Insane deal!

The other day, I was at the mall, picking up my computer, and I just popped into Ann Taylor to look around (I think their new Heidi Klum ad campaign got to me) and I found this dress on sale for $30. It had originally been $250! I didn't need it at all, but how can you turn that down? You can't. Guess what I'm wearing New Year's Eve?

The Uniform Project

In May 2009, a girl named Sheena set off on an adventure in fashion that would change her life and the lives of underprivileged children in India forever. She started the Uniform Project.

Her mission: "Revolutionize the way people perceive ethical fashion and place social responsibility at the center of consumer culture. Use fashion as a vehicle to make acts of charity more inspired and playful, enabling individuals to rise as role models of style, sustainability and social consciousness."

How did she do it? According to her web site, "with fashion as her medium, and education her cause, U.P founder Sheena Matheiken launched the Uniform Project, pledging to wear one little black dress for 365 days as an exercise in sustainability and a fundraiser to support the Akanksha Foundation – a non-profit organization providing education to children living in Indian slums. And for the next year, Sheena reinvented her uniform solely using accessories that were either vintage, handmade, reused or donated."

What followed was a year of amazing fashion and over $1,000,000 raised for the Akanksha Foundation.

Now, the year is over but the UP (That's Uniform Project, not upper peninsula) is not. She's gotten other people involved in started their own uniform projects and you can too.

Here's just a taste of what the UP looked like. For more images, check out her web site.