Printed kimonos are the best. I don't just wear them with plain pieces though. I have a lot of stripes in my wardrobe so I like to print mix by layering my kimonos over my stripes. Even if I didn't love one of these outfits as much as the other, they are both striped tanks with printed kimonos. And of course I accessorised with my Rebecca Minkoff mini MAC bags.
Wore this out to my local Australian Breastfeeding Association group. While it was a hot and humid day, I felt this kimono was light enough to add a colourful layer. With the white and navy striped tank, it made sense to wear a blue kimono with it. I really liked this outfit, so simple and perfect.
The only thing I didn't like about this was the humidity - the meeting quickly turned from a planned discussion topic into sharing tips and tricks for surviving the heatwave with kids. Lots of good ideas, and sometimes it's just nice to hear that you're not alone and after weeks of stifling temperatures, other people are getting a bit stressed out too!
Kept the accessories simple with the shorter necklace and the silver mini MAC bag. This bag really goes with everything!
With it being Valentine's day and Lunar New Year, I had to wear a little bit of red. Picked this kimono as my newest item of clothing with some red in it, and wondered what top to wear it. This pink/red/coral brushstroke stripe tank hadn't been worn in a while (I last wore it when I was pregnant!) and I really liked it when I put the two side by side. The shorts were a new purchase, so perfect to wear for the new year.
When I tried it all on I wondered if it was too many prints all together, but I liked it enough to wear it out. Well to wear it to daycare drop off and pick up and work from home! Had mixed feelings about it after seeing the photos I took though. Don't hate it enough to class it as an outfit fail, but I probably won't wear the tank and kimono together again, it was all a little much. What do you think?
Stripes are always a good place to start when print mixing, and adding a colourful kimono on top means you can take it off later if you change your mind about the pattern mix! A nice non-committal way to try a little bit of print mixing.
I knew this summer would be the summer of shorts after I bought so many new pairs back in November. There's something so easy about pulling on a pair of denim shorts and adding a printed tank. Despite the busy prints on both of these Sass and Bide tanks, I found kimonos to wear with them.
Wasn't too sure about wearing a kimono with this top, as it has a pretty bold print on it already with touches of neon. Wanted to try wear it a little differently though, so decided to try this lace kimono with it. It worked well I thought, I was pleasantly surprised and I really enjoyed wearing this!
We had a day full of errands, nothing really exciting, just the library and a few stores. I still wanted to wear this tank though as it's been such a long time since I last wore it. 10 months! I tend to save this top for 'special' occasions, and I've really been trying to question that lately and wear more of what I own. Got to try hit that 30 wears number!
With the pink in the tank I went with a pink bag. Although the sorbet Balenciaga city doesn't match exactly, it's a nice colour combination. I liked the layered necklaces with this too.
Another summer day with the boys, another denim shorts outfit! I loved my shorts over summer, and with the heat here in Brisbane I can wear them into autumn too. This tank is one of my favourites, every time I wear it I say it's been too long between wears and that I should wear it more often. Once again I really enjoyed wearing it!
Ended up going for the plain white kimono to wear with this tank, adding colour through the pink Balenciaga city bag again and the blue bead necklace. I liked this outfit, it was casual and comfortable for playgroup in the morning and a doctor's appointment in the afternoon.
You can still wear kimonos if you're wearing a printed tank! A good idea is to stick with neutrals like cream or white. Neutral doesn't mean boring though, as you can see with the textures on the kimonos. The first geometric print tank is paired with a lace kimono. WIth the second, the all white kimono has a fun crochet detail on the back and along the hems.
I have my 'wear everything twice in the month you buy it' rule. I started this a few years ago to ensure I was only buying things I could get use from right away, to stop the discovery of unworn with tags items in my wardrobe. There have been a few exceptions to this rule, one when my pregnant belly outgrew something before I got to wear it and the rest have been weather related. As I mentioned in the video, the foil jumper hasn't been worn because of the weather.
The wear twice rule still works though. I did consider buying something else this month but decided against it. Purely because I had to order it online and it wouldn't have made it in time for me to wear it twice in February. It was a 'want' item, not a 'need', but my large wardrobe makes almost every purchase a 'want'! It was easier to refrain from purchasing know it wouldn't pass the wear twice rule. Maybe next month I'll buy it if I keep thinking about it.
The foil knit, bought a few days before the heatwave, didn't get worn at all this month. There's a little more detail in the video above, but basically I bought this thinking I might not get to wear it right away, and bought it anyway as I didn't want to miss out on the trend again.
The denim shorts, an impulse buy, have been worn right away as you can see above, as they were perfect for the heatwave. I know I bought a lot of new shorts for summer a couple of months ago, but when you stumble across $60+ denim in your size in the op-shop, you buy it! While I've worn them similarly here with printed tanks and kimonos, the video has more ways to wear them.
I'm pretty content with my wardrobe now. I might buy that piece I keep thinking about or I might wait until cooler weather to see where the gaps are in my wardrobe!
If you're trying to build a wardrobe that takes you from SAHM duties to a business casual workplace like I am, you need some basics. When I bought these two tanks I knew they would be pieces I'd be able to get a lot of wear from. They are really basic, a little gathering on the back but otherwise just plain and colourful tanks. Simple tops like this are good to wear to the office as well as the other days I'm a SAHM with the boys.
An simple, staple office outfit. Closed in shoes, a bag big enough to carry everything needed for a day at work, blazer and a simple basic tank. Even if the heatwave in Brisbane meant that the blazer was quickly taken off after these pictures and only worn in the office air conditioning! It has been such a hot end to summer.
While I love my printed dresses for work, a variation of this outfit is often worn as I love my pencil skirts. A pencil skirt and blazer can have a casual tank underneath if you're in a business casual workplace like I am, or a dressier blouse or button up shirt for more formal environments.
With a basic top and classic plain blazer, you can add more interest to your office outfit with a fun statement necklace or printed pencil skirt. I love the textured lace on this one.
Another super-hot day, at the height of the heatwave. We were spending the morning in aircon so I added the kimono to keep me cosy, and also because I'd been wanting to try the navy floral with the mustard tank. I really like this outfit and felt great in this. I'll probably try this kimono and tank together again soon, I loved the colour combo.
I ended up taking the kimono off in the afternoon though as we ran around on a couple of errands. Even the brief moments between the air conditioned car and building made it too warm for any kind of layer!
Carried my Louis Vuitton speedy bandouliere bag again, I needed something fairly indestructible, and this is perfect as it's waterproof and easy to clean.
Since I was spending the day with the boys, I swaped the pretty but not kid friendly statement necklace I wore to the office with this much more kid friendly silicone teething necklace. Easily washable too, just like the Louis Vuitton handbag.
Basics are the best building blocks to have in your wardrobe, especially if you want pieces you can get more wear from. These tanks, while different colours, are the same simple cut and are so easy to dress up or down. With a few tweaks like swapping the fun kimono for a more formal blazer, and the casual denim shorts for a pencil skirt, it's easy to make a casual outfit perfect for the office. If you're on a budget, investing in a few pieces like this makes it easier to get more value from your purchases as you can wear them for different events. You don't have to spend big, both of these tanks were under $20! Linking up with Turning Heads,Trend Spin, Confident Twosday, Wardrobe Wednesday, Style on the Daily.
Happy Valentine's Day! Sharing two un-Valentine's Day like outfits, although one does have a little pink in it!
With Brisbane's summer heart, shorts and a tank are a good way to dress. It's easy to add a little summer layer to them though for more colour, as I've done with each of the outfits below.
Wore this to go to an appointment in the morning. I wanted something easy to wear and it has been a while since I've worn these denim shorts. I was going to wear a different printed tank, but then I saw the kimono and realised that it would look great with stripes. Last time I wore this kimono I tried a little print mixing too. I liked this combination and felt that it looked good, but got a few side eyes when we went out for lunch so maybe it wasn't the best choice. I was happy in it though, and that's all that matters!
Was a really comfortable outfit, with a very practical bag. I had to juggle the baby bag, my handbag and the toddlers, so I appreciated the cross body strap on my Rebecca Minkoff MAM bag as well as the fact that it held everything I needed in it.
Another appointment, going to see the specialist for a checkup for Baby Boy. As I liked the outfit I'd worn above the day before, I wore a similar outfit the next day. A plain black tank this time, with longer bermuda denim shorts and instead of a kimono I added the pink vest. I'd been thinking about wearing my pink blazer again, after seeing Lorna wearing hers so well, but it was a bit warm for that so I went with this pink vest instead.
Again I wore my Rebecca Minkoff MAM bag, it's such a good bag with the boys as the cross body strap makes it so easy to wear. I added this fun wooden statement necklace I got for Christmas too, it looks nice against the plain black tank. As the specialist's office is full of toys I didn't have to worry about wearing a teething necklace to entertain the boys. It's nice to wear non-silicone necklaces sometimes!
Add some colour to a denim shorts and tank outfit in summer with an extra layer. Kimonos and lightweight vests don't overheat you, but add a fun touch to your outfit.
As I recently got two new foil print tees, I took the chance to wear it with them for a little bit of print mixing: floral with stripes and polka dots. It helped me hit 30 wears of the kimono too!
I've worn this floral kimono with stripes before - stripes are my go-to for print mixing as they really go with everything! When I got this striped tee in the Jeanswest sale I knew I'd wear it with this kimono, i think the grey of the kimono and the silver foil stripes go together nicely. With the busy print mixing on top, I stuck with a neutral pair of shorts on the bottom - another Jeanswest sale purchase! I continued on the grey and silver theme with the grey Rebecca Minkoff love bag with silver hardware. I really liked how this outfit came together, perfect for a quiet Saturday running a few errands.
Once again I'm realising I've worn this tee to my Australian Breastfeeding Association group - it gets worn there quite a lot, haha! I wore this to a topic I'd really been looking forward to - we had a first aid presentation from St John's ambulance. When Toddler T was little, I'd gone to a first aid course for babies and felt quite confident with everything baby first aid related. A few months ago, when Baby Boy fell ill, everything went out the window and I panicked. I barely remembered what to do and had to ask the 000 operator to tell me each step to do as my mind was blank. Instinct kicked in and I did a few things but couldn't remember what to do next, it was scary. It wasn't until we were out of the ambulance and in the hospital when we were asked if we had done a first aid course that it all came flooding back to me, and I started remembering what we'd been taught.
I asked the presenter to cover the topic again for me and it was nice to know I'd done the right thing calling the ambulance. I picked up some other useful tips and advice from her too, that I hope I'll never have to put into practice!
Outfit-wise, I thought the polka dots and floral print was something very different for me. I don't have a lot of polka dot pieces in my wardrobe. Really liked this combo though - I think the gold foil polka dots on the tee work just as well with the floral kimono as the silver stripes on the tee above. And the mustard yellow micro Regan bag is a nice combination with the yellow on the kimono as well as the navy tee. I've worn this tee and bag together before.
I usually do a purchase review after wearing everything I buy twice. The goal is to learn what works and doesn't in my wardrobe, so I make wiser purchasing decisions in the future.
I love these shorts (even if this is the fourth wear, I forgot to do the review earlier). I already had a couple pairs of black shorts, but I got rid of them as I was worried they were too short. These are still short shorts, but slightly longer than the ones I had before, and still just as comfortable (perhaps even more so!). A classic pair of black shorts is essential for Brisbane summers, I'm really pleased I bought these, and thankful for the Christmas gift card I used to buy them!
You don't have to stick with neutral basic pieces when wearing colourful printed kimonos. Stripes and polka dots are fun to try print mixing with. If you're unsure, picking similarly coloured pieces like the silver stripes and grey kimono is a good way to go, and keeping it simple with just two prints and having the rest of your outfit plain makes it easy. The benefit of having one of your pieces being a printed kimono is that if you are unsure when leaving the house and later change your mind, you can easily take that layer off! Linking up with Fabulous Friday, Fab Favourites, Trend Spin.
I hope that you have a very merry Christmas and enjoy spending time with your friends and family on Monday as we reflect on the greatest gift of all, God sending Jesus.
My blog friend Ruth does these 5x5 style challenges on Instagram. Another blog friend, Eileen and I started talking with her about it and thought it would be fun to participate. We decided to do an international style challenge a couple of weeks ago near the end of November.
The rules: 5 pieces of clothing to create 5 outfits over 5 days, with a black and burgundy colour scheme. Accessories like shoes, necklaces, scarves, handbags, outerwear, can be added as needed and don't count as one of the 5 pieces.
Who took part: Ruth @ruthyannie, Eileen @eileensed and myself, @awayfromblue. Ruth did this over autumn in the cold weather, and Eileen had to dress a growing baby bump too! I have so much admiration for them both!
This is going to be a bit of a long post as I share with you what we wore over 5 days! I hope you'll get a lot of outfit inspiration from it though, and discover some new ways you can rewear pieces you already own.
My Capsule Wardrobe
After a few last minute swaps and changes, these are the 5 pieces I came up with for the challenge.
black drawstring waist maxi skirt
black denim shorts
burgundy jersey dress
black, burgundy and cream shirt dress
burgundy slouchy tee
My choices were limited by the colour scheme which helped me make decisions about what to pick as my 5 pieces. The last time I did a capsule, it was my third trimester capsule wardrobe and the growing bump helped limit my options there too! I did have to go into the office for one day which made me pick the shirt dress, even if the print is more red than burgundy. I figured it was close enough!
The main worry I had was around structuring the pieces I wore to allow me to have them washed and ironed ready for the next wear With two messy toddlers it was highly unlikely I was going to be able to wear things twice in a row without washing them! In the end I came up with 6 outfit ideas so that if something wasn't ready in time, I'd have a fall back option.
For the first day of the challenge I went with a classic tee and maxi skirt combo. When I'd first started planning outfits and pieces for the challenge I'd went with a different burgundy tee, and changed my mind and swapped it for this tee instead. I didn't like the way this one sat with the maxi skirt though, I was a bit frustrated with it both tucked and untucked and wasn't as comfortable with this outfit as I could have been. Easy outfit for playgroup though.
This was as 'formal' as my outfits got during the challenge, the majority of them were casual outfits. I had to go into the office, so picked this shirt dress to fit in with the business casual dress code. I found myself fussing with this outfit too during the day though, the dress seemed to ride up a lot and I was constantly tugging it back down. I much prefer wearing this dress as a kimono, or layering it up with tights in winter.
I knew with the darker black and red print on the dress (it's a geometric print although it looks like polka dots in the pics!) that this Marc Jacobs bag would work perfectly with it. This bag doesn't get worn as often as it did when I first got it, but it's still a nice choice for work. It's been tagged in 62 posts on the blog and most of the time it featured in both outfits of the posts, so you can see it was worn a lot in the past! Such a unique colour too, a deep purple-y brown.
The simplest of all my challenge outfits, and also the most popular. I wore this to work from home and attend a specialist appointment with baby boy in the afternoon. With the burgundy star print dress, I added black through my accessories, with the same ankle boots I'd worn the day before and another little worn bag, my Mimco button bag.
This was actually my first expensive bag purchase, despite how little I wear it now I'm never going to let it go. I spent months thinking about it and saving for it and picking out the perfect colour combo I wanted and I still remember the excitement of going to the store to pick it up! Very treasured even if not frequently worn now. I think I bought it in 2007 at the height of the button bag trend, still looks great. Sadly it's discontinued, the closest thing is the Mimco Turnlock bag that's around $200 more expensive than the button bag was 10 or so years ago, or to go to ebay for the classic style.
An incredibly busy day called for a comfortable and casual outfit, and the first wearing of the last of my 5 pieces, my black denim shorts. Added the comfy slouchy burgundy tee and the printed dress was worn as a kimono. Converse were a practical choice for a busy day, and the mustard yellow bag was a fun touch of colour with the black and burgundy.
Baby boy had some more tests at the hospital in the morning, so I had the day off. With my mother in law available to watch the boys, as it was a day I normally work, I made the most of it and she looked after them both once the testing was done so I could gt a rare child free afternoon to go Christmas shopping. And I shopped up a storm, getting the majority of the things remaining on my Christmas present list!
For my fifth and final outfit with my 5 pieces, I wore my denim shorts again and the lovely burgundy dress as a top. I added turquoise accessories with the necklace and Rebecca Minkoff mini MAC bag for an extra touch of colour. I've won dresses as tops before, it's a nice way to wear something a little differently. The extra dress fabric wasn't too bulky although it was a bit of a pain tucking it in to the shorts every time I went to the bathroom! I had considered doubling up on the dresses and wearing the shift dress as a kimono over this again, but despite how little time I spent with the boys the day before it still got messy and had to have a wash. That was the hardest part of this challenge - making sure everything was washed and ironed in time to wear again!
This was a nice outfit to finish the challenge on, I ran around with the boys completing a few errands.
Hope you enjoyed seeing the different outfits we were able to create for the challenge. While it was a fun challenge for me, I was looking forward to getting back into my regular wardrobe at the end of it! Especially after buying lots of new pieces that month that I was eager to wear.
Thanks so much to Ruth and Eileen for inviting me to take part - if you don't already, you should follow them on Instagram!
