Slipping into Something Soft, Simple, Spacious, & Serene

Why I'm wearing the same linen dress for 100 days

Dear friends and readers,

Back in March, I put on a dress for the first time. I had committed to wearing it for 100 days. It was a challenge that I took on lightly. I was busy with pulling together a magazine issue and getting ready to leave for spring break in the Okefenokee Swamp of Georgia, so I just figured it would all sort itself out.

I took my measurements and placed my order for the linen duster jacket dress called the ISABELLA TIGER in Tea Grey. Charlie Darwin designs are naturally dyed and my dress would be colored with black tea, iron, and a plant called Camellia sinensis. according to the website. Exciting!

And it has been mostly exciting. There have been some hiccups and I’m learning things, for sure, but what I want to write about is why I’m doing it. As I said, I didn’t give a lot of thought the the WHY before starting, but I’m learning the WHY over the course of 100 days.

I’ve been working with my friend and the visionary behind Midwest Linen Revival for a couple of years to create events we call Field to Frock. The events in June last summer and planned again at the end of June this summer bring people together to learn about linen, the potential of flax farming, the call for slow fashion, and the future of our fibershed.

Follow along on my Instagram and with Midwest Linen Revival!

When Leslie and I took on the #100daylinendresschallenge, I mildly thought of it as a publicity stunt. We’d wear the dresses leading up to the final Field to Frock event, a linen fashion show and educational Happy Hour at the High Noon Saloon in Madison (Sunday, June 28th at 4PM). You have to get people’s attention to get them to show up to things, whether it’s with radio interviews or newspaper articles or the feed of self-made commercials that is social media. I thought that wearing these dresses would show the fun and possibility of linen fashion while inspiring people to want to learn more and join the Midwest Linen Revival adventure.

So I knew that sharing on social media would be part of it, even if that’s weird and makes me question my sanity and integrity a little bit. So what is the job of Influencer?

Photo of me with Leslie Schroeder, the visionary behind Midwest Linen Revival. This picture was spontaneously snapped on the street by our friend Gina Bower.

PURPOSE: Inspired by the world, be an inspiration to many

Born at the tail end of 1974, I have witnessed huge shifts at the dinner table and in the grocery store aisles and in the restaurants commercials. Food was modernized for the 1980s consumers of my childhood. In the decades since, those products and industries have evolved for a more demanding consumer and more intentional eater. The cause and the evolution are entwined. Cultural shift happens person by person. The old of idea of Farm to Table has returned to our collective consciousness.

This era of fast fashion and plastic textiles is also ushering in the next era. As individuals who put on clothes every day, we are the future wave of educated, well-dressed humans. We are ready for Soil to Shirt, Field to Frock, Local Fibersheds, and a better understanding of our human connection with textiles.

Wisconsin is well-suited for growing flax for linen, and many of our small-scale farmers are ready to plant flax. However, there are other links in the chain between maker and consumer that need to be built before we can go into a store to buy garments truly ‘grown and sewn’ in Wisconsin. These include developing seed stock, engineering processing equipment, investing in mills, and educating people to think harder about what they buy and wear. The potential is ripe. Midwest Linen Revival is tilling the soil. I want Wisconsin to catch this wave, like we did with Organic Valley.

So I’m sharing pictures of myself wearing a dress for 100 days.

“When changes accumulate across many individuals, they can reshape communities.”

- Richie Davidson and Cortland Dahl, PhD, Born to Flourish: How New Science and Ancient Wisdom Reveal a Simple Path to Thriving

Richie Davidson and Cortland Dahl wrote this about the power we as individuals have in strengthening our skills in awareness, connection, insight, and purpose. They are actively teaching these skills because they understand both the neuroscience and the social science: Healthy people contribute to the well-being of others to create healthy society.

Check out Dharma Lab here on Substack for more from Richie Davidson and Cortland Dahl.

They write: “Every cultural movement in history — from public health initiatives to civil rights progress — has been driven by how people think, feel, and relate to one another. Over time, these changes accumulate. They shape norms, expectations, and institutions.”

I took part in a special learning Pod with the authors, as well as more than 1,000 people from 54 countries, to explore the modern research, ancient teachings, and contemplative practices described in the book. I happened to be wearing the same linen dress for the seven days I was part of the Pod, taking pictures of myself and posting them to the internet for Midwest Linen Revival. I couldn’t help but think about the broader application of the neuroscience.

Dress for the Day You Want to Live

It has become more clear during the first part of this journey with the one linen dress that my WHY is also personal. A decade ago I decided to create a home for myself and my family that could be defined and described by four words: Soft. Simple. Spacious. Serene. The world outside the house is rarely that; it’s much more chaotic, busy, harsh, and rough. Wearing linen has added a layer of comfort, maybe even protection. Linen embodies soft and spacious. Wearing a limited wardrobe is the definition of simple and serene.

The lesson may not be in the specifics of One Dress, but in the detail of the idea: Less is More.

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Madison-area friends, join us if you can!

At Field to Frock events, including the fashion show, we will meet and talk about all the ways textiles impact our lives. The connections include land use, innovation, design, water conservation, healthy community systems, cultural history, global trade routes, sovereignty, and freedom from over-consumption. If you are in the area, join us! And you can follow the project online! Click the button to visit the event listing!