Frocktober 2013 - The Beginning

October is the month of Frocktober.
In Australia, every 10 hours, one woman dies from Ovarian cancer. Just ten minutes ago I read this post on Killer Kurves about a plus sized model who just announced she had Ovarian cancer.
Frocktober is all about raising money for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation. There are many different ways you can participate, I however have decided to go the full 31 days wearing a frock every day! I have an account with Everyday Heroes here for people to donate too plus this cute little donation lady (pictured below) at work that I created just for Frocktober. Just in case you can't tell the money goes in the necklace slot!

The first 6 days have been fun but I have no doubt that as the days go on I will struggle to choose what dress to wear and how to style it because I'm pretty sure I don't have 31 different dresses.

 

If you would like to make a donation towards this great cause feel free to do it here!
For more information about the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation visit here.
For more information about Frocktober and how you can participate click here.
To keep track of my daily pics follow me on Instagram @charlenegirl or click the 'View on Instagram' badge below. 


This time next week I'll show you the next 7 outfits I've worn throughout the week.
Bye 4 now

Aussie Curves - Festival

So I've been absent for the last couple of Aussie Curves challenges due to um...umm...lets just say a disturbance. Missing the two weeks was really hard for me but I was having a hard time with some things that I have all sorted now, Thank God!

 

For this weeks challenge, Festival, I have decided to go with the comfy and practical look. As most other Aussie Curves girls I've never really been to a 'festival' as such but if I did it would definitely be Big Day Out. My type of music.

 

I don't think I'd go for any other reason than the music so I wouldn't be too interested in 'dressing up' for the guys. If it wasn't hot weather I would still get hot from moshing and drinking etc etc so these cut off jeans - now shorts would be perfect to keep me cool and stop my chub-rub...oh I hate that word...I'm a tad sick in the mind so I don't think of thighs rubbing....anyway off track... My tshirt is one I bought at a gig from an Aussie band Atlantis Awaits...so awesome! Check them out here or on their Facebook page here! I have no doubt they will be at Big Day Out in the near future! Any jewellery I decided to wear to the festival would have to be cheap stuff because I would most likely loose it and the good ol' Docs are worn for feet protection. I would've probably gone with my trusty Havianas but after one of the Aussie Curves chicks mentioned thongs are not ideal I totally agreed. Docs also add a little more punk to the look which I love!

 

Outfit details:

Big City Chic once jeans now shorts - op shopped - free coz the bottom of the jeans were ripped

Atlantis Awaits tee - Bought at a gig - guessing $20?? I don't remember to be honest

Doc Martens - Bought from a friend at high school in 1997 - $10

 

That's it from me peeps. Rock on!

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Aussie Curves - $50 Outfit

Op shopping is what I do. I work full-time running an op shop and op shop whenever I have time off. Knowing this wouldn’t be much of a challenge for me I had initially intended to do an outfit under $50 every day this week, however knowing what a hectic weekend I have ahead of me I’ve decided to do just four.  I think I’ve done a darn good job to get each outfit averaging less than half the amount allocated which allows plenty of money left to get shoes (for the second outfit), accessories and jewellery!

PHAT STRIPES (Outfit 1)

Tights Kmart $7

Black long sleeve City Chic top – op shopped $4

City Chic dress - op shopped - $10

Shoes - op shopped - $4

Belt – op shopped - $2

Total = $27

FLIRTY FLORAL (Outfit 2)

ASOS floral leggings - $16.30

Autograph cardigan – op shopped - $5

Black dress – op shopped - $3

Oval brooch – op shopped - 50c

Total = $24.80 (plenty of money left for shoes!)

RED DELICIOUS (Outfit 3)

Red BelleCurve jeans - Bought on Facebook - $15

Shoes - op shopped - $4

Sockettes - 50c

Black long sleeve City Chic top - op shopped $4

Black mesh top - op shopped - $4

DIY brooch - free

Total = $27.50

BLUE BABE (Outfit 4)

Blue & Black dress – op shopped - $6

Black long sleeve City Chic top - op shopped $4

Black Intimo pants (size 10!! & so comfy!) – op shopped – Free!

Rivers boots – op shopped - $4

Blue bangle – op shopped – 50c

Fake Armani sunnies – Thailand gift – Free

Total = $14.50

 

Are you an op shopper?

 

Aussie Curves - Vulnerable Side

With all the amazing ladies from Aussie Curves opening up and sharing their vulnerabilities this week I have found myself thinking (and possibly over-thinking) a lot. Why do we feel so negatively about our bodies? Is it the environment that does it? Society? All this thinking has added a lot of mental anguish to my already big week...

At the beginning of the week I stumbled across a profile on Instagram. It was of a young girl who cut herself. I looked through her pics and she clearly hated herself, her body, her life and mentioned numerous times she wished she was dead. I have been in a similar place before and I know it can be so hard to get yourself out of that dark place. I felt useless and sad that there are SO SO many people like this.

Towards the end of the week, a lady I buy my coffee from most mornings came into my workplace and talked to me about her daughter who was depressed due to a recent large weight increase.  She broke down crying as she told me that her daughter would wear a thick jumper to school on a boiling hot day just to hide her stomach; even if she was dying of heat she wouldn’t take it off because of the embarrassment she felt about her body. This lady told me that she had used me as an example to her daughter that you can be ‘bigger’ but still dress to look amazing. She told me how stunning I looked every day when I went in to get my coffee. I was very flattered by the comment but overwhelmed with sadness and concern for her daughter.

My vulnerable side has been put into perspective this week. I don’t care if I had burns to 90% of my body; I’m still the same person and a beautiful one at that, with or without scars; and the same goes for anyone. I know its corny but I really do believe it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

If you have seen me on Instagram, find me @ charlenegirl or click here ->   you might have seen me post my 2 vulnerabilities. My belly podge (which is only slightly revealed) is reasonably new to me and my bum chin or chins.

Both of these are a result of regaining previously lost weight.

How do I try to avoid this vulnerability??

Choose a good camera angle that doesn't show my second chins.

I have a sleeping disorder called Narcolepsy where I sleep too much. My specialist basically said that things are hard for me because I am overweight (um so is 80% of Australia!) so I got referred to a fat clinic where I lost 15kg. Then...AFTER I'd lost the weight a professor told me that your brain automatically tells your body to put that weight back on unless you go on medication for the rest of your life to prevent that. I’m already on heaps of medication for the rest of my life so I put the weight back on. Instead of going back to all the sections of my body the fat came from, it all moved to my stomach and under my chin.

Slightly revealed stomach podge. How do I hide it?

I choose clothing that fits me well and hide those parts of me I don't want to flaunt.

These two things have made me feel very vulnerable at the moment when it comes to fashion and clothing. My self esteem has been temporarily damaged however I know I will get over it, there are worse things in life!

 

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Restyle 2013 - The Last Week!

Finally the last week of the Restyle2013 Op Shop Photo-A-Day Challenge! When I look back it has gone so quickly! It feels like just yesterday I did denim but that was a week ago!

The first day of the last week! Day 26; I used my red Belle Curve jeans that I recently bought off Facebook rather than at an op shop.  I thought it should count for the restyle challenge this once but only because I totally forgot until I got to work, I was way too side tracked. These red babies only set me back $15 and I love them! They have so much wear left in them!

This was a pretty crap day for me. It was my first day of three I had off work and I felt sick. Boo! Since I really didn't feel like having my photo taken I used my Mimco headband and Dior sunnies both op shopped for less than $5 which were great to hide my face in!

My new Asos Curve dress (that I didn't actually order - about that another time) and my $2 op shopped belt for the prompt 'Belt it!'

Now I'm quite proud of my take on cuffed. Every other Restyle2013 post I saw was to do with the cuffs on a shirt, pants or jacket. Not one other person had interpreted it like me and my weird mind. Cuffed = Handcuffed, duh! I used these 50c mini cuffs I'd recently found in a box I'd been unpacking. Add a necklace and there you have it!

This was a prompt I had been looking forward to all month, Jungle Fever! Now I'm not a fan of animal print at all but last month I set out op shopping looking for any 'plus sized' animal print clothing I could use for this prompt. I was almost unsuccessful until I got to my last op shop that had half price off all the clothing... and you wouldn't believe it. An animal print onesie in my size! So for $5 I got this piece and nearly backed out of wearing it when it came to it. I'm glad I didn't cause it was fun and all in the name of the game. It wasn't as ugly as I had initially thought it was, however it was extremely frustrating to take off when I had to pee!

The very last outfit was one to donate back which I personally think is a little silly. If you own clothing that you would donate then they obviously are something you don't fit, wear or like. For me, it was all three. This top, which is supposed to be a tunic is way too short to wear for leggings and therefore way to short for me to own so it was definitely going back to the op shop! I shouldn't have worn it this time but I wasn't about to miss out on the last day of this photo a day challenge. The only reason I still had this in my wardrobe was that I was keeping it for this prompt, otherwise it would be long gone.

 

 

I'm going to do a summary of my Restyle2013 experience. So be sure to keep an eye out for it and what I thought about it all!

Aussie Curves - LBD

So I don't really have a Little Black Dress (LBD) per say... not one I can just wear as it is. However a LBD is now on my must have shopping look out list and when I find one I like enough (for the right price) I will definitely rectify this situation!

 

I do have this LBD but it is not something I would wear on its own as it is too small for me in the top section; It's possibly a teenage girls dress!! I picked it up from an op shop for a couple of dollars a few years back and have used it so much I don't think it has much more wear left in it!

The reason I mention this LBD is that I love its versatility...minus the 'on its own part'. I basically use it as a skirt...

Because the top section is so tight I can basically pair any top with this dress and know it will fit, will look good and feel comfy as! Like in the picture above I have covered the top half with an op shopped old skool Big City Chic top. The top is fitted around the mid section and has a sheer black material with white flowers covering the bust area and the top of my arms. Not bad for $5!

 

If I feel as though I don't want to be all black I can slip on any number of other tops. This is one of me with my more recent City Chic peplum top that feels sooo good. It's like velvet and set me back $20 at the mid year sale. Oh and you can see a little peek of my Asos Curve Heart and bow suspender tights, my fake suspender stockings which make you feel so sexy!

 

If I wanted to just keep it simple and continue with the LBD look this $4 op shopped Target high cut cardigan (not sure what these are called...anyone know?) that just covers your bust section blends perfectly with the rest of the dress making it appear as I'm just wearing a simple long sleeved LBD.

Today I wanted to wear my Asos Curve fake suspender stockings to church to see what response I got. So I wore this $4 op shopped Natasha Gan top (anyone know this brand?) with my LBD and wore my beige-yellow boots to try and match the tan in the top. Doesn't look grand but I was comfy.
The response to my stockings wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be! The old ladies loved them, probably reminiscent of their own youths. However most people just thought they were [more] tattoos! Oh well, I still felt sexy, yes, sexy in church. And, No! That is not a sin. God made my body and he did a damn good job. He's proud so why shouldn't I be!

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Restyle2013 - Week 4

It has been a crazy week for me! I was approved a rental property on Friday and have slowly started to move in over the week. I’m half done but still have a lot scattered over both places. At work I’ve had a huge sale on which has tripled my work load and because I’m going on holiday next week I have to get ahead on work so my fill in doesn’t get low on stock etc. So it’s been a little hectic every morning when I decide on what to wear for each prompt!
This weeks prompts were... 

 

Black and white was easy for me. I decided on this oversized top-become-dress I got for $5 or $6 in Geelong a while back. And I edited the picture to be black and white... because I could. 

This was a prompt I was dreading, mostly because I was unsure of what the term cocktail really meant. I always thought it was supposed to be a 3/4 dress but basically it can be any length just as long as it is styled as semi formal. Yes I googled it a while ago. Dictionary.com defines cocktail as: "styled for semiformal wear".

On this particular day I slept in and had to rush getting dressed. I just chucked on this purple city chic dress that cost me $20 which I thought was the closest thing I had to 'cocktail'. When I got to work I realised that the dress was from eBay, not an op shop. So I grabbed a cocktail glass from the bric-a-brac room of the op shop I work in and used it as a 50c op shop prop for the prompt cocktail. Afterwards of course I remembered that my belt was $2 from an op shop!

As soon as I saw  the word 'statement' I knew it would have to be a statement necklace. I used my 50c op shopped necklace that I thought was big enough to make quite a statement, however it made hardly any statement compared to some of the other necklaces I saw on Instagram! Mine was tiny compared to some. 

Due to my crazy week I have been trying to plan for the day ahead of me. I made sure I dressed ‘business like’ but when I was just about to go out the door I realised the business skirt I had based my outfit around wasn’t purchased from an op shop... which is the whole point of this challenge. So I grabbed another skirt I had bought for $4 a couple of weeks earlier for this prompt but had forgot about when trying to plan ahead. I also used a pair of $1 vintage silhouette glasses I still had in my bag that I had purchased the previous day as I thought they would go well in my dress up box...plus I really like to wear glasses...even though I don’t need them.

I had bought a bag especially for this prompt but because I’m half way through moving it is, of course, at the other house. So instead I snapped up a gorgeous vintage metallic bag from my work, an op shop to use in my pic...only $5 anyone??

You would think shoes would be an easy prompt but no. I have too many op shopped shoes to choose from. I eventually decided to show my four favourites.

 

Top left is my gorgeous leather boots from the brand 'bÆrn'. A Polish (I think) exchange student donated them to the op shop as they wouldn’t fit in her suitcase and I was quick to swipe them up! They are so comfy but I find the colour hard to match with the majority of my clothes. Top right is a $6 pair of Diana Ferrari shoes I got from Vinnies in Melbourne and I love them, they were practically new too! Bottom left is my purple novo heels that are a great heel to have especially considering I own a lot of purple clothing. Bottom right is a cheaper pair of rivers shoes. They were given to my mum who passed them on to the op shop, in which again I was quick to snap them up for $4! They are so comfy and cushiony so I can wear them all day at work!

 

...and lucky last for this week of Restyle2013 is 'Bow' on day 25. This cute MIMCO bow hair clip was op shopped for only $2!

Next week, the last week has a couple of tricky ones. Under $5 could be anything so that will be fine. Cuffed?? Um I'm not sure what I'll do for that yet...Jungle fever will be interested and outfit to donate back!?! If I didn't want it I would've donated it back already!

 

You'll have to read my blog next week to see what I do...or follow me on Instagram.