Aussie Curves: Secondhand

This week's Aussie Curves Theme is "Secondhand". I am a huge supporter of the idea that being fashionable doesn't mean totally buying into consumer culture (ha ha, see what I did there?). A lot of the "Fashion Forward  rhetoric that goes around is always about buying what's new, discarding what's old, being "ahead of the trend", buy buy buy.... I think that's not only wasteful and a bit silly but in the long term, it's totally unsustainable, both on a personal level and for the planet in general!


With my "Fashion Adjacent" philosophy I think people should be a lot more thoughtful and intentional about the way they buy clothes. Use what you've got, make additions to your wardrobe slowly, never in haste, and think "long term" with your purchases.

That said - buying second hand can be a real challenge when you're plus-sized. Basically the bigger a size you wear the harder it is to find things, new and secondhand. When I manage to find something in an opshop that fits and I like it's like striking gold - and I know I have it a lot easier than many others. While I encourage everyone to buy secondhand wherever possible, I acknowledge that this can be really hard.

One way it can be not so hard is participating in clothing swaps. Here in Melbourne there is an amazing group of fat fabulous people called "The Chub Republic" and I am proud to count myself amongst their number. One of the many good things they've done is holding regular plus size clothing swaps. Some of the members are also involved in a fat burlesque troupe called "Va Va Boombah", and I'm going to be DJing their show on Friday - if you're in Melbourne, you should totally come along!! (Click through here for the Facebook Event Listing)

So - This gorgeous black and white coat-dress is one of my finds from the swap, and so are the divine wide-calf boots I am wearing. Both of these items fitted seamlessly into my wardrobe like they'd always been there and I will be forever grateful to the kind soul who was generous enough to put these into the swap.

 Underneath I am wearing another one of my secondhand finds - a vintage wool-blend dress that I've featured before. As I remarked on twitter over the weekend, when it's midsummer and you can still wear this - you've chosen the right city to live in!

 For my makeup I used the gorgeous Saviour Faire palette that was send in the December Bella Box. I'll give you a closer look at it tomorrow, so come back then!

Oh, that necklace? Also secondhand, cost me a whopping FIFTY CENTS. Love it. 
Click through below and have a look at the other Aussie Curves participants and their secondhand ensembles. 
What's the most awesome secondhand thing in your wardrobe?? Leave a comment and tell me about it!