
It could be a woman’s worst nightmare. But three months into it, Sheena Matheiken is yet to tire of wearing the same dress every day for a whole year. The US-based web designer decided to go on a sartorial diet as a fund-raising endeavour for Akanksha, a non-profit organisation working in the field of education in Pune and Mumbai. Apart from raising funds, the Uniform Project has become a talking point for its experiment in thrift—the one quality that post-recession America is brooding on these days.

Matheiken has certainly attracted online attention, from enthusiastic fashion bloggers and websites as well as mainstream newspapers. The New York Times called the project an attempt to show how rules can inspire “creativity that thwarts conformity”.

While Matheiken embarked on her mission on May 1, the project’s official site (www.theuniformproject.com) went live only on June 1. Every day, she posts a picture of whatever ensemble she has created, using her one black tunic dress and accessories. And from the response till now, her attempt seems to have measured up. “In the first six weeks since the site’s launch, we have raised over $6,000,” says Matheiken, who is a creative director at an interactive ad agency in New York.

“The idea came to me early last year when I took a six-month sabbatical from my job. Aside from giving myself a fun, creative challenge that advocated sustainability in fashion, I wanted it to be something of consequence,” Matheiken says over e-mail from New York, the city that has been her home and workplace for the past 10 years.

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