Not Just Another Dress

We believe the only way to create a sizable and meaningful shift in consumption is to design products that are not only ethically sound, but also beautiful, imaginative, and inspiring. Hence we give you the new U.P LBD and our thoughts behind it.

Turn Uniformity on its Head
With the help of our new inhouse fashion expert Tara St. James, we designed this dress keeping in mind what we think a staple design should be: versatile, yet basically simple. It is a classic A-line silhouette which is flattering to all body types. Take a minute to click-through our Look Book at the store, where you can see Sheena and our friends, Aki, Laetitia, Janine, Mebrak, Jessica, Lainie, Siri and Slim, who donated a very hot and steamy Sunday to strike some poses in the dress. They all brought their own favorite accessories and put together some killer looks, sans stylist. With Sheena snapping away behind the camera, the shoot was fun and effortless, with the shots capturing the style and spirit that always comes with wearing a U.P dress!

We approach each U.P release as a study in sustainable production. We’re carefully looking into every aspect of the design process that in turn impacts quality, footprint, durability and affordability. We plan to continue our exploration of new fibers and yarns as we learn more through practice. With this release, it was one of our goals to develop our own ideal fabric, so we decided to go to the source of the fiber. Since the range of eco-friendly fabrics developed in the US is very limited, we sourced the fiber in India where we were able to blend native silk with locally grown organic cotton and have them spun and woven. The result is a gorgeous, medium weight fabric in a 75% organic cotton and 25% silk blend.
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Make Your Own
We also believe that how this dress is made should be as versatile as the dress itself, so we are releasing the pattern to put the dress in your hands. Take it to your local tailor for a bespoke version, sew it yourself if you are handy with a presser foot, or even ask Grandma to make you one or two. If you feel like changing the pattern a bit, go for it, you can lengthen just about anywhere, adjust to your exact body measurements, make it in any color, print, and weave that you like. Or, you can purchase our proprietary fabric with the pattern for an identical match to the dresses we’re making.

Each U.P product is conceived as part of a charitable mission, this time we’re keeping with our fundraiser from year 1, and continuing to donate 10% of retail sales to the Akanksha Foundation, who provide education to underprivileged children in India. When you buy this dress you will be supporting our cause, and adding a versatile staple to your wardrobe. Let it be your personal styling canvas. Wear it over and over, again and again and join us in changing our world one outfit at a time.