Connie's Diary: Thank you Bella Bleu

Bella Bleu putting the smile back on my face

I have been down in the dumps lately, and what better thing to cheer a girl up than a new frock? Karen from Bella Bleu first came on board to help Love Your Sister by donating a percentage of sales to LYS from her ‘Bella Bleu’ boutique in Moonee Ponds in Melbourne where she sells her beautiful designer dresses. Through her fundraising campaigning campaign she raised over $300 for LYS, but she wanted to do more! Very generously she has also offered to dress me for my events for Love Your Sister in dresses that I will feel comfortable wearing – without my prosthetic boobs! She came equipped with a variety of dresses in a variety of sizes, and did a styling session with me. Karen was so thoughtful, she chose styles that don’t have darts for the breast area, and wouldn’t have spaces that would sag if I didn’t wear my fillets. She came with an great selection – and then, amazingly, gave me one of every dress that I liked! I felt like the queen or a film star, with a new dress for every day of the week. And all of them I can wear without my prosthetics, and I feel so beautiful and elegant in them. Thanks Karen!

For any women reading this, who have ever wondered about how it might feel to have a mastectomy, I can’t speak for all mastectomy patients, but for me personally I went through I bad stage of self-consciousness because of my new shape. My oncologist said that plenty of women are flat chested, like Kiera Knightly for example, and she is still beautiful. While my doctor may have been trying to make me feel better, it didn’t work, because I know what it is like to be flat chested as I was a very late bloomer, and was very skinny as a teenager, and was flat chested. I didn’t really develop until I was in my 20’s and put some weight on. So I know what it is like being flat chested – It is completely different to having no breasts AT ALL – and no muscles – and no nipples. It has taken some getting used to, and I still feel funny about it. Since I had my operation 2 ½ years ago I have been shopping once, that’s right, once. I have trouble finding clothes because women’s clothes are made with saggy areas in the front to accommodate boobs, so if you don’t have any, shopping becomes a nightmare.

Karen has come into my life and saved the day! She has shown me that there are elegant clothes available, and that I can feel like a million bucks without having to wear stick on plastic boobs that hurt like a band-aid to pull off, with big cumbersome mastectomy bras that cut off the circulation to my right arm. I can be comfortable – physically and emotionally, and I can look great. Thanks so much Karen and Bella Bleu for these beautiful frocks, but more importantly for making me feel beautiful, just the way I am.

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