0:00
Her pupils were not the only people who
0:01
started to notice something odd about
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this teacher. When she walked down the
0:05
hallways, she would feel eyes on her.
0:08
"Is she still wearing that dress?" One
0:10
of the girls would ask before
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snickering. She knew that the question
0:13
was about to come any day now. It would
0:15
be time to explain her actions. Even
0:17
though she was aware that it was only a
0:19
matter of time, she had no idea that it
0:21
was going to be this big of an issue.
0:23
When it was time to explain herself, she
0:25
left everyone in shock. But before we
0:27
start, smash the like button, subscribe,
0:30
and ring the notifications bell so you
0:32
never miss our upcoming stories. At the
0:35
age of 34, Julia Mooney accepted the art
0:38
teacher position at the William Allen
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Middle School in Morstown, New Jersey.
0:42
She planned in advance and dressed for
0:44
the job. Her new gray Jasmia dress
0:47
looked pristine as it lay in the box.
0:49
When she ordered it, she had no idea
0:51
that it was going to cause this much
0:52
controversy. She was excited to start
0:54
the new job, but her nerves had been in
0:56
an even poorer state than usual. Since
0:58
she was starting in a new school, she
1:00
knew that everyone was going to be
1:02
looking at her. After preparing her two
1:04
little kids for school, it was time for
1:06
her to start at her new workplace. The
1:08
fit of the dress had been perfect on
1:09
her. She was thrilled with this dress,
1:11
which cost her 50. In fact, she felt
1:14
optimistic because of it. She introduced
1:17
herself to the sixth and seventh graders
1:19
in her class and felt that everything
1:20
would go smoothly. However, the problem
1:23
started when the temperature started to
1:24
go up. She stood beneath the air
1:26
conditioning unit. But this was not
1:28
enough to make her feel better. She
1:30
started to flush and realized, "Oh no,
1:32
I'm sweating." The horror. As she found
1:35
herself using a book, she felt
1:37
embarrassment bloom inside her. She had
1:39
to continue teaching, but she was
1:41
distracted by the summer heat. The
1:43
temperature had already passed 90° by
1:45
then. For hours, she introduced herself
1:47
to the students and asked the kids to do
1:49
the same thing. It felt endless. As new
1:52
classes of pre-teens entered the doors,
1:54
she knew that this was her chance to
1:56
make a good impression. However, she
1:58
could not help but feel as if she was
2:00
blowing it. At long last, it was time to
2:03
go home. Julia was glad that the day was
2:05
over, but she was embarrassed to see the
2:07
way the dress clung to her like it was
2:09
wet cheesecloth. She reassured herself
2:11
that she could do better the following
2:12
day. When she got home, she scrubbed the
2:15
dress in the sink and let it air dry.
2:17
When she got to school the following
2:19
morning, her pupils must have realized
2:21
that there was something different about
2:22
Mrs. Mooney. The observant kids had been
2:25
the ones to figure out why this was the
2:27
case. At the age of 13, girls typically
2:30
start to get more conscious of their
2:31
looks and clothes. They want to wear
2:33
fashionable pieces and follow trends.
2:35
This explains why the first one to
2:37
notice her faux paw was a girl. After
2:40
some time, she became the talk of the
2:42
town. The kids at William Allen Middle
2:44
School talked about the fact that she
2:46
wore the same gray dress every single
2:48
day during that first week. They started
2:50
to speculate what it could possibly
2:52
mean. Her fellow teachers had also been
2:54
concerned. Could she be struggling with
2:56
money? The children started to wonder if
2:58
this was the case. Sadly, we all know
3:00
how cruel kids can be. Julia had been
3:03
very careful to avoid the elephant in
3:05
the room. She simply kept teaching. Even
3:07
though the kids whispered and snickered
3:08
amongst themselves, one of the other
3:10
teachers started to treat her in a
3:12
different way as well. This person acted
3:14
as if Julia was fragile, but refused to
3:16
ask her about her outfit. Even though
3:19
this could not have been easy, she
3:20
decided to just wait. At the very least,
3:23
she needed to stay for the duration of
3:24
the course. By the third week, people
3:26
could no longer contain the curiosity
3:28
that they felt. Julia could see the
3:31
question written all over their faces.
3:33
It was clear that it would soon be time
3:35
for her to address the issue. But what
3:37
exactly was going on here in the first
3:38
place? Why did she wear that gray dress
3:40
that often? No one knew that she
3:42
actually had a trick up her sleeve. She
3:44
actually planned the entire thing with
3:46
precision. There was a reason. She wore
3:49
the plain gray dress every single day.
3:51
I'm walking down the halls and they're
3:53
like, "Is she still wearing that dress?"
3:55
All the curiosity just made her smile. I
3:58
needed to pick a dress that was going to
3:59
be versatile because I'm going to be
4:01
wearing it through the winter. And when
4:02
we started the school year, it was 90°.
4:05
Julia said later on. At long last, some
4:08
of her students had been brave enough to
4:10
ask her about the dress. When they asked
4:12
her why she wore it for weeks on end,
4:14
she told them to check out her Instagram
4:16
page. It had the answers to their
4:17
questions. The first post on the
4:19
Instagram page said, "For at least 100
4:22
days, I'll be wearing this dress through
4:24
ceramics projects, blizzards, whatever.
4:28
Boring? Sure. This is a challenge. I
4:31
love to express myself through what I
4:32
wear as much as the next American. The
4:35
account is called one outfit 100 days.
4:38
We know that this does not exactly
4:40
explain the reasoning behind it just
4:41
yet. She had four reasons to do this.
4:44
Why would anyone wear the same outfit
4:46
for 100 days? The first reason is
4:48
simple. It saves her a lot of time.
4:50
Julia has two toddlers, so she wants to
4:53
save as much time as possible. By
4:55
following a minimalist lifestyle, she
4:57
can say goodbye to the what to wear
4:59
question that ate up so much of her
5:00
time. She did this so that she can spend
5:03
more time with her loved ones. But this
5:05
is not the only reason she did this.
5:07
Aside from that, she also considers
5:08
herself a slow fashion advocate. In case
5:11
you are not familiar with fast fashion,
5:13
it involves the production of cheap but
5:15
trendy clothing items that are not meant
5:17
to last long. We demand lots of clothes
5:19
cheap, so retailers have to produce in
5:21
foreign factories where US labor laws
5:23
don't protect workers. She said, "We
5:26
have slow fashion on the other end of
5:27
the line. It promotes fair labor
5:29
practices and promotes good quality. But
5:31
there is another problem that Julia
5:33
wants to address. A lot of clothes are
5:35
produced abroad to meet the demands of
5:37
the growing market for cheap goods.
5:40
These companies tend to employ underage
5:42
factory workers to cut corners. This is
5:44
already bad enough as it is, but these
5:46
children are not protected by the law.
5:49
Julia wants to help callull the demand
5:50
for cheap labor by buying fewer items of
5:53
clothing. It is the main reason for her
5:55
decision, but it is not the only one.
5:57
Julia wants to be a conscious consumer
5:59
in the hopes of fighting the
6:00
environmental impact of the fashion
6:02
industry. Did you know that clothing
6:04
consumption is the highest it has ever
6:06
been? This is part of the reason the
6:08
valuable resources of the planet have
6:09
been depleting. How did the kids react
6:12
to her project? For one thing, it takes
6:14
713 gallons of water to make a cotton
6:17
t-shirt. On the other hand, a polyester
6:20
t-shirt uses less water but emits twice
6:22
the amount of carbon dioxide. Julia
6:24
wants to lower her carbon footprint,
6:26
which is why she bought a fair trade
6:28
hemp dress from Thought, a clothing line
6:30
based in London. When people find out
6:32
about it, disgust is the most common
6:34
reaction. Right away, people assume that
6:36
it is not hygienic to put on the same
6:38
thing every single day. I wash it as
6:41
needed. I come to work clean. I just
6:43
tell them this is not a project about
6:45
hygiene. Lots of people wear uniforms
6:48
and they are not assumed to be dirty,
6:49
she said in response to this line of
6:51
thought. What else can we take away from
6:53
this? Do we really need so many new
6:55
outfits? Are we just perpetuating a
6:57
culture that defines us based on what
6:59
we're wearing rather than what we're
7:01
doing? What if we spend our energy
7:03
trying to be good, interesting humans
7:05
instead of trying to look good and
7:07
interesting? When the story got out, it
7:09
shocked a lot of people. Fortunately,
7:11
most of the responses had been
7:13
supportive of her. After this, her
7:15
Instagram page blew up. She has since
7:17
gained more than 6,500
7:19
followers. One of them said, "All for
7:22
integrating sustainable strategies into
7:24
everyday items. What a movement this
7:27
teacher started. In fact, 17 teachers
7:30
joined the cause." Not long after that,
7:32
some of her pupils and co-workers
7:34
followed in her footsteps. This includes
7:36
Patrick, her husband, who works as a
7:38
history teacher. He pledged to wear the
7:40
exact same shirt for a 100 days. Local
7:43
news stations soon got wind of the
7:45
story. I like to wear clothes. I like to
7:47
express myself. I know that we are all
7:50
looking at what the other person is
7:51
wearing. The art teacher explained in an
7:53
interview. It's weird, but because it's
7:56
weird, it's making us all think. She
7:58
went on to wear the same thing every day
8:00
is uncomfortable because we have this
8:02
deeply ingrained cultural expectation to
8:05
change every day. But what do you think?
8:07
Are you willing to do the same thing and
8:09
wear a single outfit for a 100 days?
8:12
Thank you so much for watching. If you
8:14
enjoyed the story, please don't forget
8:15
to leave a like, subscribe, and ring the
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