Since April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, people across the country were encouraged to wear denim for Denim Day on April 23, in solidarity with sexual assault survivors and in protest against sexual assault.
Lawral Wornek, Mills reference librarian, is wearing a denim dress from Old Navy paired with a scarf and a cardigan. She said she was pretty informed about Denim Day this year.
“Though I haven’t been involved with sexual assault awareness, I think [the coordinators at Mills have] all done a great job this year! The signs, posters, events, etc. this month and especially this past week have all been powerful and very informative,” Lawral said.
Unique Robinson, a second-year MFA student, wore a denim jacket paired with a teal shirt and dark skinny jeans they bought from the Buffalo Exchange in Berkeley.
“I guess I just love jeans. I love this jean jacket a lot,” Unique said.
Though they weren’t aware that April 23 was Denim Day, they said they are a poet who has written about this issue many times.
“It is about having consciousness about sexual assault, to know we are all affected, so we don’t perpetuate ignorance about it,” Unique said. “There needs to be sensitivity, to take care of ourselves, those affected and provide a space and dialogue to talk.”
Fiona Fotherby, a senior, wore a denim dress her friend gave to her as a birthday present her sophomore year from Forever 21. She paired it with a brown buttoned jacket and a two-toned Betseyville tote.
Sharing a bit of history, Fiona talked about Denim Day originating from Italy as a form of protest against the court defense that if a survivor’s jeans (worn during the attack) were form-fitting, they supposedly needed assistance to take them off and therefore could not have been assaulted.
Junior Sandeep Sagoo wore a tie-dyed denim shirt she got from Forever 21. She paired it with leggings and a pair of brown boots.
These were a few of the numerous ways you could have participated in Denim Day, whether it meant throwing on a jean jacket over your outfit, wearing a denim dress or wearing denim from head-to-toe.
Have a sunny and fashionable spring, everyone!
Check out last year’s Denim Day fashion blog post.
