When They Notice New Teacher's Dress The Story Goes Viral
A group of parents at the William Allen Middle School in Moorestown became worried when they noticed something disturbing about a new teacher. They were used to teachers dressing up a certain way, so it came as a surprise to them when they saw Julia. The young teacher shocked everyone with her new dress, and when they learned the truth behind it, Julia's story went viral.
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Landing Her Dream Job
Julia Mooney always wanted to become a teacher. She loved the idea of nurturing the next generation of people and helping them to reach their potential. When Julia landed a job at William Allen Middle School, Julia knew her life was about to change. But she never expected it to be because of her dress.
Image Source: Instagram/julia_ranson_mooney
How Julia Picked Out Her Clothing
Julia wasn't exactly a fashion icon, but she knew how to dress for herself. She also knew what worked for her and what didn't. The problem was Julia had strong views about the fashion industry, and that impacted the type of clothes that she wore. And not everyone agreed with her views or her dress sense. But this hadn't affected her career, until now...
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The Dress
Julia Mooney discovered a brand new type of dress that was very different from the ones she was used to and decided to give it a try. What better way to show off your new dress than on your first day in a new job, right? But the young teacher got a little more than she bargained for once people learned about the dress.
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Love At First Sight
Julia discovered the dress online, and she knew she had to get it. It was a pebble-grey Jazmenia dress that Julia ordered from London. Julia was preparing for her new job when the dress arrived, so the timing was perfect. But she had no idea just how much controversy the dress would bring.
Image Source: Instagram/julia_ranson_mooney
Getting Ready
Deep down, Julia knew that deciding to wear that dress at school would raise questions. She didn't know anyone at her new school, so she couldn't tell how they'd react once they saw it. As Julia was preparing for her first day, the young ignored the doubts in her mind and wore the dress. Julia knew it was a risk, but the dress fit her perfectly, and she had paid a lot of money for it. Julia decided to wear it. She hadn't realized that this decision would come at a cost.
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First Impressions
The first people that saw Julia on her first day were her students. At first, they ignored the dress that she was wearing. After all, they were only sixth and seventh graders. Since Julia was an art teacher, she spent most of the day in an apron to protect her beloved dress from getting any stains. It was all going well, but then something happened.
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The Weather Intervened
As the day progressed, the temperature rose. Julia's attempt to hide her dress in her apron was quickly starting to backfire. Had this happened in winter, she would have been safe. But because it was in the middle of summer, Julia couldn't keep her dress hidden forever. She didn't want her pupils to see her sweat. Julia came up with an unusual solution.
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Hot Under The Collar
Julia positioned herself perfectly under the air conditioner. She thought that by doing this, it would stop her body from sweating. But what Julia didn't realize was that the temperature outside kept on rising, and the air conditioning unit was useless. As the sweat began to drip from her face, Julia began to panic.
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Her First Day Was Harder Than She Anticipated
People were going to notice that she was sweating, which meant that they would start asking questions. Julia hurriedly took a book from a desk and started fanning herself as hard as she could. She didn't want people asking questions about her dress. Julia knew it would've landed her in trouble, and she was right.
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How She Thought Parents Would React To The Dress
Julia hadn't met any of the students' parents, but she couldn't help but imagine how they'd react once they saw the dress. The art teacher knew that if the parents didn't like her, it could potentially cost her her new job. This was the last thing Julia needed, but she had already worn the dress, so there was no turning back.
Image Source: Instagram/julia_ranson_mooney
The Power Parents Have At Schools
There have been dozens of incidents in the past where a teacher lost their job because of an angry parent. Usually, these parents are a part of the school board or know someone who is. If Julia was to keep her job, she needed to avoid upsetting any of the parents. But because of her dress, this was going to be difficult.
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Struggling To Get Through The Day
Temperatures continued to soar and soon passed the 90-degree mark. And Julia couldn't spend the whole day fanning herself. She needed to meet faculty members, students, and some parents. The teacher was afraid that she was messing everything up on her first day. This wasn't the first impression she dreamt about for so long, and it was only going to get worse.
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A Concerned Parent Came Forward To Complain
A few weeks went by, and Julia thought that the worst was over. No one had said anything about the dress, and she had gotten used to her new surroundings. It seemed like everything was going well, but that was until one parent came forward. Was Julia going to be in trouble?
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Was She A Bad Influence?
The parents were worried that Julia's decisions would affect her students. What kind of adult wears that kind of dress to class? There must've been something wrong with her. The parents spoke with the principal, asking for a meeting with Julia. Despite all of the negativity surrounding her, Julia wasn't fazed. And this angered some of the parents and the other staff members.
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The Waiting Game
Julia had a plan all along. She knew that the best way to handle her situation was to wait it out and see what happened. As a teacher, Julia understood that people had a very short attention span, and it wouldn't be long until they started talking about something else. But as soon as the parents started getting involved, Julia knew she had to come clean.
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One Hundred Day Challenge
Before Julia started at William Allen Middle School, she embarked on something she called the One Hundred Day Challenge. She challenged herself to wear the same dress for 100 school days. Julia explained to everyone what the challenge was about and tried to answer their questions as best she could. But people didn't react the way she expected.
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People Had Already Caught On
People at the school had already noticed that Julia had been wearing the same dress every day. Even her students. They were used to seeing other teachers wearing a new outfit every day, so they told their parents when they noticed Julia did things differently. Before anyone even approached her about it, Julia had become the talk of the school. And people had made up all kinds of rumors.
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Was This A Cry For Help?
Some people thought that Julia wore the same dress every day because she was struggling financially. They hadn't seen anything like this, but they were quick to conclude. It became increasingly difficult for Julia to focus on her work. The side glances, the giggles in the hallway, and the not so subtle jokes became more frequent. Julia was in a tight spot, and she needed to find a way out of it. But it wasn't that easy.
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People Criticized Her
There were people at the school that became obsessed with Julia's dress, but not in a good way. They called her all sorts of names behind her back. Some people even said that her decision not to change her dress was disgusting. Eventually, people learned the mystery behind Julia's grey dress, and they were all forced to eat their words.
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Julia Stood Up For Herself
After enduring all of the rumors and nasty comments, Julia knew she had to put an end to it. All she wanted to do was teach her pupils, but the rumors made it hard for her to continue. Julia had had enough. She boldly told everyone the reason why she was inspired to begin the challenge and directed them to her Instagram page.
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Julia's Mission
On the eve of her first day at work, Julia posted a picture of her dress on Instagram and captioned it, "For at least 100 days, I'll be wearing this dress, through ceramics projects, blizzards, whatever." "Disgusting? Well, it gets washed! Boring? Sure. I love to express myself through what I wear as much as the next American. This is a challenge," she wrote. At the bottom of her caption, she dubbed her journey #OneOutfit100Days.
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Determined To Make Her Mark
Julia was prepared to go through with the challenge and show people the power of sustainable clothing. She didn't like the idea of agonizing over what to wear in the morning, and this was a way around that. Julia also said that she was inspired by history when people didn't have closets full of clothes that would likely never be worn again. But what would happen if something damaged her dress?
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Problem Solver
Well, Julia had an answer for that too. She had learned to sew and owned a sewing machine." What if I get a rip? I'll sew a patch with my sewing machine, an item that used to be as common a household item as the T.V. is today." But Julia was an art teacher, and she spent a lot of time around young children, so her dress was bound to get stained at her new job. But Julia wasn't phased.
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Julia Was Prepared For Anything
"How will I avoid the stains that come with being an art teacher? How did people once avoid the stains of the housework? An apron." Julia had thought about every possible scenario and found solutions to any problems she would face. But she never thought about how people would respond to her and the problems that they would bring.
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The Parents Response
When the parents first saw these posts, they were shocked. Like most people, they didn't know a lot about sustainable clothing, and they hadn't heard of anyone wearing the same outfit for so long. At first, they didn't know what to say. And while some were swayed by the post, others were harder to convince.
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Some Were Unmoved By Her Message
Some people still couldn't get over how disgusting wearing the same outfit for a hundred days appeared. They thought it was unhygienic for anyone to do that, much less a teacher. Julia was an art teacher, and they expected her to behave like one. But Julia didn't back down, and she had an answer for them too.
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Julia's Answer To Critics
"I just tell them: this is not a project about hygiene. I wash it as needed. I come to work clean. Lots of people wear uniforms, and they are not assumed to be dirty." she wrote. By this time, people were becoming familiar with her story. She had gained thousands of followers, and this was still only the beginning.
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She Became An Inspiration
When people educated themselves more about Julia's challenge, they saw the value in what she was doing. Children are taught from a young age that the most important thing is their appearance. Tv shows and magazines are centered around creating more and more consumers, and Julia wanted to stop this. She wanted to show that there was more to life than just owning the next hot thing. But what inspired her to start doing this?
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Julia Wasn't The First To Try This Challenge
"Why do this at all!? Well, I'm not the first. Matilda Khal wore the same outfit for three years to simplify her life. Bethany Winz did it too and wrote "1 Year 1 Dress". Steve Jobs, Barack Obama, the list goes on. She wrote on her Instagram. But there was more to her challenge than just copying a trend. The challenge represented something she cared about deeply.
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Teaching The Next Generation
As a teacher, Julia became exposed to dozens of impressionable minds. They were young people that were close to starting their path to adulthood. She knew that if she could impart the right message to them, she could make a big difference in their lives. And what's a bigger message than saving the world? Julia was visibly determined, despite the challenges she faced.
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The Truth About The Retail Industry
"When explaining this project to my middle school daughter, I asked her to look at her shirt tag. "Made in Indonesia." We demand lots of cheap clothes, so retailers have to produce in foreign factories where U.S. labor laws don't protect workers. She wrote. Julia encouraged people to be more conscious of their clothes and, more importantly, WHY they wore them. And people started to pay attention to it.
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Preserving The Future
Julia made sure to make the most of the attention she was getting and educate people even more. "If consumption of clothes and goods continues at its current rate, we'll need three times as many natural resources by 2050 compared to what we used in 2000," she wrote on Instagram. But not everyone agreed with her.
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Julia's Story Went Viral
Julia's story became very popular on social media. People wanted to know everything about her challenger, and her Instagram followers kept growing. It wasn't long until Julia's challenge gained national attention. She was inspiring children and adults from all over the United States and some parts of the world. Julia's challenge had taken off, and reporters from all over the U.S. reached out to her trying to score and interview. Julia couldn't believe it, but she knew her work wasn't done.
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Julia Never Stopped Spreading Her Message
In one of her posts, Julia wrote, "#OneOutfit100Days is about our culture of excess. Once we begin to see it in our fashion choices, we realize it's all around us. As we head into November, more than 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins will be thrown out in the U.S., adding tons of waste to landfills. When we throw those pumpkins out, they decompose and release methane — a harmful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change." Within a space of a few weeks, Julia had become an inspiration.
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Making A Difference
It wasn't long until more people joined Julia on her challenge. Her husband was one of the first people to join. He was followed by her colleagues and then some of her students. Julia encouraged people to start off small so that they weren't discouraged. "It doesn't have to be 100 days. Maybe it's for two weeks. People will notice, and that's the first step to spreading an idea". Unfortunately, Julia's challenge never truly caught on, but Julia hasn't stopped educating people.
Image Source: Instagram/julia_ranson_mooney
Still Going Strong
Towards the final few days, Julia's message was as strong as ever. But there was a problem; people stopped listening. The art teacher had faded away from the news cycle. The only people that were left were her Instagram followers and the people close to her. To her credit, Julia never stopped spreading her message. And when the challenge ended, Julia didn't just throw away her dress. Instead, she reused it and turned it into two dresses with the help of her trusted sewing machine.
Image Source: Instagram/julia_ranson_mooney
Today, Julia has amassed over 11 thousand Instagram followers, and she's still very passionate about activism. She still encourages people to be more conscious about climate change and shares as much useful information as she can. Julia is very committed to her cause, and she went the extra mile to help make a difference. What do you think about Julia's incredible story? Would you be willing to wear one outfit for 100 days? Leave a comment and let us know. And remember to share this incredible story.
