I’ve always liked the idea of a chain letter and being part of some bigger piece of the world puzzle. That you could travel without traveling and land into the arms of people you might not ever meet or become something tangible right in their hands.

We’ve lost so much of this human contact over the years and though I daily relish in the fact I can communicate with friends near and far in an instant, I miss the days of sending something out from a physical mailbox.

Enter this pretty little t-shirt I got from donating to North Carolina based Appalatch’s Kickstarter campaign.

As Kathryn, the tailor for The Tailor Project’s business has really accelerated and thrived since this project took off (both online and at Stitched, her brick and mortar tailor shop), we’ve had to get creative with time. People get bored, WE get bored and at this point, I think we’re all catching on that revamping a wardrobe can be a lot of fun.

Photo by Sophie Snider

So now, it is with great pleasure to tell you that just last week I sent this simple t-shirt off to 17 people who will edit, add, embroider, naturally dye, and basically transform this t-shirt of mine. It will travel from Massachusetts to New York, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, New Mexico, California to meet a few people, Oregon, Washington, Colorado to my childhood best friend, Michigan, Illinois and then back to Massachusetts.

And to remember what it’s like to send thoughts out by mail, I hand wrote a letter to each person on the route, a little love letter expressing my appreciation for each.

(As you can see below, The Brooklyn Fashion+Design Accelerator’s managing Director Deborah Alden just got it!)

I don’t expect to see it until the end of the year and I imagine it will be like a postcard or an old steamer trunk covered in messages that double as fashion edits.

Not only will this be a collaborative fashion experiment, it will really highlight makers and tailors all over the U.S. who by the very act of thinking consciously about one t-shirt, can totally make ripple effects that change the world. Ernest Hemingway once said: “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”

I say, here’s to one t-shirt’s adventures. Fare thee well.

Stay tuned for updates and photos here of The Tailor Project t-shirt’s travels and ALWAYS check out the status on our Facebook page.

Top Image: Joe Thorn