Weekday Wear Link Up: Tiered Kmart Dresses and Clutch Bags

Enjoying the last warm days of summer back in February when I wore these, wearing some Kmart tiered dresses with some clutch bags. One a more dressy outfit for the Lunar New year, the other a more casual one for a day with my sister.

What I wore:

Earrings: Piper gold heart earrings
Necklace: Polka Luka Paradiso triple strand resin necklace transparent cobalt
Dress: Kmart Tropicana sleeveless tiered maxi dress
Shoes: Novo Tawny rose gold sandals
Bracelets: the usual plus Disney Couture Winnie the Pooh bangle
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Leo envelope clutch in champagne gold 

Why I wore it:

While it's traditional to wear something new and add a bit of red and gold for Lunar new year, I'd worn all my new clothes I got for Christmas or bought in January, so I went with all old favourite, this Kmart coral coloured floral print tiered maxi dress. Trying to get it closer to 30 wears, it's at 27 already. Not bad for a $25 Kmart buy, already under $1 a wear. While the dress wasn't new, the necklace was! I got it from my bestie for Christmas and I knew I wanted to wear it with this dress, it's such a good pairing for its first wear.

I wore my rose gold sandals and my champagne Rebecca Minkoff Leo clutch for a little touch of gold with my outfit - not that I really needed the clutch to go to the in laws for our traditional banquet, as we had the kids things in their usual backpack and I could have put my stuff in there. It just helped the outfit feel a little more dressed up to have a clutch. The red nail polish is the only touch of red in my outfit.

Last worn: heart earrings, Kmart floral tiered maxi dress, gold sandals, Rebecca Minkoff Leo envelope clutch in champagne gold. First time I've worn the necklace as it was a Christmas gift.

Other ways to wear: Kmart floral tiered maxi dress and jumper, gold sandals and shorts, Rebecca Minkoff Leo envelope clutch and mint dress.

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Picking A Bag For Every Occasion:

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What I wore:

Necklace: House of Harlow 5 station necklace in black and silver
Dress: Kmart short sleeve tiered jersey dress in Fuchsia
Shoes: Kmart white chunky platform sneakers
Bracelets: the usual plus Marc by Marc Jacobs enamel turnlock stripey hinge black and white bangle
Bag: thrifted Marc by Marc Jacobs Dr Q Convertible clutch in electric violet with Rebecca Minkoff Crystal Star Shoulder Guitar strap

Why I wore it:

This was a much more casual day so I tried to dress down this fuchsia pink Kmart tiered midi dress with my chunky Kmart platform sneakers I'd got the weekend before. Was also a good excuse to wear my newly thrifted purple bag, this Marc by Marc Jacobs convertible clutch in electric violet. I got so lucky to find an authentic designer bag at the opshop, really pleased! Had to wear my old Marc by Marc Jacobs enamel bracelet too, a little bit of brand matchy-matchy although it matches the black and white in the Rebecca Minkoff embellished shoulder strap too.

I really liked the tiered fuchsia midi dress with the purple bag, and this was just the right thing for a busy day - I was parent helper at my son's school in the morning, then afterwards I went to the library and playground with my sister and the little one before lunch and picking up my son from school in the afternoon before sports in the evening. It was such a hot day so this loose oversized dress was perfect. Not so perfect for going down the slides with my son but it was hilarious to try!


Last worn: Kmart tiered midi dress, House of Harlow necklace, Marc by Marc Jacobs enamel bracelet, Kmart chunky platform sneakers, Rebecca Minkoff guitar strap, Marc by Marc Jacobs Dr Q Convertible clutch.

Other ways to wear: Kmart tiered midi dress and teal bag, Kmart chunky platform sneakers and culottes, Rebecca Minkoff guitar strap on love bag, Marc by Marc Jacobs Dr Q Convertible clutch and shorts.

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How You Can Wear It:

A tiered dress is great for a hot day - and easy to dress up or down! With a pretty clutch bag for a family dinner, or add a strap to the clutch to wear it crossbody and put on some sneakers to make a tiered dress more casual.

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Weekday Wear Linkup #113

Welcome to the Weekday Wear linkup! A linkup for you to share your weekday outfits - whether that is office wear or stay at home mum wear - if you wore it on a weekday, you can link it up!

Guidelines:
1. Please link to a specific outfit post, not your blog homepage.
2. Link back to this post so others can find the link up.
3. Follow your host Away From The Blue on Bloglovin, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.
4. Add up to two posts and be sure to visit and comment on as many other posts as possible to get some weekday outfit inspiration!
Optional: tweet the post you linked up with the hashtag #weekdayWearLinkUp so I can retweet!

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Pink and Purple Tee Outfits With Navy Printed Culottes

Pink and purple shorts and tee outfits with some bright and colourful crossbody bags. Because I love wearing bright bags, even when I'm also wearing a colourful outfit! I love these navy culottes too and wore them in the previous post, they have been summer staples.

What I wore:

Necklace: ZuriCollections blue polymer clay necklace
Tee: Spectrum basic v-neck tee in washed lilac
Shorts: Kmart culotte short in navy lemon print
Shoes: thrifted Adidas Superstar sneakers
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Edie small crossbody bag in magenta

Why I wore it:

Wore this to be extra colourful on a pretty standard school run and work from home day. I had to log out a little early to take my son to an appointment in the afternoon too. With a lot of driving and running around, the Adidas superstar shoes were so comfortable!

The lemon myrtle print on these Kmart navy culottes has yellow, pastel pink and blue in the print, but no purple. I still thought that this lilac tee would be a good pairing with them, it goes so well even if it doesn't match the print at all.

The magenta Rebecca Minkoff Edie bag was a fun pop of colour with the navy and lilac too - and since I didn't have to carry much in my bag on this day it was the perfect size. Just enough space for phone, wallet, keys and hand sanitiser.

Last worn: lilac v-neck tee, statement beaded necklace, Kmart navy printed culotte shorts, Adidas Superstar, Rebecca Minkoff Edie.

Other ways to wear: lilac v-neck tee and maxi skirt, Kmart navy printed culotte shorts with pink, Adidas Superstar and midi dress, Rebecca Minkoff Edie and striped dress.

Perfect for pregnancy: lilac v-neck tee in second trimester.

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More Ways To Wear Bright Bags:

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What I wore:

Necklace: Tiffany & Co silver 5th Avenue notes heart pendant necklace
Tee: Jeanswest Ruby frill sleeve tee in fuchsia
Shorts: Jeanswest Valerie yarn dye stripe short in navy and white
Shoes: Kmart white chunky platform sneakers (new purchase)
Bracelets: the usual plus Cora purpleheart and mother of pearl watch c/o JORD
Bag: thrifted Marc by Marc Jacobs Dr Q Convertible clutch in electric violet (new purchase) with Rebecca Minkoff Crystal Star Shoulder Guitar strap

Why I wore it:

This was a fun Sunday! We headed out to the playground a little early to try beat the heat and chilled in the aircon at home afterwards. This fuchsia pink frill sleeve tee hasn't been worn in a while and I was curious to see how my newly thrifted Marc By Marc Jacobs bag would look with it - it's a very purple toned magenta but it looks almost burgundy against the fuchsia tee! I liked the combination though and I went with the neutral navy striped culottes to balance out the bright bag and tee together. The Kmart chunky platform sneakers were another recent purchase too, at just $2!

This Marc By Marc Jacobs convertible clutch is supposed to be a shoulder bag - it comes with a shoulder strap, but being a mum and preferring crossbody bags I knew it would be great for that too. I had this Rebecca Minkoff embellished guitar strap that hadn't been used for a while and it makes the bag a perfect length to wear crossbody! Even if the bright tee and the embellished strap felt a little overdressed for a quiet Sunday at the playground, I still thought it was a fun outfit.

Last worn: pink frill sleeve tee, Tiffany heart necklace, navy stripe culotte shorts, Rebecca Minkoff studded guitar strap. First time I've worn the sneakers and the bag as they are a recent purchase.

Other ways to wear: pink frill sleeve tee and maxi skirt, navy stripe culotte shorts in monochrome outfit, Rebecca Minkoff studded guitar strap and grey bag.

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How You Can Wear It:

Pink, purple and navy are a great combination of colours to wear together! You can go really small by adding a colourful bag to your outfit for a third colour in the combo, or bigger and bolder with a pink or purple block colour tee and navy shorts.

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Dresses With Statement Necklaces and Marc By Marc Jacobs Fran Bag

Two very different days but very similar outfit formulas! Accessorising some simple summer dresses with statement necklaces and my Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag.

What I wore:

Earrings: Piper gold heart earrings
Necklace: thrifted gold and cream multi strand pearl necklace
Dress: Kmart short sleeve tiered jersey midi dress in amber 
Shoes:  Novo Tawny rose gold sandals
Bracelets: the usual plus Ferragamo double wrap bracelet
Bag: Marc By Marc Jacobs Classic Q Fran bag with gold hardware in carob brown

Why I wore it:

Wore this to go out Christmas shopping with my sister. After we had a frustrating and unproductive day the week before we were determined to get more done on this day! I dressed comfortably with this tiered midi dress that is so good in the heat and the statement necklace to dress it up a bit. The Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag was perfect for water bottles and snacks for my son too. 

Sadly my necklace snapped twice during the day. I thrifted it for $2 a while back and I love it so I'm sad it broke! Luckily I was able to hastily repair it, so although it's no longer as long as it was here, now I can hopefully continue to get some wear from it. Necklace issues aside, it was a really fun and productive day. We managed.to fill an trolley with our shopping and cross quite a few more gifts off our list. Made up for the bad day the previous time we tried!

Couldn't resist going a little matchy-matchy with this brown Ferragamo wrap bracelet that compliments the carob brown colour of the Marc Jacobs Fran bag nicely, and the gold sandals.

Last worn: gold heart earrings, statement necklace, Ferragamo wrap bracelet, amber tiered midi dress, rose gold sandals, Marc By Marc Jacobs Fran bag.

Other ways to wear: amber tiered midi dress worn two ways, rose gold sandals and shorts, Marc By Marc Jacobs Fran bag in the office.

Perfect for pregnancy: Marc By Marc Jacobs Fran bag in third trimester.

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What's In My Bag: Marc By Marc Jacobs Fran Bag

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What I wore:

Necklace: thrifted cream and navy statement flat bead necklace
Dress: Asos grey skater dress
Shoes: slim navy and pink Havaianas
Bracelets: the usual plus teal Polka Luka resin bangle
Bag: Marc By Marc Jacobs Classic Q Fran bag with gold hardware in carob brown

Why I wore it:

This was not as fun a day as the shopping one above 😂 Spent the day working from home before logging off early to take my son to an appointment in the afternoon.

Another hot day so I went for this simple plain skater dress, again with a thrifted statement necklace. This one didn't break thankfully! Decided to wear one of my new resin bangles although the teal doesn't quite match the navy on the necklace. It's part of a set I got for Christmas from my bestie. Again I stuck with the big Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag as I used the larger size to put some books in there to amuse my son while we waited in the car park for the doctor to call us in. I don't mind this new way of avoiding waiting rooms that has arisen from the virus social distancing restrictions capping the number of people in rooms, the seats in the car are much more comfortable!

It was too hot to consider anything other than my Havaianas although I'm aware that proper shoes would have went better with this outfit - kind of a mix of styles here! Was comfortable for a busy day though.

Last worn: two tone statement necklace, ASOS grey skater dress, Havaianas, Marc By Marc Jacobs Fran bag (above).

Other ways to wear: ASOS grey skater dress worn two ways, Marc By Marc Jacobs Fran bag and printed skirt.

Perfect for pregnancy: ASOS grey skater dress in second trimester, Marc By Marc Jacobs Fran bag at 40 weeks.

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How You Can Wear It:

A plain, block colour dress is a great outfit base for a statement accessory or two! A bold statement necklace works well with a block colour dress of any length as you can see in these outfits.

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Handbag Lover's Gift Guide For 2020!

It's that time of year again, where blogs turn into gift guides! Each year I publish this one gift guide: the perfect gift guide for a handbag lover, no matter your budget! This year, because it's 2020, I've added a little bit at the end for ways you can support some local Aussie businesses too. I try to pick pieces that will ship internationally, but I'm sure you will understand that the local section may only ship within Australia.

So, if you're looking for the perfect gift for a bag loving friend or relative, or just a little bit of bag-candy, this is the gift guide for you!

Spectacular Splurge-Worthy Spoils

These bags are $500+ and above - not the kind of thing you would give to a casual acquaintance, but certainly something special for someone close. Wives, girlfriends, mums, sisters - if you have the cash to splash you can't go wrong with something from this list! Sticking with classic styles and neutral colours is always a good idea, especially if you're not entirely sure what their preferred colour bag would be. Probably something to be 100% sure that you know they are after before investing so heavily in this section though!

Modest Mid-Range Designer Choices

At $100-$250 you can look at bags from their favourite contemporary designers, or maybe even a SLG (small leather good) from a luxury brand. There are so many options at this price point to choose from, this budget doesn't limit you but lets you get creative with how you want to spend. Think wallets, clutches, card holders, wallet on chain bags, wristlets... You can give them an accessory from a brand of their dreams or their perfect bag from their favourite contemporary designer. Mine being Rebecca Minkoff of course!

Bargain Bag Finds

Got less than $100 to spend? No worries! Think of ways they can accessorise bags they already have - keychains and bag charms are a good way to go, or a skinny silk scarf to tie in a bow on a bag or wrap around bag handles. See my video for more ways to accessorise a bag! What about a little pouch or wristlet they can use to keep things safe in their bag? Or a gift card to help them purchase the bag of their dreams they have been saving for? You can even hit up sites like ASOS for high street versions of designer styles, without the high price tags.

No matter the budget you have set aside, remember that the Thanksgiving Black Friday sales in the US will be starting soon, and other countries are starting to follow with similar sales. That bag that may have been out of your budget before might be a much more attractive price now or in the days to come, so get adding to cart in preparation for the sales!

Shopbop have up to 50% off designer bags, and you can get an extra 30% off at Rebecca Minkoff with code 'TAKE30' on orders over $150.

A Little Something For Yourself?

All that shopping for other people can lead to a little splurge or two on yourself! The categories above are good for gifts as you get the "new bag" experience with all the wrapping and boxes and that new bag smell! But if you're looking for a bag for you, why not try the preloved market? Easier on the wallet and the environment! Sites like Fashionphile, Yoogi's Closet, Bag Mad Boutique, Vestiaire Collective make it easy to snap up an authenticated designer bag at a bargain price - just be sure to review all the pictures and description carefully so you know what to expect with the condition. eBay is an option too, but I highly suggest using an authentication service like Authenticate First before buying anything designer from eBay.

Shop Local

There are so many local businesses who would really appreciate your support this Christmas. In the sprit of shopping small and supporting local that's so needed for  2020, I wanted to share some. While they are certainly not all bag based they have a lot of great gift ideas to surprise, spoil or entertain your loved ones this Christmas.

For The Little Ones:

• Little Birdie Books (get 15% off with code 'TOPKNOT') 
• Keeping Kids Busy (get 15% off with code 'BLACKFRIDAY')
• Kids Craft Box

For The Grown Ups:

• Yondale Designs - beautiful silver jewellery that will be treasured for years to come (I have two cuffs I adore from this company that I never remove from my wrist)
• Handbags on Etsy - you can filter for the perfect gift from your country, state or city!
• Katherine By Katherine - vegan friendly handbags and accessories, made in Brisbane!
• Fashion Scarf Girl - another Queensland mum, with multi-buy scarf discounts! (I have been a brand rep for this company in the past and I have also bought a lot of her scarves with my own money!)

Have fun shopping and finding that something special to bring yourself or someone you love a little bit of joy this year!

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