Aussie Curves- Strapless

A strapless theme this week was easy in the sense that I have only one item of clothing to choose from. It's a special occasion kind of dress, so in the interests of honesty I disclose that I did not wear this out in public this time. I have however worn it to a cocktail party, and to my brother's wedding reception.

This is the first time I have worn it strapless. Usually I wear a normal bra and shrug not because I don't want to expose my upper arms, but because I have only one strapless bra, and it is the most uncomfortable bra in the world! It doesn't hold me up very well and gives me a weird shape. But I am putting up with it so you guys can see it strapless.

This dress is from ChicStar, I ordered it online. The sizing can be all over the place with ChicStar, but this dress was pretty true to size. I ordered a 24. I love the lacing, the lace trim and the shimmery colour of the dress. It also comes in black. I'd love to see it in purple or a wine-red. In my opinion the bodice needs a bit more support to keep it from rolling down, I usually pin it to my bra just to be safe.

The skirt is almost a full circle skirt. It is so swishy! I'm wearing my purple Domino Dollhouse petticoat underneath for some added swish.

The only necklace that seemed to go with it is my Grandmother's necklace, but I can imagine a better necklace with more of the antique black scrollwork and darker, larger stones. Maybe I'll see something like that one day. I'd love a sort of gothic/steampunk necklace. And for the first time I'm not wearing a hair flower- shock! I couldn't find one to match. :-)

Outfit Details

Dress: ChicStar (24)

Petticoat: Domino Dollhouse (XXL)

Shoes: Payless (11)

Bike Pants (underneath): Big W

Necklace: from my Grandma

Earrings: Diva

Check out what the other ladies are wearing below! (and anyone got suggestions for good strapless bras?)

Aussie Curves- Pastels

A little more challenging was the theme of pastels this week. I usually stick to bright, rich jewel tones in my clothes, they're what I'm drawn to. However, knowing that pastels was coming up, I picked up this dress from Asos Curve back when it was on sale.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed wearing this lovely lavender purple. I'm a fan of purple, but had never tried out this shade before. The swishy skirt was made even better by the addition of a Domino Dollhouse petticoat in lavender. I love how the frill just sticks out around the bottom of the dress. I felt quite girly and pretty wearing this outfit, I wore it to a late birthday lunch with one of my friends that didn't make it to my birthday dinner. Domino Dollhouse petticoats are so soft and comfortable to wear, despite it being a warm day I wasn't uncomfortable.

Yes I know I should have ironed the dress. But is was hot and sticky weather and I just couldn't be bothered. I paired the dress with my pretty wedge sandals from Big W.

In wearing the pastel colour I needed a different shade of lipstick, and found a new shade that I love! I'll have to look for it at the shops (its an old small sample lipstick back when I did Avon, so I need a decent substitute). If not for the dress I would never have tried it, so yay! You may have noticed that a hair flower is a signature style for me. As eclectic as my outfits get, I nearly always wear a hair flower. These pretty ones are from Best and Less.

Necklace used to be my Grandma's. Earrings are from Big W. I put the brooch on (a gift from a friend) as the neckline is way lower than I'm comfortable with. I'll put a few stitches in it later.

Outfit Details
Dress: Asos Curve (24)
Petticoat: Domino Dollhouse (XXL)
Shoes: Big W (11)
Necklace: my Grandma
Brooch: Gifted from a friend
Earrings: Big W
Hair Flowers: Best and Less
Bike Pants: Big W (22)

Aussie Curves- Polka Dots

I was excited to see that Polka Dots was the theme this week, as I am a big fan. I have polka dot pyjamas, polka dot hat, polka dot plates and of course polka dot clothes. I decided to recreate what I wore for my birthday last weekend. This pretty dress was marked down to $20? (can't remember) from City Chic, which is the first thing I've bought from them. Usually their prices are too high for my budget, and they don't seem to have 70% off as often as Autograph, so I don't usually pay them much attention. But the price was right for this dress! I like that the straps are adjustable, as I needed to adjust them a lot (the usual fit around the hips, too big up top problem). The dress is comfy to wear and I love the combo of ruffles and polka dots. It came with a belt made out of the dress material, but I found a more structured belt worked better. 

To offset the chill as I went out for birthday dinner (if you're ever in Newcastle, El Nonno in Hamilton have yummy Italian food and great service for reasonable prices) I wore my Domino Dollhouse jacket. Both the jacket and the dress were having their first outing, by the way. I turned up the cuffs so you could see the adorable polka dot print on the lining. The jacket doesn't photograph well, but the colour is a rich burgundy velvet, so nice to wear. I like the crop length too, especially over dresses.

I wore my awesome op shop find boots. I like how the jacket, boots and studded belt add a bit of edge to the pretty floaty dress.

The bunny brooch and polka dot hair bow were birthday presents given to me on the night, which I promptly wore. The necklace is a dark purple stone from my Grandmother, it's not exactly right with the dress but I couldn't find a better match. 

My bracelet and my sparkly handbag are both op shop finds. The bow on the handbag is the belt from my dress.

I've assembled some other polka dot looks for you, which can be found here, here and here. I still have two more polka dot clothing items I haven't featured on the blog, maybe I'll show them off this week.

Outfit Details
Dress: City Chic
Jacket: Domino Dollhouse
Bike Pants (underneath): Big W
Boots: Thrifted
Bracelet: Thrifted
Necklace: Gifted
Hair Bow: Gifted (Olive Tree Markets)
Bunny Brooch: Gifted (Blackbird's Corner)
Belt: Asos Curve
Handbag: Thrifted