Are you participating in Dressember?

Dressember is a collaborative movement leveraging fashion and creativity to restore dignity to all women.  What began in 2009 as a quirky style challenge with a clever name spread like wildfire. Dressember is a month of wearing dresses, but it is so much more. It uses fashion to advocate for women who’ve been exploited for their femininity. As women take on the creative challenge of wearing a dress for the 31 days of December, they are advocating for the inherent dignity of all women in the fight to abolish modern day slavery. Dressember is aligned with International Justice Mission, a human rights organization that works to rescue victims of slavery, sexual exploitation, and other forms of violent oppression. The heart of Dressember is freedom– that every woman has the right to live a vibrant and autonomous life.

In its first year of fundraising (2013), Dressember had 1,233 registered participants in 32 countries across 6 continents who collectively raised over $165,000. 100% of the funds raised in 2013 went directly to International Justice Mission (from dressemberfoundation.org). In 2014, the thousands of woman that participate in Dressember will again be advocates for the work of International Justice Mission.

To join us for Dressember, the “rules” are simple:

• Sign up for the challenge and join a team. I’d love to have you join myself and my friend April from illistyle (along with our friends and readers like yourself!) on the illistyle team!
• Wear a dress every day in December! You can wear pants to work out, sleep, or to work if your job requires you to do so, but all other times you must wear a dress. Get creative in your styling, and show off your dresses on Instagram. I’ll be posting mine each day, so be sure to follow me @hiHomemadeBlog on Instagram!

Our team needs sponsors!  We have a goal of raising $500 by the end of December. If you have the funds but not the ability to wear a dress every day in December, this option is for you! Give a little to help a lot. Every dollar represents a step toward freedom for a soul trapped in slavery, and that is priceless.

Even if you aren’t able to contribute financially, we can still use your help! We need your moral support through the holidays to complete our goal of wearing a dress everyday in December, so please be our cheerleaders! We really appreciate each and every one of your messages and “likes,” so follow along with @hiHomemadeBlog on Instagram, post your own dress photos if you wish, and use the hashtag #DressemberHappiness.

Dressember exists to inspire and empower a global community of like-minded women who are locking arms to face one of the greatest injustices of our time. I am super excited to be participating in this wonderful initiative, and I really hope you’ll consider joining us! Thank you for locking arms with me in the fight for dignity. xoxo