My last day of pants... (for a month)

I love wearing jeans...

auf Weidersehen my lovelies!

HOW TO DONATE

Go to frocktober.org/donate/ and type the reference number 650866 in the comments section on PayPal.

More frock flashbacks!

Melbourne is known for it's horse-racing - how many other cities with millions of people get a public holiday for a horse race?

Personally, I'm not a massive horse fan. But I AM a fan of dresses, hats, picnics, and champagne. So I've spent a few days at Flemington over the years.

 Kate and I have known each other (and played dress-ups!) since I was one year old.

I never did find out why all these guys were dressed like Steve Irwin, but I guess it doesn't matter.

I made this dress myself, for the Howitt Hall Gaudy in 2003. The fact that Erin and I matched was a total coincidence.

 Okay, that's not me, it's Grandma. She was a bridesmaid at her sisters' wedding in the 50s.

Oh, but THIS is me. In Grandma's dress. 50 years later.

This is me and the other engineer, celebrating the completion of a motorway I'd been working on. I love this dress, I made it for myself and I will never ever get rid of it! I'm a big fan of donating clothes, but I made this with all of my heart (and help from my mum).

Only one day left for me to enjoy wearing pants!

HOW TO DONATE

Go to frocktober.org/donate/ and type the reference number 650866 in the comments section on PayPal.

Getting in the mood - frock flashbacks!

Well, let's get this party started! Here are a few memorable frocks from my childhood:

Ahhhh, the brownie dress. Flattering for little girls of all sizes and colouring. Yellow and brown as a colour combination? I bet Coco Chanel was kicking herself for not coming up with that one. I think this would have been in about 1990.

This one is a very avant-garde little number that I designed and made myself. I'm not sure you'd technically call it a dress, but it is awesome.

Hmm, here we have my high school uniform. This would have been on my first day. Note that only the COOL girls scrunched their socks down like mine. Again, another stunning colour and fabric combination. Who doesn't like to wear a maroon wool blazer in 40 degree weather?

No, I was not some sort of a child bride at the grand age of 16. Apparently this tradition is not particularly common outside of Victoria, Australia, but I was at my debutante ball. There were some pretty strict rules about what to wear. The dress had to be:

• white (not cream, ivory, or anything else);
• floor length (not ankle or knee);
• paired with gloves (had to be white, but could be any length);
• not strapless (I think this was actually for our own comfort); and
• worn with subtle make-up only (don't set your make-up gun to 'whore'!).

Nonetheless, I actually loved this dress, and was so pleased to find one that was completely un-poofy and un-sparkly.

More frock flashbacks to come!

HOW TO DONATE

Go to frocktober.org/donate/ and type the reference number 650866 in the comments section on PayPal.

What is this "Frocktober" malarkey?

I've taken up the challenge of wearing a frock (or at least a skirt) every day in Frocktober. Yep, that will mean when I'm cleaning the house, grocery shopping, working on the side of the motorway in the middle of the night, wearing steel-capped gumboots and tramping through mangroves... and you guys get to witness all of it right here!

Frocktober is an annual event (in October, obviously) where people are encouraged to raise awareness of ovarian cancer by frocking up. The organisers have a website at http://frocktober.org/ which gives an idea of some of the other things going on to raise money.

I would love for anyone reading this blog (or anyone who knows about the event) to spread the word and donate a little cash to the cause. You donate through PayPal, so it doesn't matter what currency you use or where you are.

The link to donate is shown at the left side of the page, or at the bottom of each post.

HOW TO DONATE

Go to frocktober.org/donate/ and type the reference number 650866 in the comments section on PayPal.