Participants can purchase a limited edition Fashion Targets Breast Cancer (FTBC) polo shirt, designed by Ralph Lauren and available exclusively at NET-A-PORTER.COM to wear on “Summer Fridays” from now until Friday, September 25, 2009.

This philanthropic campaign reminds me that amidst the fickle trends and unforgiving attitudes of the fashion realm, its members do rally at times of need.  The Style adjudicators are far from heartless after all, and for that I give them due praise.

In Canada, we too join the fight.  On September 12-13, thousands of men and women unite to walk 30km in one day or 60km in two days in an effort to raise the funds needed to end breast cancer and other women’s cancers. My team has pledged to raise over $11,000 for this worthy cause. To contribute, please visit my site or my team member’s site.  We may not be a brigade of supermodels, but we can carry the torch with as much conviction and with as much panache as they can! Thank you and remember that there is a divine strength in numbers and together, as a global community, we can achieve anything.

Starting May 2009, Sheena Matheiken pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion and as a means to fundraise for the Akanksha Foundation.  Here’s how it works: “There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day she will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accoutrements, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies.” Matheiken explains her credo thus: “Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade’s boudoir”.

The Uniform Project is a year-long exercise in fashion fortitude. For those of us who wore uniforms during our school days, we know how creative one must be to sport the same dark tunic, but with fresh fierceness daily.  I still remember being awestruck at how my boarding school roommate, Zoe, could effortlessly piece together glitter hairclips, bauble bracelets and navy knee socks.  In short, you have to be fearless when it comes to uniform fashion! Matheiken explains her charity goal: “At the end of the year, all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for children living in Indian slums.” To date she has raised over $8,000.
We applaud this effort, for her tenacity in supporting a worthy cause and for her grand example of how frugality and fashion can at last be friends. It is also a fantastic networking opportunity for independent designers, who can donate their accessories to the project.  Matheiken then gives full exposure to the designer on her site. Take this wonderfully crocheted ‘Brunch Necklace’ made and donated by Sarah Peters and the vintage ‘chapeau’ donated by Brooklyn’s Treehouse. If you would like to learn more about this fantastic project or would like to donate, visit her site and log in daily to see her uniform change style. (should I send her my old school tie? Nah, even with her élan, it would take a lot to look chic)