Denim Day 2020: Wear Jeans, Support Survivors

Happy Wednesday! As you well know, I don’t usually post on Wednesdays (at least, not anymore after my month-long hiatus a few summers ago). But today I had to stray from my usual posting schedule to participate in and tell you about Denim Day, which is today, April 29^th. For those of you who don’t know, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Denim Day is an international campaign that aims to bring awareness to and protest victim blaming and other misconceptions about sexual violence. Read on to learn more about this powerful movement and to see how I styled my jeans in solidarity with survivors.

Since 1999, Peace Over Violence—a nonprofit advocating for healthy relationships free from sexual, domestic, and interpersonal violence—has dedicated a Wednesday during Sexual Assault Awareness Month to wearing denim. And why denim? It stems from an Italian court case.

In 1992, an 18-year old girl was raped by her driving instructor. Years later, the Italian Supreme Court overturned the rape conviction because the girl was wearing tight jeans, and they concluded that because her jeans were so tight, she must have helped her attacker remove them—therefore implying consent. No outfit, no matter how form-fitting or revealing, is an invitation for assault.

Furious with the Supreme Court’s verdict, female members of the Italian Parliament wore jeans on the steps of the Supreme Court building to stand in solidarity with the victim and to protest the Court’s moronic decision. Through media coverage, members of the California Senate and Assembly heard of the protest and decided to do the same, wearing jeans on the steps of the Capitol building in Sacramento. The first Denim Day event was held in L.A. in April of 1999 and has continued every year since as a way to protest all of the fallacies about why women are sexually assaulted.

Now, as the official Denim Day website describes the campaign, “Denim Day asks community members, elected officials, businesses, and students to make a social statement with their fashion statement by wearing jeans on this day as a visible means of protest against the misconceptions that surround sexual violence.”

Make a social statement with your fashion statement. Isn’t that an amazing slogan? I love that I can combine fashion, one of my favorite things, with such an important campaign, and I’m so proud to wear my denim to support survivors!

So how can you participate? I made sure to publish this blog post early in order to hopefully catch you all before you get dressed (if you even get dressed at all these days). All you have to do is change out of your sweatpants or pajamas and into your favorite pair of jeans! And if all your jeans are dirty, you can wear a denim vest, skirt, jacket, or even purse, if your inner 90s self feels so inclined. And that’s it! It’s really that easy to participate in this movement: By wearing jeans, you stand with survivors and help spread the message that no outfit (or behaviors, or amount of alcohol) gives someone the permission to commit assault. If you want to show off your support and jeans on social media, be sure to use the hashtag #denimday!

Unfortunately, the global pandemic and stay-at-home orders mean that many abuse victims are forced to live with their abusers. See how the Denim Day campaign and Peace Over Violence are addressing this and other issues regarding the coronavirus pandemic here. You can also search the official Denim Day website to learn more, to donate to prevention programs and services for survivors, and to find resources such as the National Sexual Assault Hotline.

In addition to wearing my favorite pair of jeans as part of Denim Day, I am also styling florals as part of this quarter’s collaboration with the Magnificent 8. I chose to wear this pretty lavender blouse with tiny white flowers as a subtle way to incorporate a floral pattern, and then I played around with actual lilac branches as a not-so-subtle way to embrace this quarter’s theme. See how the other seven ladies styled their “Garden” themed outfits at the links below.

The Magnificent 8 is a collaboration among 8 stylish women, each in a different age bracket, ranging from early 20s to early 80s. The mission of this collaboration is to show you just how ageless style is, how we can each dress however we’d like and in ways that make us feel fabulous. There are no age restrictions on style. So wear what you want, when you want, add a smile, and strut your style with confidence. And be sure to check out all 7 of these amazing gals!

Every quarter, we choose a theme and each create an outfit that suits our own personal tastes and fashion choices and we post them on the last Wednesday of every third month. So be sure to go check out everyone’s posts for lots of style inspiration at any age!

Let me introduce the ladies of The Magnificent 8.

• Grace of Graceful Rags is representing teenagers.
• Michelle of Michelle’s Pa(i)ge is representing the 20-somethings. 
• Roxanne of Glass of Glam is representing the 30-somethings.
• Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge is representing the 40-somethings.
• Rena of Fine Whatever is representing the 50-somethings.
• Eugenia of Age of Grace is representing the 60-somethings.
• Lesley of Jodie’s Touch of Style is representing the 70-somethings. 
• Charlotte of Jodie’s Touch of Style is representing the 80-somethings.

We are showing that you can’t put a number on style!

I hope you all found this post informative and that my presentation of the topic was respectful and appropriate. If you have comments or concerns, please feel free to comment at the end of this post or to contact me privately through the Contact tab in the navigation bar. And be sure to let me know if you are wearing jeans today! You can even tag me in your social media posts so I can see how you styled your denim. Sending lots of love and I hope you all have a great day.

In solidarity,

Grace

Lavender Blouse: Francesca’s, $15 // Skinny Jeans: Francesca’s, $20 // White Heels: DSW, $50 // Hair Scarf: Craft fair, $20 // Pink Leather Purse: Made in Italy, was a gift