Dressember - Day 31

Final day! And as my visiting relative thought it was cheating to change into trousers to walk the dog, here I am in dress and walking boots - complete with aforementioned dog!

So here I am photographed on our return, having shed coat, hat, scarf and gloves, but not yet the boots. I am wearing a lovely Nomads green dress that combines different fabrics in the same shade and then has added hand-stitching and beads for embellishment. It is worn with a Dorothy Perkins black-watch tartan jacket that I have had for years - originally with both a matching skirt and matching trousers but my waist grew out of those!

Dressember - Day 30

I had to wear the Christmas elf hat today as lots of relatives were here for lunch!

Red pinafore dress again, but with a blue linen shirt made in Nepal. I do think this dress is going to be very versatile and useful in a variety of settings.

The painted leather earrings were put together for me on a craft stall in Barcelona, as those I liked on the stall were really too long.

Dressember - Day 29

A dress from White Stuff today - warm knitted with lace overlay on the lower section. I rather think I bought it in the post-Christmas sale last year.

White stuff is at the top end of the Ethical Consumer ratings table for high street clothing shops, but that’s not a huge claim when none of them score over 50%. We need to put pressure on some of these retailers to improve as well as supporting more ethical brands. The major issue for both social issues such as trafficking and environmental ones is that we should all be buying fewer garments, and ones that will last.

Dressember - Day 28

People Tree little black dress but covered up with a bright jumper from a lovely little independent shop in Hitchin called Rosita Lollipop.

I particularly fell for this one to go with 'liquorice allsorts' earrings - also by a local crafter. The sleeves are a bit long - so I might shorten them, but haven't got round to it yet!

Beginning the count-down now, but only just over half-way to my target, so am hoping there are a few people waiting to see if I last the month before donating!

Dressember - Day 27

My Thought red pinafore dress again, but worn with navy this time - polo-neck jumper and tights that turned out to be dotty ones! I didn't remember I had those, and don't think they have seen the light of day since we moved house a year ago! Perhaps I have not been wearing dresses enough! Shoes are from the Little Shoe Shop - the only place I can generally find smart shoes in a size 2!

The dress is, of course, now in the sale!

I hadn't realised that there is a design competition as part of Dressember, until I got the chance to vote. I am not hugely impressed by the four winning entries, but have voted - and you can too at https://www.dressember.org/vote

Dressember - Day 26

Another new dress! When ordering the red pinafore from Thought, this dress was in the sale and I loved the asymmetric, patchworky styling. It turns out to be in lovely thick quality cotton jersey.

The elf hat had to be worn for further family celebrations today, having been in my stocking yesterday - though it did get swapped for a while with my great niece’s reindeer antlers! The elf hat did match her dress better than mine!

Dressember - Day 25

Beside the main Christmas tree in the village chapel where my husband and I led worship this morning. I am wearing the dress I made to greet people at our wedding and for the reception afterwards. I haven't got any photos showing much of this dress, so that was an added incentive to wear it today - especially as I won't get many chances to wear it, I guess!

Much of the fabric is reclaimed - a large proportion from someone giving up their own sewing business. Dark green squares with gold stripes or gold embroidery came from a sari I bought in Sri Lanka while house-building with Habitat for Humanity after the tsunami. Sadly the end piece of the sari began to tear after a few years of wear, so it has been made into a wrap, a brooch and incorporated into this dress. Off-white lacy squares come from a friend's wedding dress, which I altered for her to wear as a cocktail dress on a cruise later.

Dressember - Day 24

This is a really a floaty, printed silk summer dress with uneven pointy hem - but it does fit over a jumper to float around in on Christmas Eve!

I can't actually remember where I bought it, but think it was a fair trade shop somewhere - maybe Harvest Moon in Hitchin or one in Cambridge that I now cannot find on the web. Maybe it has ceased trading as so many have found the fall in the pound, since the Brexit Referendum, hard.

Ruth Murray, whose own fair trade fabric business closed 2 years ago, has written an article in response to the news that Traidcraft may cease trading at the end of this year. Do click to read 'Why Fair Trade is in difficulty'. And of course the more developing nations find themselves unable to trade, and individuals are faced with poverty, the greater the risk of falling prey to trafficking. Something as simple as adding a few more fair trade products to your shopping list can be part of a movement for change and equality.

Dressember - Day 23

The same dress as yesterday as red seems appropriate for doing a 'Santa-run' delivering presents. We stopped for a coffee on the way home, so here I am complete with rainbow 'elf hat' which is great for keeping the ears warm. It was purchased in Nepal when I was trekking there - again raising funds for work against trafficking, that time for children trafficked into Indian circuses. Nepal is a beautiful country with lovely friendly people, but really poor, and made even worse by the subsequent earthquake. Poverty puts children at risk when families are promised income in return for letting their children go with those who turn out to be traffickers.

One of the charities that continues to be involved in this rescue work is ChoraChori which rescues children and supports rehabilitation and education, primarily in Kathmandu.

Dressember - Day 22

Perhaps the sunshine helps - but today I feel more Christmassy and more at home in a dress - especially as it is a new one which I couldn't resist when browsing through Thought's website after the company appeared on facebook. I had come across what was then called Braintree at a sustainable fashion conference, but apart from a few pairs of socks not owned anything of theirs. Thought works ethically with the aim of minimising their environmental footprint and their mantra is " Wear me, love me, mend me, pass me on."









And the angel earrings? No idea where they came from but I just liked them! And they have been mended a few times!

Dressember - Day 21

Wearing the same as Day 14 so you are spared a photo today! I confess that with some of the miserable weather lately I am struggling not to pull on a pair of my comfortable Monkee Genes! I think that is what I will be wearing on January 1st!

More statistics concerning trafficking - it was the picture for tomorrow that caught my eye on the Dressember site - a huge number, in one country and most are not reported - so what is the actual scale of the problem? Horrendous.

Dressember - Day 20

A patchwork dress made during my fashion degree - actually I made a coat as the main item and this just accompanied it. The main squares are from a fair trade duvet cover that had worn out in sections, and other fabric was left over from various projects.
The picture shows student’s modelling both in the fashion show at the end of our degree.

Dressember - Day 19

I was teaching today, in a building I find quite hot so thought I could manage with a summer dress. And, yes, I did take the Nomads cardigan off! The dress is one I made to go with a jacket made during the fashion degree. We have to make a practice one (known as a toile) to see if the pattern we have created works and fits together. I made a toile for a jacket inspired by the Olympics and the issues surrounding it. I then thought the toile was wearable and made the dress to go with it - the fabric having come from Ikea many years earlier.

Dressember - Day 18

Same dress as Day 15 today but with burgundy tights, and the jacket reversed to the plain burgundy side.

Being tired of having my photo, today I will give some of the information from the Dressember website to make it clear why I am doing this. This is today's information picture - but you can see all 31 days' pictures and additional information which make pretty horrendous reading:

• Human trafficking is a $150billion industry
• There are more than 40 million slaves today
• Every 30s someone becomes a slave
• 71% of modern slaves are women and girls
• 25% are children

Dressember - Day 17

I did try putting a summer dress over a thin polo-neck jumper today but it won't go, so this is rather going to reduce the number of permutations for the month!

So it's the grey cord pinafore with navy jumper and tights, and grey fur-lined boots bought on Leeds market to replace a pair that split when visiting my cousin!

The felt flower brooch was a present from a friend - and I fancy trying to make some.

Dressember - Day 16

Wearing  a Lu Flux shirt-dress - I love the way pieces of hand-embroidered linen tablecloths have been used as inserts and for the collar. It is more of a 'summer tea-party' dress, but this is December so it is over a polo-neck jumper and with thick tights! Lu creates with reclaimed and vintage fabrics, and I did some work experience with her in 2012 while undertaking my degree in Fashion and Textile Design.

She had a pop-up shop at Spitalfields Market during that time, so I was involved there for a day too - and we sewed some of her signature patchwork cushions to order in the lead-up to Christmas. I love the bomber jacket on the right of the bottom picture - but couldn't afford it, the shirt-dress was mega-reduced in a sale at some point subsequently!








I notice that her website is showing that a new one will be up soon - I have n idea how long that has been the case, I hadn't realised I had stopped seeing facebook posts some time back, after she had a baby!

Dressember - Day 15

The same Nomads printed jersey dress as Day 8, but this time dressed up a bit with a Nomads quilted jacket.

This has the benefit of being reversible, so the other side is plain burgundy, but this side's blue print is actually the same colour as the flower centres on the dress, despite them being different seasons.

Navy tights with blue flowers keep the flowery theme running throughout!

Dressember - Day 14

Nearly half way through the month is perhaps time to post a link to the reason for the campaign - have a look at this Ted Talk on Youtube to hear more about how a dress can change the world.

Today I am wearing a black velvet pinafore by Trader over a burgundy turtle-neck from Peruvian Connection. I think the pinafore will see more outings this month as there are different things I can do with it! I confess I won a voucher for the jumper - though the basics like this are the more affordable (for me!) pieces in their collections. And it is made with quality pima cotton from the Andes, so has lasted well and held its shape and colour - buying to wear and wear again, not to throw away.

Santa wanted to be part of the picture too, as his outfit matches mine - but then someone else muscled in as well ..... happy dog!

Dressember - Day 13

I had been going to revert to Day 11's outfit but the dog jumped up and helped me spill my morning coffee down it! 


Quick change and I am wearing the 'funereal' black dress again. This time I have added a lovely jacket from the Karenni Student Development Programme. KSDP sells items made in Burma and Tibet to raise funds to support the Karenni people, both those in refugee camps and those living in near poverty in Karenni State, Burma. 

Some of the silk scarves I then paint or print under the Wild Angels label came from the organisation, as did patchwork strips which have been incorporated into clerical shirts.

Dressember - Day 12

Back to the t-shirt dress and leggings of Day 9 as I wanted something that wouldn't look too silly with my steel toe-capped boots! A day at work assessing team leaders - these ones on a building site and in the Parks' department.

Added a lace-edged scarf worn 'cow-boy' style to my dress - I used to have a peasant skirt to match this in my teens - and regret getting rid of it when fashions changed ..... as they came back in.  Everything goes round, so one reason for getting more use out of garments, as well as now being less bothered about fashion then perhaps I was as a teenager!

Dressember - Day 11

I really need to learn how to pose properly - perhaps take some lessons from Knickers Model's Own who did an amazing job fund raising for Cancer Research and who looks stunning in charity shop finds. If I can make just a fraction of the money for Dressember I shall be well pleased!

However today is a People Tree dress and jacket in handwoven fabric from Bangladesh. I love the way the fabric for the dress is cut so different sections have stripes in different directions to add interest.

The earrings are South African ones - painted on pieces of ostrich eggshell. I am a sucker for large earrings - and also like to buy a pair from each place I visit.

Dressember - Day 10

Oh dear, looking a bit serious - maybe my husband was right that I looked as though I was going to funeral in this black People Tree dress with black-watch tartan jacket.

I had hoped the lovely artisan necklace would liven it up, the felt flower in green and turquoise pinned to my beret and green tights!

However I guess human trafficking is a serious business - please consider donating and I will try and smile tomorrow!

Dressember - Day 9

An enlargement to better show a Vivienne Westwood piece - probably the only one I will ever afford to own! It was a limited edition produced by People Tree as part of a campaign focusing on the environment and saving trees in countries where their suppliers live and work. Westwood launched the Climate Revolution in 2013.



















The piece is worn over another People Tree item - a red t-shirt dress. Both are a bit short for me to feel brave enough to wear on their own as dresses (and it is December in England for goodness sake!) so are paired with their black leggings and my lovely red Conker bar sandals. I bought them when a lot cheaper than they are now (but expensive then!) but they have lasted years and years - Ms Westwood would approve: "Buy less. Choose well. Make it last. Quality, not quantity. Everybody's buying far too many clothes."

Dressember - Day 8

This Dressember lark is hardest at weekends - when what i would really prefer to do is pull on a pair of Monkee Genes! 

But instead wearing a Nomads printed tunic dress with warm tights. The Amara Tunic Dress (currently in the sale!) is probably the closest - but has the 'ladder lace' across the yoke whereas mine, from a previous season, is on the pocket tops.

This dress is warmed up, for this gustily windy weather, with a cardigan that belonged to my grandmother - interesting how the floral embroidery detail is back on trend! I really must learn not to throw out anything that fits me - it all comes round again!

Dressember - Day 7

Found this lovely matching armchair where we went for the first Christmas dinner of the season today. A dress I made some years ago, but it is sleeveless so worn with a Nomads cardigan and thick tights. I did change into different shoes to walk the dog in the rain!

I hadn't realised my lovely felt 'phone case from Nepal was sticking out of my Hatti leather handbag. The 'phone case was a gift from one of the sherpas I met on a trekking trip whose university education I helped sponsor.

Sadly Hatti is no longer trading but was set up originally to provide a sales outlet for work undertaken by craft workers in Nepal and to help rescued trafficked children gain employment. ChoraChori continues some of that work today.

Dressember - Day 5 and 6

Despite all my attempts to buy ethically, I too am sometimes swayed by an impulse buy, such as this grey cord pinafore from Top Shop. I love the shape - covers a multitude of sins as "middle-aged spread" kicks in!

Top Shop are not the worst of the high street retailers, but then none of those score well ethically as can be seen in the Ethical Consumer report.

I made the blouse myself a few years ago - from a piece of Liberty print fabric I had kept for a very long time! I also made the earrings - from tagua (vegetable ivory) beads.

Dressember - Day 3 and 4

I can't really give you any provenance on this one, sadly. I bought it in a lovely bazaar-type shop in East London with piles of dresses on shelves and the floor. 





I thought it looked like Desigual, and the shop owner told me it came from the factories in Nepal that were used before Desigual moved production to China - but he preferred the cotton from Nepal as being better quality. Sizing is obviously different as I am an XL in this line! 

But I love the mix of colours and patterns - and the hand-stitched emphases on the printed pattern. Worn with red tights and boots from Patagonia whose mission is "Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis".

Dressember - Day 2

Today's dress is an adapted Chloe Turtle Neck dress worn with Jo Oversized Blazer from Mayamiko, an ethical women's wear company which employs women in Malawi and works to provide education, training, nutrition and sanitation in disadvantaged communities.

Today I lead worship in which people contributed gifts for women and children who will spend Christmas in one of the local Women's Aid refuges. Today's service coincides with the middle of 16 days of Activism against gender-based violence.

Mayamiko founder Paola kindly let me have some extra material to add to the collar for using some of the time with a clerical collar insert. I am pleased with the way I have managed to pattern-match this so I can still wear the dress at other times too!

Dressember 2018

2 whole years since I wrote a blogpost and a lot’s happened! But now I start the Dressember challenge, wearing a dress for every day in December and asking to be sponsored to fundraise for those working to combat human trafficking. Most of my dresses are summer ones so it is the wrong time of year - but I can add jumpers and think tights and the slight discomfort is nowhere on the scale of the awful experiences too many people go through as part of this horrendous trade. 
The first day’s dress is a warm fleecy one from People Tree - this one is no longer available, but you might like something similar in grey.
It’s dressed up with a scarf by local and Cornish artist Hilary Anderson.
And slippers from Small Home which, sadly, the dog loves as much as I do!