Dresses are well, dressy. But that’s half the fun. Some of my frocks are just too formal for the day time. Particularly when my day time includes nothing fancier than a quick nip down to woollies for bread. I wore them anyway. Sometimes I would dress them down by wearing a top over. And sometimes I would just embrace being dressed up for dressed up’s sake. Why keep our prettiest clothes for other people? Why not enjoy them whenever we want?

There are some truly dedicated lovers of frocks and vintage style out there. Some of the Frocktober Instagram accounts are just so fabulous. I can’t do the 24/7 pin up thing – actually I think I’d struggle with an hour to two – but I adore seeing pictures of those who can. You won’t be disappointed checking out these Instagram accounts:
Pretty Chuffed (for some EXCELLENT maternity frock inspriation)
Shelley Minson (for pinup perfection)
Zinc Moon (for sassy style and a good dose of vintage)
The Vintage Hour Glass (for more pinup perfection)

As vacuous as it may appear, people really like outfit posts on Instagram. I really like outfit posts on Instagram. I get so much more inspiration from people watching and street style than I do the catwalks and glossies. And even the glossies feature street style regularly these days. There is something quite liberating about seeing a range of ages, sizes and style all having fun with fashion in different ways.

Wardrobe planning is a good thing. I have had to put a bit more thought into my daily dressing during Frocktober. It is a huge morning time saver knowing exactly what I am going to be wearing each day. It also meant that I pushed myself beyond the usual suspects.

Dresses can be versatile. You just need a bit of imagination and inspiration (see outfit inspo on Instagram point above). I have enjoyed knotting my maxi dresses and wearing them in a variety of ways. I have tried to be creative by using dresses as separates and wearing them as tops or skirts. There really is a lot you can do with a dress.

Ovarian cancer sucks. The aim of Frocktober is not just to give all our dresses a whirl, but to raise funds and awareness so that ovarian cancer can become a thing of the past. Here are some things I did not know about ovarian cancer before undertaking the Frocktober challenge:

• Ovarian cancer has a lower survival rate than both breast and cervical cancer.
• 80% of women are already in the advanced stages of the disease when diagnosed.
• Over 50% of the community incorrectly believe a pap smear diagnoses ovarian cancer. There is NO early detection test for ovarian cancer.
• Every 10 hours, a woman in Australia dies of ovarian cancer.

People are kind. I have always found people are really very kind. Thank you so much for all your donations – whether you personally supported me, the Pipsters dress up gang or another Frockstar. Isn’t it amazing what frocks can do? You can still support the cause here.