Kelowna woman making province-wide impact through style challenge

Wearing the same outfit two days in a row may seem daunting for some, but for one Kelowna woman she’s been rocking the same dress for 104 days.

Ingrid Uhrich started wearing a simple black dress on Jan. 1, as a way to educate others on fashion sustainability and she hasn’t taken it off yet. The Kelowna woman has a goal of wearing the dress for 180 days and as part of the project she is raising money for two causes close to her heart.

Money raised will go towards St. Joseph Elementary School, which is in need of a new building. The second cause is for the Institute Mixte Remax (IMR) School in Montrouis Haiti.

“In the same way that I want to help St. Joseph, I recognize that there are many schools elsewhere that have much bigger needs than ours. For this reason I want to share our blessings with those who need it most,” Uhrich said.

IMR is located in a small fishing village on the western coast of Haiti. The school is for children in Kindergarten to grade seven. Children can go there for free and the school provides the students with a uniform, multi-vitamin, and a lunch every day.

Uhrich said the fundraising efforts have taken a little longer to kick off, but she said as far as exposing fashion sustainability, that is going really well.

“A lot of people are really supportive. Some people have said they’ve never thought about some of the things I’ve brought up,” Uhrich noted.

“Other people have told me they’ve stopped buying clothing all together since they saw my challenge.”

During the challenge the dress is being accessorized with bits and pieces from her closet. Uhrich has also partnered with local businesses to help her along the way.

“I’ve been able to work with local businesses in the community. They’ve lent me items from their stores so I’ve used them to accessorize the dress in different ways. I’ve kind of reach the bottom of my drawers.”

Uhrich has worked with the Kelowna Women’s Shelter thrift store, Unless Market on Bernard Avenue and this week she’s working with Jen’s 14 Plus Consignment.

In addition to wearing the dress every day, Uhrich is also posting on her website about the outfits and ‘who she is wearing.’ Information on planning outfits, longevity of purchases and even cost per purchases can also be found online.

“The initial cost of your item may be cheap, but if it’s going to fall apart in two wears and you have to replace it right away, it’s not really that cheap,” the fashionista explained.

“It’s those things that people don’t necessarily stop and think about. It’s just starting to make a difference.”

The woman, who has worked in the fashion industry for the past 20 years is heading to Simon Fraser University next week to speak about fashion sustainability and her 180 day dress challenge to students.

Even though Uhrich has 76 days left of her challenge, she said she has no regrets.

“I’m super thrilled about it. It’s one of those things that I’m just so happy I have done.”