30 Ways To Wear: Magenta Balenciaga Day Hobo Bag | Magnificent Magenta

This quarter's Magnificent 8 collaboration post theme is magnificent magenta! And with it being so close to the end of the month when I usually do my 30 ways to wear posts, what better time to share 30 ways you can wear this marvellous magenta Balenciaga day bag?

30 Ways To Wear: Magenta Balenciaga Day Hobo Bag

I'm surprised I haven't done a 30 ways to wear post with this bag yet, it's one of my favourites! It's definitely my favourite Balenciaga pink too. I have owned a few bags in this colour, which came out in 2005 over the years, but this style made it a keeper in my wardrobe. It's no secret I like bright and colourful bags, and this isn't even my only magenta bag.... But a magenta bag goes with so many more outfits than you'd think!

Cost Per Wear

I got lucky and picked this Balenciaga day bag up preloved at the end of 2015, for just $607. Despite being a 10 year old bag at the time, it had such a vibrant vivid magenta colour, and hardly any signs of wear. 7 years of me owning it later, and it still looks just as good as it does when I got it - Balenciaga bags slouch so beautifully as they age! Being a bit of a splurge, although I've worn it a lot (50 times so far), it works out to $12.14 per wear at the moment. Much higher than the $1 per wear most people aim for for value for money, but pretty good for a spendy buy, and one that will be in my wardrobe permanently, getting the cost per wear down even lower!

It took me quite a while to go through all the 50 times I've worn this magenta bag and come up with just 30 of my favourite outfits! I picked a few outfit and colour formulas to share with you, to give you an idea of how versatile a magenta bag could be in your wardrobe. Here are some of my favourite ways to wear it.

30 Ways To Wear: Magenta Hobo Bag | Video Style

Magenta Bag In Office Outfits

I love wearing my bright and colourful bags into the office! It's nice to have a bit of colour on your desk through the day while spending hours sitting at a computer. And of course, these 4 outfits show the easiest way to wear any bright colour - pair it with black! With all the black and the other neutrals in these outfits, it makes the magenta bag really pop.

Magenta Bag with Blue Outfits

It's no secret I love blue and pink together. Having so much blue in my wardrobe, I've worn this magenta bag with every shade I own, and it always looks good! From the pastel baby blue skull scarf, denim dresses and skirt, even a cobalt scarf, magenta just works with any shade of blue.

Magenta Bag With Purple

Magenta being the perfect blend of pink and purple together means it looks so good worn with other purple pieces. You don't have to go big and bold like I have with the purple printed dress in the third outfit, you can try the colour combination on a smaller scale with a purple scarf. A bright scarf and bag are a fun way to add colour to a neutral layered outfit in winter too.

Magenta Bag With Tee and Denim

Forever a staple outfit, a classic tee and denim formula is a go to the world over. To make it just a little different from a standard basic formula though, you can add a bright bag. And this fun magenta bag is definitely bright enough to add more interest to any version of denim and tee you wear!

Magenta Bag With Matching Magenta Accessories

Since magenta pairs so perfectly with blue, and I have a lot of blue in my wardrobe, I also have quite a few other magenta pieces. It's fun to make a matchy-matchy outfit and wear more than one magenta piece at a time. From a pink skull scarf to a magenta cami peeking out from under a dress, or a larger matchy-matchy with the magenta cardigan and bag together! Even if the pink in that last skull scarf isn't quite magenta...it's close enough to make my matchy-matchy self happy!

Magenta Bag and Printed Dress Outfits

A big bold block colour hobo bag like this Balenciaga day bag is so easy to wear with statement printed dresses. You can try coordinating like I have with the pink and purple dress in the third outfit there, or just have the bag be a bright pop of colour and contrast against the print like I have in the other three outfits.

Magenta Balenciaga Day Bag In Pregnancy

I always love putting pregnancy photos in these 30 ways to wear posts. Because not every item of clothing will be wearable through all 3 trimesters of pregnancy and beyond, but a handbag sure will! A big practical hobo bag like this, it got a lot of wear over my last pregnancy.

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Where To Buy The Balenciaga Day Bag:

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More Outfit Ideas:

For more outfit inspiration and ideas, you can view all 50+ ways I've worn this bag in my blog archives, or browse the complete 30 wears series.

Similar Posts In The 30 Wears Series:

• 30 ways to wear a blush pink bag: Rebecca Minkoff Darren
• 30 ways to wear Mulberry Alexa in foggy grey
• 30 ways to wear magenta pink bag: Rebecca Minkoff Edie bag
• 30 ways to wear a neon pink bag: Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAC
• 30 ways to wear Balenciaga city bag in sorbet pink
• 30 ways to wear navy Rebecca Minkoff Regan tote bag
• 30 ways to wear a red bag: Rebecca Minkoff Micro Avery
• 30 ways to wear red Balenciaga velo bag
• 30 ways to wear a grey Rebecca Minkoff MAM bag
• 30 ways to wear mustard yellow Rebecca Minkoff bag
• 30 ways to wear a red Rebecca Minkoff saddle bag
• 30 ways to wear Louis Vuitton Neverfull tote
• 30 ways to wear Rebecca Minkoff Love bag
• 30 ways to wear Balenciaga black Part Time bag
• 30 ways to wear Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAB Tote in plum purple
• 30 ways to wear Chloe Marcie Hobo Bag
• 30 ways to wear brown Balenciaga Day hobo bag
• 30 ways to wear purple Balenciaga Work Bag
• 30 ways to wear navy Rebecca Minkoff medium MAB tote bag

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The Magnificent 8

The Magnificent 8 is a collaboration of 8 stylish women, ranging in age from early 20’s to early 80’s. The mission of this collaboration is to showcase how ageless style is. There are no age restrictions on style. So wear what you want, when you want, add a smile, and strut your style with confidence. And be sure to check out all 7 of these other amazing ladies!

• Grace of Graceful Rags
• Mica of Away from the Blue
• Roxanne of Glass of Glam
• Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge
• Rena of Fine Whatever
• Eugenia of Age of Grace 
• Lesley of Jodie’s Touch of Style 
• Charlotte of Jodie’s Touch of Style

Every quarter, the group chooses a theme and each create an outfit that suits our own personal tastes and fashion choices. We post them on the last Wednesday of every third month. Check out everyone’s posts with the links above for style inspiration at any age as they show you their magenta outfits!

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30 Ways To Wear: Balenciaga Day Bag In Truffle Brown

The end of another month, and a new 30 ways to wear post! This month I'm featuring another bag, my Balenciaga truffle brown day bag.

With this monthly series, I pick a piece from my wardrobe I've worn over 30 times and go back through my blog archives to show you some of the ways I've worn it.

30 Ways To Wear Balenciaga Truffle Brown Day Bag

Cost Per Wear

I bought this bag back in August 2015 from Designer Archives consignment store in Brisbane, so of course I've worn it more than 30 times in the 3 and a half years I've had it. Still looks just as good as the day I bought it too!
This was a complete impulse buy, I'd taken some other handbags in to consign and seen this bag and just had to get it - it's the same as the day bag my bestie has, so it reminds me of her! I paid $900 for it so it works out at $25 per wear so far. Not as low as some items of clothing I've calculated cost per wear on but pretty good for such an expensive bag! It's not been worn as much as my other Balenciaga day bags, but it is one of the most recently purchased ones.

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30 Ways To Wear Balenciaga Day Bag: Video Style

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Balenciaga Brown Day Bag With Colourful Outfit

Unsurprisingly, this neutral brown bag works great with colourful outfits! From a colourblocking blue and green outfit to a more subtle burst of colour like a pink blazer or cobalt jacket, this brown bag is such a good neutral to add to any colourful outfit. It's a good go-to bag when I'm not sure what colour would work!

Balenciaga Day Bag With Flares

While I do love my skinny jeans, I do have a single solitary pair of flared jeans. And I bought this bag around the time I aggravated my old knee injury in a bus accident. The flared jeans were the only ones I could fit my compression bandage underneath, so they and the bag were frequently worn. This bag does look great with other styles of jeans, but I wanted to call out how well the slouchy hobo style works with flared jeans and make it it's own category.

Balenciaga Brown Day Bag With Green

I was surprised to see when I looked back on the pictures that this brown bag has been worn so much with green! An olive tank, emerald green pants or even olive pants, this brown bag compliments the shades of green so nicely. I'm trying to get outside my comfort zone and wear green more often, so I'm mainly wearing it with neutrals. A no-fuss neutral bag like this is heavily relied on to go with anything green in my outfit.

Balenciaga Day Bag With Matching Boots

The old 'match your shoes to your bag' fashion rule is one that is rarely followed now, and one I certainly don't wear a lot. Partly because my handbag collection is a lot more colourful than my shoe collection! While not a perfect match, the truffle brown Balenciaga day bag is such a similar shade to these Chelsea boots that I can't resist a little matchy-matchy by pairing them together.

Balenciaga Brown Day Bag In The Office

A slouchy hobo style bag might not be your first choice for office wear, but a big bag like this is just what I need to take everything into the office. It's comfortable even when full and a neutral shade means it stands out less than a similar style in a brighter colour, making it a good casual bag to try in a formal office environment. It helps that my office is a business casual one too so it fits in nicely with my dress code.

Balenciaga Day Bag In Pregnancy

If you've seen this 30 wears series before, you'll know I can never resist including my baby bump pics in the wrap up! When I had a little girls weekend away in Melbourne during my second trimester, I picked this bag to bring with me. The neutral colour worked with all of my outfits and it held everything I needed (scarf and water bottle) to tackle the varying Melbourne temperatures. Plus these pregnancy photos illustrate so well that if you invest in accessories you can wear them no matter what changes your body has!

Balenciaga Day Bag in Summer

I've worn a lot of layered and cold weather outfits above as this brown bag is a perfect choice in autumn and winter, but I wanted to include these pics too to show you that it works year-round. I'm not one of those people who thinks you need to restrict handbags to particular seasons, and a brown bag works in spring and summer as well as it does in autumn and winter

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Where To Buy The Balenciaga Day Bag

You can also try pre-loved sites that guarantee authenticity like The Real Real, Vestiaire Collective and Fashionphile.

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More Posts in The #30 Wears Handbag Series:

If you're looking for more outfit inspiration with this bag, you can see all 30+ ways I've worn it in my blog archives. I've included some links to other handbag related 30 wears posts below too. You can find the full post series by clicking here.

• 30 ways to wear red Balenciaga velo bag
• 30 ways to wear a grey Rebecca Minkoff MAM bag
• 30 ways to wear mustard yellow Rebecca Minkoff bag
• 30 ways to wear a red Rebecca Minkoff saddle bag
• 30 ways to wear Louis Vuitton Neverfull tote
• 30 ways to wear Rebecca Minkoff Love bag
• 30 ways to wear Balenciaga black Part Time bag
• 30 ways to wear Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAB Tote in plum purple
• 30 ways to wear Chloe Marcie Hobo Bag

Linking up with Oh Hey Girl, Effortlessly Sophisticated, Fashion Files, Trendy Thursday, Fancy Friday, Friday Faves, Lizzie in Lace.

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Handbags and Strollers: The Easy Hack for Any Brand! Baby Jogger, Bugaboo, Steelcraft etc

If you've read my blog for any amount of time you'll know that I love my handbags! Despite having a toddler, infant, dog, stroller and baby bag, I'm still using and and carrying my bags. After a few months of just using the baby bag when my eldest son was born, I figured out how easy it is to carry a handbag with a simple hack for any stroller!

Picking a stroller can be difficult. You might know you want one of the many baby strollers by baby jogger because a friend recommended them, or you might have seen a celeb with a Bugaboo or maybe you've come across a Steelcraft on sale. When trying to pick one you need to consider weight, ease of use, accessories, lifespan...there's a lot!

The Australian government has a stroller buying guide that's really helpful. Here's what helped us narrow down the options:

• Price - we started with a budget in mind
• Weight - there is everything from lightweight to heavier than a toddler strollers
• Ease of use - something foolproof to put up and down
• Size - we needed a stroller that would fit in the car boot
• Compatibility - we wanted a travel system so we looked for a stroller and travel capsule pack
• Safety - as the stroller came with a baby capsule we checked the government ratings to find a safe one
• Functionality - the ability to add another seat for a second baby and being able to change the direction the seat faced in were extra functions we liked.

I'm really happy with our Steelcraft Strider Compact stroller, but the one thing that I didn't think about when buying it was my handbags.

Having a baby doesn't mean you need to give up your handbags though. You know I have a lot of bags I wanted to use! I did think about how I'd juggle everything (baby, stroller, dog and baby bag) and figured I might just use my Rebecca Minkoff mini MAC bags for a while as they slide nicely into the pockets on our baby bag.

I really needed an extra set of hands if I wanted to carry a bigger handbag with my things in it when we went out though. Throwing it into the base of the stroller was tricky get to when I was babywearing, and not all my handbags fit nicely into the baby bag or could be worn cross-body. When baby T was a few months old I found the solution to my problem.

All you need is a bag hook! It can be as simple as a carabiner or a specifically designed hook for your brand of stroller. Since I spent a few dollars on one it's made it easier to have my handbag with me when I'm out with the boys. When baby boy was born earlier this year, I kept on using and enjoying my handbags as I had that handy little hook!


It's the plastic clip you can see on the stroller handle in some of my pics. Such a simple solution, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who hadn't heard of it before. I get a few comments now and then from people wondering how I use more than just a baby bag with two boys. That little plastic hook on the stroller is my secret!

If you're a mum, how you carry your things? Only wear cross-body bags? Put what you need in the baby bag? Did you think about it when buying a stroller?

This post was created in partnership with Diapers.com. Occasionally, Away From The Blue blog may receive vendor or brand sponsorships for mentioning their products or services. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own.

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Ways to Wear JORD Wood Watches and a Giveaway

If you've read my blog for a while you might remember last year when I was given my first JORD wood watch. It became a firm favourite to wear to the office as glancing at your watch in a long meeting is a lot politer than pulling out your phone to check the time!

JORD kindly gifted me another beautiful watch. I was excited to start wearing a watch again, hoping it would help keep me on time for things. Really it's just become another way for me to see how late we are running! Typical of life with two under 3 I think. As well as a review, I wanted to show you some of the different ways I've worn the women's wood watches I'm lucky enough to own.

I picked the Cora watch as it's a little more dainty than the unisex Fieldcrest watch I have. I was also really intrigued by the purpleheart wood, which looks lovely with the mother of pearl face. As well as the little cut-out detail on the face to see the inner workings of the watch, the back of the face is clear so you can see all the cogs moving around inside which is fascinating - especially to a toddler!

Being a wood watch, it's splash-proof but not waterproof. It means I can wear it through all the constant hand washing that comes along with two boys still in nappies, although I do have to take it off when washing the dishes or showering. It handles stay at home mum duties perfectly. My Fieldcrest watch has held up to a year and a half of use and over 30 wears. It's also been tough enough to cope with being pulled off the bedside table and worn by the toddler more times than I can count, so I'm confident this Cora watch will last as well.

The ordering process was a little different this time around than last time. When you pick your wood watch, you can specify the size of your wrist and get it custom sized for you right out of the box. I used this feature, it's cheaper than getting the band changed at my local watch repair place and it fits perfectly. Being petite with tiny wrists and not always being able to find things to fit me properly, I appreciated this extra service.

The only downside I can find with this watch is that it's an automatic one, so it doesn't use a battery. This means if you get over excited and don't read the manual (guilty!) you won't wind the watch enough when you first set the time and you'll be confused the next day when it stops ticking. Once you read the manual and follow the instructions to properly setup the watch, you won't have any problems and the watch will keep the right time.

Just like my first experience with JORD watches, I was impressed with the speedy shipping time from the US to Australia and the absolutely beautiful presentation. I shared my delight at opening the box on my insta story. These wood watches make great gifts! They are so unique.

If you are inspired by the different ways I've worn my watches or have someone in mind to gift one to, you'll love this generous giveaway! Just by entering you'll get a little something and one lucky winner will get a $100 e-gift voucher. As this is my second wood watch from JORD, I'd be happy to help answer any questions you have about them in the comments too.


Click here for a $20 off code for JORD wood watches and a chance to win a $100 e-gift voucher!



Note: giveaway ends on 26th September. Giveaway is administrated by JORD for Away From Blue readers. I am simply promoting it through my blog. E-gift codes are automatically emailed to entrants. It is open world wide as JORD ships internationally and everyone who is reading here can enter.

This post was sponsored by JORD wood watches. As always, opinions and views expressed on this blog are my own.


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Monthly Purchases: January and February

While I'm keeping track of everything I buy through the blog, I thought I'd expand a little further.

Instead of just sharing what I've bought, and having the goal of wearing it twice in a month after buying it, I thought I'd do a wrap up and show how each purchase was worn.

Let me know if you find these kinds of posts interesting!



I didn't buy anything in February, and ended up doing a no buy month / Frugal Feb with Kiki from According to Kiki. Partly because the third trimester is not the time to be buying any new clothes. Nothing fits! As can be seen by the one-off wears of a couple of non-maternity pieces I bought.

What I bought in January:

How I wore my purchases over January and February:

• Jeanswest Carla Maternity Cut out tank (non-maternity version) (worn 6 times)
• Jeanswest Sol Maternity jacquard tank (worn 4 times)
• Jeanswest Florence print long line tank (worn once)
• Balenciaga Day bag in 2005 magenta (worn 12 times)
• Cotton On 'Gemma' cocoon kimono in Laos blossom navy print (worn 4 times)
• Slim gold Havaianas (worn 10 times)
• Be Free maternity/nursing bras - worn countless times, but never visible on the blog.
• Atmos&Here Betsy jersey wrap dress in watercolour print (worn 3 times)
• Atmos & Here Arlene wrap top in navy (worn once)

The Balenciaga day bag I bought has had the most wear, which is good since it took up most of the budget!

Click on image to enlarge

You can see my third trimester capsule wardrobe starting to come through with this wrap up of photos - I'm sticking to just a handful of pieces that still fit the baby bump at the moment!


Overall I'm pretty pleased with how well I've used the things I bought last month, although I did expect to get more than one wear each out of the non-maternity tops I bought, the baby bump just grew too quickly. Both pieces will get lots of wear post-baby.




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