For 100 days, Pepperdine Campus Minister Falon Barton wore the same simple black dress.
Barton was embracing a sustainability challenge from the clothing company Wool&, which, in 2018, began urging its customers to commit to wearing one of their dresses every day for one-third of the year. Soon, people across the U.S. were participating to make an environmentally conscious choice in their style.
Like the daily routines of brushing her teeth and savoring her morning coffee, Barton said putting on a single black dress quickly became an integral part of her day-to-day routine.
“It’s a more holistic way, a healthier way for me,” Barton said. “People can sense anxiety, and being in practices of simplicity, are rooted in their best ways, especially when they are Christ-like.”
100-Day Dress Challenge
More than 6,000 people have completed Wool&’s challenge, according to their website. The brand is centered around producing clothing that can be worn long-term while also making a social statement, Wool& Community Manager Rebecca Eby said.
“We’re just trying to get customers to think thoughtfully about the way that they consume and their wardrobes — about how much we need — and how much we’re conditioned and told that we need,” Eby said.
Their dresses are around $138 and are made of 78% Merino wool and 22% nylon. Eby said the brand aims to boost interest in an environmentally friendly lifestyle.
“We do encourage people to wear a slow-fashion company so what that means is we aren’t creating new products every two weeks, holding them on our site for a month or two,” Eby said. “We make a really concerted effort to use natural fibers, which the majority of our products are primarily Merino wool.”
Many college students living on campus have to deal with sub-par laundry machines, which can be a problem, Eby said, but Wool&’s approach to clothing could help remedy that situation.
“It’s so easy to just hand wash in the sink and just hang it up and let it dry overnight,” Eby said. “You don’t need a dryer so it’s fabulous for people that don’t have easy access to laundry facilities.”
Barton said her friend, Becky Frazier, missional discipleship minister at Otter Creek Church, in Brentwood, Tennessee, inspired her to do the challenge.
“This is something that I’ve been doing for almost four years now,” Frazier said. “So quite a few of my friends have also done the challenge, or done some sort of version of their own challenge, as well. So it’s been cool to get to see so many other people participating in something that was really life-changing and inspiring to me.”
For Frazier, the challenge is a rewarding expression of her minimalism. She said she always wanted to have a signature, simple wardrobe — like Steve Jobs and his black turtleneck — but she could never find something that worked.
“It seemed so so great to not have to think about every day what you’re going to wear,” Frazier said. “But I didn’t see any women doing it in a way that I thought I could replicate.”
The uniqueness of the 100-Day Challenge drew Barton in, she said. It was the combination of practicality and consistency that compelled her to make the lifestyle change.
“The specific clothing caught my eye because I’ve never really enjoyed shopping,” Barton said. “I’ve never enjoyed shopping or never enjoyed [fashion], I hate all of it. It’s just very stressful. I hate spending money on it.”
When beginning the challenge, Barton said she wondered if anyone would notice her recent wardrobe change and decided to add different accessories to mix things.
“I didn’t wear a ton of dresses,” Barton said. “I wore mostly jeans and T-shirts. So they saw the style change. A couple of people kind of noticed that but even then, most people did not notice at first and I never had anyone ask, ‘Did you wear that dress yesterday?’”
As Barton was completing her doctoral degree in ministry and studying Christian practices of sustainability while doing the challenge, she said she found a deeper sense of purpose and conviction in her decision to make these changes in her life.
“Caring for the Earth is a really important part of that,” Barton said. “It can be really easy to hear a lot of the loudest Christian voices, especially in the United States, unfortunately, are hostile to conversations about environmental justice and caring for the Earth.”
Barton recognized that people may still be interested in expressing themselves through their sense of fashion throughout the challenge, and she said there were many ways she did so during it.
In fact, Barton said getting creative with how she expressed herself through her style was an empowering experience.
“If it’s an important facet of who they are and their self-expression, then I’m delighted for them,” Barton said. “There are other actions they can take within sustainability in general and within holding practices specifically that are good, healthy and positive.”
Student Opinions on the Challenge
Out of 14 students interviewed, 71% said they would consider participating in the challenge, while 29% said they would not be receptive to it.
Perse Klopp, senior assistant Photo Editor at the Graphic, said that they would be receptive to the challenge and what it stands for.
“I’d do it,” Klopp said. “I don’t know who I would recommend it to because I feel like you would have to be a certain type of person to do it. But it’s interesting.”
Merino wool is a good fabric to use for most activities, like hiking and camping, because of its ability to resist odors, Klopp said.
“The 100-Day Challenge, I feel, is an actual attainable goal that you could truly achieve,” Klopp said.
Sophomore Rini Pattison said the challenge did not appeal to them because they prefer pants.
“I’m not a big dress person,” Pattison said. “I find them very uncomfortable. I feel very exposed and mainly because I like to sit really weird.”
The thought of doing the 100-Day Challenge sounded more uncomfortable than invigorating, Pattison said.
For people who may feel inclined to participate in the challenge, Wool& offers guides on both the 100-Day Challenge and a more approachable 30-Day Challenge as well.
“When I took the 100-Day Challenge, it was life-changing for me to simplify my life and be able to focus on what mattered,” Eby said. “Things that I didn’t even know I needed in my life. So it sounds like such a cliché, but it was so true for me. So for working here, I like that we are positively impacting people’s lives.”
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Email Joseph Heinemann: joe.heinemann@pepperdine.edu
