She's worn the same dress for 8 months, 11 days

And will wear it for another 3 months, 19 days. New york-based advertising professional of Indian origin, Sheena Matheikan is in Mumbai to raise money for educating underprivileged kids and take a stand against fast fashion. She shares her unique fashion experiment with Shweta Shiware

The 84 year-old Little Black Dress still makes for an awe-inspiring style statement. Its creator, the late Coco Chanel, would have been a happy bunny to see it take on a charitable avatar. On May 1, 2009, New York-resident Sheena Matheikan made a pact with herself to wear the same LBD (7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week) for 365 days. She accessories it with pieces that find their way to her, either via donations (belts, hats, jackets and old scarves), from vintage and thrift stores, or as hand-me-downs.

The determination, thankfully, isn't misplaced in the hollow recesses of glamour. She has dared to marry fashion with education -- at once providing momentum to sustainability and global exposure to Indian NGO Akanksha Foundation.

$365 for 365 days
For the last 8 months and 11 days, Sheena has followed a morning ritual "much like the act of brushing teeth". She wakes up with a new inspiration to funk up her LBD, sets her camera on auto mode, and poses for The Uniform Project -- a unique, year-long, online fundraiser that will finance uniforms and education for underprivileged kids. She goes on to add a dollar from her personal account each day. By the end of the year, she'd have sponsored one child. Incidentally, the Indian government spends an average of $360 on one child's schooling. Sadly, 80% drop out before reaching grade 10. Akanksha Foundation vows to spend the same amount on every slum-child to allow for a better, well-rounded education.

Indians haven't donated a rupee
Back in January 2009, the whippet-thin creative director of an interactive agency recalls being "completely floored" when she heard Shaheen Mistri of Akanksha speak about the foundation's work. "I was convinced that this was where I wanted all the proceeds from the project to go. Education is our focus since it's key to empowerment." Ironically, not a single Indian has donated towards this Mumbai-based charity. "They feel distanced from me and my cause, maybe because they think I am this rich fashionista from New York. But I wouldn't be here spending time with kids if I wasn't serious about the cause. We need to wipe the slate clean of conventional ideas of philanthropy, and make it interesting; personalise it."

Modern update on old sari
If not for the two-inch heels in purple, Sheena is surprisingly tiny. Her recent existence has involved an hourly date with the Internet to update her blog, numerous promotional appearances, and a brief holiday to Goa that left her with a bout of laryngitis. She's back in Mumbai to spend some time with kids from Akanksha and be part of Sari Soiree -- an initiative by lifestyle boutique Bungalow 8, that gives an Indian twist to Sheena's LBD on January 14. "I am not anti-fashion. Don't we all love looking fabulous? But we have to do it creatively and responsibly," she says while knocking down the idea of trying on a Michael Jackson-inspired jacket by Dadablui for the photo shoot, "The shoulders don't sit well. It's doing nothing for me."

Endorsed by Vogue India, Sari Soiree brings together designers Miriam Strehlau, Dadablui, Xylem, Sanchita, James Ferreira and Little Shilpa to accessorise Sheena's LBD with jackets, tops, shoes and bags, all made from old salvaged saris.

Just own it, and work it
This Monday, Sheena spent her day travelling from Mumbai's distant suburb of Powai, where she is stationed, to Chinchpokli -- Akanksha's headquarters, before dropping in at the South Mumbai-based boutique. Her large eyes open wide as she announces her plan of action: "A styling session with the kids will be fun. I've heard students from the art department plan to give me a pair of painted keds. Really excited about that."

A quick scrunch of her pixie-like hair, an instant selection and change of outfit and accessory, and she was ready for our photographer. Throwing 10 different, fashion-forward poses every five seconds feels like a walk in the park for someone who practices it every morning before a mirror. "It's all about attitude, feeling who you are and embracing it." Fashion evokes extreme reactions. A lot of people find it daunting enough to keep at arm's length, and then there are the obsessive trend followers who willingly max-out their credit limit over weekly must-haves.

Sheena has never chased fast fashion; the philosophy of quick manufacturing at affordable prices used by large retailers H&M, Forever 21, Zara, and Primark. "This Project doesn't want to be another cookie cutter. Mass-produced fashion white washes everything we have stood for. For me, fashion is about self expressionu00a0 -- to have a creative and original sense of style." How will fashion survive in an age of dwindling resources? Sheena raises this question, and through an invitation to web surfers to leave a post on her daily look, she encourages discussion on options to recycle, and lead a sustainable life.

Life unfolds in the course of a year
The mini celebrity candidly admits to "getting a rush out of looking at the comments posted against my photographs". That's something she'll miss when the project wraps up. Sheena plans to auction the clothes and accessories donated to her. There is talk of her writing a book capturing pictorial-cum-verbal snapshots of The Uniform Project experience. The bigger plan is to turn the art project into a business model. But for now, Sheena wants to soak in the attention of being a celebrity-with-a-cause, someone who's often stopped while she takes the subway or is at the movies.

Sari to her rescue
sheena funks up her LBD with her mother's old sari When Sheena first informed her parents about The Uniform Project, "they couldn't wrap their head around the idea. But they liked the philanthropic side to it." Her parents hail from Kolenchery, a small town in Kerala, and are now based in Scotland. When the project went online, the rush of comments and charity it spurred made sense to them. Her brother even ran a marathon in New York in aid of The Uniform Project, while her sister donated old knick-knacks.

Itch to shop?
Blame it on your brain
Scientists say they've mapped the human brain areas that get activated when a shopper judges how much he/she craves for a product, versus feeling the pain of paying. Brian Knutson and his colleagues from Stanford University published these findings in research journal, Neuron.
The research team identified the regions so precisely, that they could predict whether someone would buy a product or not, just by watching brain activity unfold while the decision was still underway.
The researchers found that specific regions of the brain's cortex and outer layer dealing with more complex thought, were active in different components of the shopping process. The nucleus accumbens, part of the brain's reward centre, was activated when the subject was judging how desirable the product was. Excessive prices activated the insula and deactivated the medial preÂfrontal cortex, both in the cortex.
The findings could help economists formulate policies to encourage saving, and protect consumers against credit card overÂspending -- a regrettably "painless" way of paying, to many, the researchers said.

The woman who made Sheena's Little Black Dress
Sheena's designer friend Eliza Starbuck is a New York-based design consultant. She created the staple LBD that can be worn forward (A-line with pin-tuck detail), backward (buttoned down), or as an open tunic. Giving a boost to recycling, the LBD (actually there are 7 identical pieces) is made from leftover fabric -- breathable cotton -- picked up from Moods Designer Fabric in New York. Sheena handwashes her dress every day.

Everyone wants to buy the LBD
Sheena admits to being inundated with inquiries on where to buy her LBD. "There are plans to create a limited-edition collection in the same style, after the project wraps up in May 2010. But selling the dress is a bit paradoxical, since it lends a commercial tag to our cause. But it will be on sale online very soon," Sheena promises.