A Dress Challenge

I have been intrigued for a while by the 100 Day Dress Challenge in which Wool&, a small company which sells merino clothing, challenges people to wear one of their dresses for 100 days consecutively. I discovered someone from my old homeschooling circle was doing the challenge and blogging it daily (you can read her blog here) and was inspired to give it a try. I bought a Rowena swing dress in charcoal grey from the EU store and started wearing it, not at all sure whether I would do 100 days, or even whether I really wanted to. My plan was - is - to take it a day at a time and see where it takes me. Slightly to my surprise I am on Day 20 and still going strong. 

I am not dressing very adventurously. Many people do some impressively creative styling, turning the dress into a top, layering dresses, adding skirts (I literally do not own a skirt!) and generally doing clever things. I learned very quickly that tights, leggings, cardigans and scarves are my friends. So are my red Converses - I also have a purple pair, but they are warm-lined and better for colder weather. 

The dress claims to be versatile, and it really is. It came with me to Appleby and switched easily from hiking in the day to dinner in the hotel in the evening. I have worn it for work, for band practice and just lounging around on the sofa. Merino is supposed to regulate body temperature and in some magical way it doesn't get smelly and dirty, so needs washing far less than most clothing. So far Lady Grey has had two baths and she has felt clean and comfortable even after several days wear. 

I have had spells in the past when I have worn dresses fairly often, but mostly I'm a jeans person and had got completely out of the habit of dresses. I realised I didn't have a single pair of tights that fitted comfortably. I saw lots of recommendations for Snag tights and bought a mix of 80 denier and wool tights in black, dark grey, dark red and purple/black stripes. Leggings were slightly better - I had an old cotton pair and some thermal black ones - but I added another pair of the same Marks & Spencer thermals in grey. Nice and toasty for autumn and winter. 

One of the best things about the challenge is that a whole online community has built up on both Facebook and Instagram, which must be one of the most positive and supportive places anywhere on the internet. Watching how others style their dresses is only a small part. One requirement of the challenge is that it has to be recorded with daily photographs, something many people find uncomfortable, and the community supports people as they come to terms with taking selfies and learning to accept the way they look (which, inevitably, is far better than the image that women so often have of themselves). As people come to the end of their challenge they share what they have learned from it, which is often thought provoking and inspiring. And that is beside the love and care that the groups provide for members who are dealing with difficult stuff in their lives that is unrelated to clothing. 

I still don't know whether I will make it through another 80 days, and I'm not entirely sure I understand why I might want to. Maybe by the end it will all make sense.