Ms Armstrong has been collecting vintage frocks for 10 years – she has plenty of 1950s and ’60s styles, plus some ballgowns.

“I’ve got a few dresses that were my grandmother’s as well,” she said.

Now this Tamworth lass has been able to turn her love of old-fashioned dressing towards a really good cause – fundraising for ovarian cancer research. 

When Ms Armstrong heard about Frocktober, a fundraising initiative of the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation, she  persuaded her sister Emily and mum Janelle to become involved. 

“We set a target of $250 and thought we’d just see what happened. We’ve all committed to wearing a frock every day in October,” Ms Armstrong said.

As of yesterday, they’d raised a very healthy $1543.

“We’re really stoked,” Ms Armstrong said.

“I compile a montage of our daily frock photos and upload it to www.frocktober.everydayhero.com/au/kate-2. People view it and hopefully donate – it’s that simple.”

Dressing up and looking good were really a means to a very serious end, she said.

It was hugely important to raise money for ovarian cancer research because there was no effective early detection test which could be done.

“Most women think if they have a pap smear every two years that will be enough,” Ms Armstrong said.

“(But) a pap smear really will not test for ovarian cancer – that’s why it’s called the silent killer.

“It’s so prevalent (and) the survival rate for ovarian cancer is really not good: one woman in Australia dies of ovarian cancer every 

10 hours.”

Ms Armstrong said women should not ignore the early warning signs of: bloating, an irregular menstrual cycle and abdominal pain.

“It’s really just women monitoring themselves and noticing ‘That’s not normal for me’,” she said.