Twice Upon A Dress: Dress Stories: Chrissie and Kate

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Dress Stories: Chrissie and Kate

Closet of fashion illustrator Megan Hess

Twice Upon a Dress asks you to look in your closet and share the stories of your dresses. Many closets are full of many dresses with many stories. At Twice Upon a Dress, we are interested in formal dresses and their unique stories. To launch our dress stories, Chrissie and Kate tell theirs below. They chose to donate these dresses to Twice Upon a Dress for sale in Africa, giving them a second story and benefitting students in Malawi.

Chrissie's bridesmaid dress above: I wore the green dress when I was a bridesmaid in the wedding of my best friend from college. The wedding was in a large, cathedral-like church, and I had to walk down the longest aisle I've ever seen in front of close to 800 guests. I was very nervous, but at least I knew my dress was beautiful! After I made it to the altar, a Scottish bag-pipe player walked down the long aisle to announce the entrance of the bride. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception after was so much fun. I remember dancing until the very last song was played!

Kate, her sister, wore the black and white dress for her Junior Prom: I wore this beautiful bohemian dress to my junior prom. I wanted a dress that would be unique from the other dresses at prom, and this black and white gown was perfect for what I was looking for. It was so comfortable throughout the whole night. I was able to jump around and dance with my friends, while also maintaining an elegant and lovely feel. It has only been worn once, so I am happy to give it to such a wonderful cause!

If you would like to donate your dresses, please email us at twiceuponadressglobal@gmail.com.

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Our Story

Founders
Twice Upon A Dress was founded by Jocelyn Kumwenda and Jody Stephenson in 2013. Jocelyn and Jody had been partnering for years to support school fees and other educational expenses for a young girl in Malawi. In the process of her story, they discovered many other young girls and boys who were struggling to achieve their dreams.

Location
In a country where many people live on less than $2 per day, school fees can be too large of a burden to bear. High school in Malawi may cost $35-150 per semester and there are three terms per school year. These fees do not include the cost of transportation to and from school, mandatory uniforms, or expenses for basic necessities or examination fees. As a result, many students stop at Grade 8, leaving them unprepared for employment and life itself. Global unemployment rates for youth are at their highest. Continuing one's education opens doors to opportunities, whether it is in their rural home village or an urban city.

Purpose
Jocelyn and Jody decided to address the need for educational support with abundant existing resources. Many women have out of use dresses in their closets for years that are not given away because each dress comes with a story of a wedding, prom, holiday party or special evening. What if there was a way to remember them and then these dresses were given a chance for a second story? Donated dresses can be featured on our website and will create a promise of a future story, to be worn again, toward new memories. Twice Upon A Dress believes that these dresses not only offer a second life to another wearer but also bring young African scholars closer to completing secondary school and realizing the fullness of their potential.