New Yorker Sheena Matheiken did what most of you LIFERS would think was impossible – wearing the same dress every day for an entire calendar year as part of her Uniform Project to raise money for students in India.  Here’s an excerpt of her interview with CNN:

CNN: Why did you decide to pick a uniform?

Matheiken: First, giving yourself a creative challenge requires giving yourself a constraint. I wanted to recreate one dress for 365 days and have that test. I also have a personal connection with uniforms. I grew up in India and went to a Catholic school where we had to wear uniforms.

The cool thing was that even with uniforms, there are so many subtle ways everyone reinvents it so that all the idiosyncrasies of teenage adolescence come out. Their personality came out in how you roll up the sleeves or add a few accessories. I was very fascinated by all of this.

CNN: Did you wear the same dress every day?

Matheiken: No, I had seven identical copies so I wouldn’t have to wash it every night.

CNN: Did you ever get bad reactions from your outfits?

Matheiken: Some days I walked out of the door with stuff you never normally wear, and I’d say, ‘This is kind of crazy I have no idea how they will react.’ But that’s the fun.

I realized it didn’t matter what people think. There were days where half the crowd loved it and half the crowd hated it. Those turned out to be the most exciting days. Those are the days I valued the most because then you are doing something on your own.

CNN: What do you hope this project does?

Matheiken: I want people to see the value in their closet. I’ve gotten people writing on my website that they went to a wedding and recreated an old dress and that it was so much more gratifying.

What old item are you going to pull out and refurbish???

Tagged as: Charity, CNN, Good Deeds, India, Sheena Matheiken, Uniform Project, Women's Fashion