I started the year off being a very low spend year, with just a little thrift haul back in February. But then I saw something I just had to have and I made a pretty big splurge!
It's taken me a while to get this video and post together - I had the bag for a while before I did the video, as I explained. It has been a very hectic few weeks, as I bid on this all the way back in March! But better late than never. Once I fixed up that major issue it had with a lot of patience, I've been enjoying and using this bag fairly often recently and it was definitely due a post!
A few years ago I bought the Chloe Marcie hobo in this same colour, and sold it. At the time I wasn't using it much and didn't use hobo bags often for life with baby, so I figured I'd let some impractical bags go. But every now and then I regretted selling the hobo bag. I kept browsing for Marcie bags, thinking a shoulder bag would work better, and just waiting for an excuse to make the splurge! Some exciting happenings at work (I've mentioned before on the blog a few extra rewards I've earned) and a timely auction on eBay resulted in me taking the plunge and getting this bag I'd wanted for a while.
How I've Worn It:
Having owned this colour in a similar style before I knew this would work well in my wardrobe! And if I ever run out of ideas for how to wear it I can refer back to my 30 ways to wear post with the Marcie hobo style!
How I'm Tracking With My Fashion Budget:
As you heard in the video, I got caught up in a bidding war on this and did not want to lose! As well as forgetting to factor in the import charges and GST (as it was an overseas auction) and credit card conversion rates for foreign transactions... I have definitely spent more than I did last year!
I feel a little bad to have spent more in 2022 in the first half of the year than I did in the whole of 2021, but I'm also really pleased to have this bag. And at almost a third of the retail price, it wasn't overly expensive for a Chloe Marcie bag in such great condition. Plus, everyone needs to indulge now and then!
A new 30 ways to wear post, as well as a review of what I bought last year and my fashion budget for 2019!
I love handbags, and I have a lot of them! But I frequently sell some to have funds towards something else I want more. This Chloe Marcie hobo bag was a bag I loved, but rationalised I didn't wear as much as my Balenciaga day hobo bag, so I decided to let it go. I did hit 30 wears before I sold it, so I've dug through the blog archives for some older photos of my wearing it. I wonder if I'll cringe as much looking back at outfit pics now in a few years as much as I am looking back on these pics now? 😂
30 Ways To Wear: Chloe Marcie Hobo Bag In Nut
Like many of my bags that I've now sold, I find this tricky to calculate cost per wear on! I bought it at a Reebonz offline sale, after wanting it for a while. I got a really good deal on it, so much so that I managed to sell it for almost what I paid for it. So you could calculate cost per wear based on the price I paid, or take that price minus the amount I got when I sold it and calculate it on around the $100 difference. I'm never sure what to do in these cases.
Inability to calculate cost per wear aside, I'm happy with the use I got from this bag. It held up really well, still looking like new when it eventually left my wardrobe, and I was pleased to look back at these old pics and see that I had hit 30 wears with it. I do sometimes regret selling it, but I know it wouldn't have gotten much more wear if it stayed in my wardrobe longer!
Chloe Marcie Hobo Bag In Summer
The handle drop on this bag is quite large, especially as the leather of the bag sags down a bit when the bag is full. It makes it an easy bag to throw over your shoulder in summer as it doesn't feel too tight or irritating to wear. The neutral colour works with all kinds of summer brights too!
Chloe Marcie Hobo Bag With Winter Layers
Being a neutral brown, this 'nut' shade is perfect for adding to winter outfits. I've picked similarly coloured scarves to wear with the bag in each of these layered outfits, but you can see it would work well without any matching as it looks great with black winter layers!
Chloe Marcie Hobo In The Office
Printed dresses or pencil skirts, I found this Chloe Marcie bag worked so well for the office. Again making the most of the neutral shade I could wear it with brightly coloured or printed pieces, or just let it compliment a neutral outfit. It's a rather structured hobo shape so doesn't feel too casual for work.
Chloe Marcie Hobo Bag With Jeans
As you can see in these photos, before I gave up my blue jeans I used to wear them a lot! The Chloe Marcie bag just works so well with denim, it's an easy choice when wearing jeans. I wore it a lot with skirts and dresses as you've seen in the earlier photos, but it was still a go-to with jeans too. Really versatile bag.
Chloe Marcie Hobo With Printed Outfits
Because this 'nut' shade is a nice neutral colour, it made the bag my default neutral piece to wear with prints. Something like a printed dress, or just a little print like a skirt or top, the hobo bag works nicely with all different prints and colours.
Chloe Marcie Hobo Bag In Pregnancy
Despite only having this bag during my pregnancy with my eldest boy, it was worn enough times for me to be able to include it as a category here in my wrap up. You know I love looking back at my bump pics when doing these posts! I wore the bag a few times in the second and third trimester as you can see. It isn't a heavy bag so was nice to wear during pregnancy, the braided strap is really comfortable on the shoulder.
What's In My Bag: Chloe Marcie Medium Hobo Bag In Nut
Where To Buy:
This hobo style of Marcie has been discontinued, but there are still some places you can buy second hand! All the bags above come with authenticity guarantees even though they are preloved.
I totalled it up, I bought 30 fashion items (clothing and accessories) in 2018. In 2017 I spent $1,696.53, my goal in 2018 was to spend less than that. I achieved that as I spent $1,014.44 if you include gift cards, which works out to $84.54 a month. If you don't include gift card spend, I only spent $664.44. I'm really pleased with the figures and that I met my goal!
I also continued to work on this 30 wears challenge! Every month I have to find something in my wardrobe I've worn 30 times or more to make these posts. This makes me focus more on ways I can rewear things I already own and makes me less likely to turn to a store for inspiration when looking or something to wear. Looking through my blog archives for ways I've worn things before often gives me ideas of things to try from past outfits!
My Goals For 2019
Same as last year, my goal for this year will be to spend less than I did last year. To make things easy on myself, I'll include the gift card spend. So 2019 will be the year of spending less (again), rewearing more, and hoping I don't go over my $1,014.44 budget! Wish me luck!
