Dressember

Today I am wearing my pajama dress.  I call it that because I could be wearing my pajamas underneath and it would still look classy.  I plan to wear this dress everyday for the next 31 days. 

I heard about 'Dressember' and thought it was just a funny name, but it's a call to bring awareness to the plight of women around the world who are exploited.  This unique fundraiser is donating all funds raised this year to the International Justice Mission and A21, both organizations strive to free women who are enslaved, victims of trafficking, or exploited in other ways.

It's an odd way to bring awareness, but it is something I can do, so I will.  It's hard to believe that there are over 20 million people enslaved around the world.  I can't get my mind around that number and I can't believe, as I enjoy my middle class American lifestyle, that there are men, women, and children who have been forced into slavery.  Right now.  And most of us don't know slavery still exists.

So I will wear the same dress for 31 days. 

What follows is the story of Dressember from it's founder, Blythe Hill.  She was, like most of us, overwhelmed by the knowledge that slavery still exists.  Like most of us, she didn't have talents that lent themselves to an anti-sex trafficking occupation.  But, she wanted to do something.  And most of us could probably do something.   A little thing like wearing the same dress for a month, or donating a little money to the IJM.  Maybe your little something will become something big, like Blythe Hill's idea.

The History of Dressember,

as told by Founder Blythe Hill:

It was around 2005 when I started hearing about the issue of human trafficking. I began learning that slavery exists in every city in the world, around every major sporting event, at brickyards, brothels, truck stops and massage parlors. It’s estimated that there are currently over 30 million people trapped in slavery—more than any other point in history.

When I started hearing about trafficking, I felt an urgency to do something, and so naturally, I looked at my skillset for a way to engage. The problem was my interests and talents didn’t seem to line up with making a difference. I’m not a social worker, I’m not a lawyer, I’m not a psychologist. I’m not a cop. I’m someone who’s interested in fashion, trend analysis, wordplay, and blogging. My interests felt shallow in the grand scheme of things. I remember feeling powerless, and thinking, “There’s nothing I can do.”

In 2009, everything began to change, and I didn’t even know it at the time. It started with a dress.

I was in college, and felt stifled by the lack of time for creativity, so I decided to create a personal style challenge. I came up with the idea of wearing a dress every day for a month. When I realized the next full month was December, the name “Dressember” came to me and, since I love wordplay, the deal was sealed. So I did it; I wore a dress every day for a month. And I never planned to do it again. 
The next year, a handful of girlfriends wanted to do it with me. So I did it again. And then the next year, my girlfriends' girlfriends wanted to join in. So, when women I didn’t even know were participating in it, I realized this was a good idea.

And then I started to dream bigger. I thought, “maybe I can use Dressember to raise some money for anti-trafficking.” So, in its fifth year, 2013, I aligned Dressember with International Justice Mission and decided, “we’re gonna go big-- we’re gonna try to raise $25K," which felt like a huge, scary goal. When we hit my huge, scary goal-- on the third day of our campaign-- I realized what had started as a few girls in Orange County wearing dresses for fun had become a community of over 1,200 women in 32 countries who collectively raised over $165,000!

Last year, in our second year, we doubled our participation at over 2,600 women registered, and nearly tripled the funds raised, at over $465,000.

Something that started as a silly idea, born out of boredom, has become a global movement, and created a pathway for not just me, but thousands of women like me who are ready to put a stop to one of the greatest injustices of our time.