Not only were her students staring at her, but they were also laughing and taking photos of her outfit. Julia heard one of the girls say: "Why is she wearing that?"
And it wasn't long before her photos appeared on Facebook and Twitter, with people leaving nasty remarks about her appearance. But when everyone found out the truth about her dress, they regretted making fun of her.
Julia Mooney
Julia Mooney was a 34-year-old art teacher at Moorestown, New Jersey. She loved wearing dresses because they made her feel feminine and pretty.
So, when she purchased this Jazmenica dress from a local store, she couldn't wait to wear it to class. But the reactions she received from her students and other teachers weren't what she was expecting at all.
She Felt Self Conscious
Julia admitted that the reactions she received at school made her feel self-conscious about her outfit.
"I don't really usually think of myself as somebody who cares that much about what people think," she said.
It Was Too Hot
Julia spent $50 on her new dress, and in her opinion, it fit her perfectly. However, as she soon realized, the weather that day wasn't ideal for this kind of outfit.
It was over 90-degrees already, and the heat was making everything unbearable. Her grey dress was soaked in sweat after just one hour of class. But this was only the beginning.
Wearing The Same Dress Again
After Julia got home that day, she immediately changed into other clothes and went to wash her dress. She thought it would dry overnight, and she would be able to wear it again the next day.
When Julia entered the classroom the next day wearing the same grey dress, most students didn't pay attention to her outfit.
They Thought She Couldn't Afford Another Dress
However, as the second week of school started, Julia's students noticed that she was wearing the same dress every day.
The girls were more bothered by it than the boys, and they began asking each other if there was something wrong with her. Even Julia's coworkers asked themselves whether she couldn't afford to buy another outfit.
People Were Concerned
Julia knew that she would eventually have to explain to people why she was wearing the same dress over and over again.
A few more days passed, and her grey dress became a hot topic among teachers and students. The news about her wearing the same outfit soon reached the parents, and they contacted the principal to ask whether Julia was struggling financially. But no one knew the real reason behind why she was wearing the same outfit every day.
She Feared They Would Fire Her
Julia wasn't wearing anything inappropriate, but she feared that her decision to wear the same dress every day would eventually get her fired.
"I'm walking down the halls, and they're like, 'Is she still wearing that dress?'" Julia recalled. And as others finally found the courage to ask, Julia told them her reason for wearing the same outfit to school.
Wearing The Same Dress For 100 Days
"For at least 100 days, I'll be wearing this dress, through ceramics projects, blizzards, whatever," she wrote on her Instagram page.
She further explained that she likes “to express herself through what she wears.” But why did she do it?
It's A Challenge
“This is a challenge,” Julie explained.
"I was a little bit fed up with the cultural expectation to go shopping and spend all this money for other people to approve of me," she told Good Morning America.
There Are No Rules
She continued, "There is no rule that says I cannot wear the same thing every day if I choose to, so I thought why not. I'm just gonna do that, and then we can talk about how our clothes really don't define us."
Julia believes that people should wear fewer clothes to promote fair labor practices.
A Big Mistake
Julia believes that by buying lots of cheap goods, we support the employment of underage workers in third-world countries.
And of course, she also wants to reduce her carbon footprint and encourages others to do the same.
Julia's Opinion
"The things that we do define us, and if we spend less energy trying to look good and trying to create this superficial image of who we are, then we might have more energy to do meaningful things and define ourselves based on the good that we do instead of how good we look," she said.
After learning about her project, the first question Julia received was how often she washed her dress.
"It's Not About Hygene"
"I just tell them: this is not a project about hygiene. I wash it as needed. I come to work clean. Lots of people wear uniforms, and they are not assumed to be dirty," she said.
Julia asked people on social media: "Do we really need so many new outfits? Are we just perpetuating a culture that defines us based on what we're wearing rather than what we're doing? What if we spent our energy trying to BE good, interesting humans instead of trying to LOOK good and interesting?"
People Were Impressed With Her
People all over the world were impressed with Julia's project and wanted to try it themselves.
“All for integrating sustainable strategies into everyday items, what a movement this teacher started!” one person wrote.