Art Teacher Goes Viral After Wearing One Questionable Dress To School

When New Jersey middle school teacher Julia Mooney opened her wardrobe one morning, she thought something we all have: "I have nothing to wear." Her closet was stuffed with shirts, blouses, dresses, and more — just nothing that really sung to her. She was tired of her wardrobe being performative, and it was time for her to make a fashion statement that actually meant something.

Free-spirited art teacher

A former high school teacher, Julia Mooney got a new job teaching seventh and eighth-grade studio art at William Allen Middle School in Moorestown, New Jersey. And like many quirky art teachers, she didn't always abide by the "rules" (because who needs 'em)! But when it came to her wardrobe, the free spirit was feeling stuck.

Wardrobe rut

She dressed herself each day, robotically putting her pants on one leg at a time, throwing countless t-shirts and sweaters over her head, just wondering what it was all for. The truth was that Julia, a thrift queen of sorts, had a disdain for wasteful fast fashion. She didn't like what she felt like she 'had' to wear.

Cultural expectations

"I was a little bit fed up with the cultural expectation to go shopping and spend all this money for other people to approve of me," Julia explained to Good Morning America. People just shouldn't be judged or analyzed based on how they dress. This was a message Julia felt the world needed to know.

Rethinking societal standards

She got to thinking, realizing that no one was forcing her to dress a certain way. Julia didn't have to conform to societal fashion standards (as long as she dressed appropriately for work). What the heck do we need 20 different sweaters for anyway? These thoughts just kept circulating through her mind until she could hardly think of anything else.