Showing posts with label New Purchases. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Purchases. Show all posts

Wednesday 1 November 2023

What I Bought In October & How I've Worn It: More Opshop Finds!

After not buying anything in September, I was back to my opshopping habit in October, and bought a few pieces. Some impulse buys, but also some pieces I'd been thinking about for a while, so a mix of purchases!


What I Bought This Month:









Why I Bought It:

As I mentioned above, I've been visiting the opshop a bit recently, as the declutter continues at home. I'm also heading there first rather than heading to the retail stores when the kids need things, like special dress up things for events at school. And I can never resist browsing for myself! The maxi dress was a complete impulse buy for sure, as I have so many dresses already, but the others were a bit more thought out.


Crossing Items Off My 'Maybe One Day' Wish List

It was one of those trips focusing on things for the kids after donating a few items that I stumbled across this amazing Stella McCartney Falabella bag. I could not believe that it was authentic, and just $30. Such a lucky find! Especially as I've been searching now and then for a Falabella online, always wanted to try one! I'm thrilled with this splurge, hidden away in the corner of the opshop.

I also scored a cute leopard print midi skirt that's really more of a maxi on me, that is similar to one I tried on and regretted not buying in Target a while back. Very pleased with this as I've been keeping an eye out for a similar skirt for a while!

The one thing I didn't get to see in person before buying, the Nobody Denim shorts, were an ebay purchase, such a bargain for that brand. I'd been watching the listing for a while and eventually decided to go for it. However I didn't check the measurements and they are a bit shorter than I'd normally wear. Perfect for the hot almost summer-like spring days we have been having though!


Focusing On Basics:

With the multiple visits to the opshop, there have of course been multiple purchases! I've been focusing on being selective and adding more basics to my wardrobe after my big declutter though. So I picked up a few basic tees that are perfect for the mix of life right now with a few office days, a few working from home days, and relaxed weekends. 





How I've Worn It:





A last minute opshop dash for another school event that crept up on me and needed a themed outfit for the kids meant a little browse at some of the women's clothes on my way out, and I stumbled across even more tees. And just ran out of time to wear them all this month! Everything has been worn once though and I know the tees that haven't been worn twice will easily achieve that goal in the 4 weeks after buying it, as I aim for with everything I buy.


The Stella McCartney Falabella bag was definitely the most worn purchase of the month, at 8 wears.




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Monday 19 June 2023

Navy Stripe Shift Dresses, Boots and Suede Maxi Edie Crossbody Bag | Weekday Wear Link Up

For today's Weekday Wear Link Up, getting out my long sleeved navy stripe dresses again and layering them up a little for the cooler weather. Accessorising both outfits with my latest bag buy, this preloved Rebecca Minkoff maxi Edie crossbody.


What I wore:


Rebecca Minkoff quilted maxi Edie crossbody in Porcini brown suede


JacketWitchery black belted moto leather jacket
Necklace: Gold beaded statement multi strand necklace
Dress: thrifted Kmart white and navy long sleeve stripe tee dress
ShoesAsos Cleo leather boots in tan
BagRebecca Minkoff quilted maxi Edie crossbody in Porcini brown suede


Why I wore it:

It was another really cold morning when I wore this for the school run and working from home. I'd planned to wear this white striped tee dress with sneakers, but realised that morning I needed extra layers, so added this Witchery leather jacket (a recent Gladrags market find) and my tall leather boots to try keep me cosy. Also went big on the accessories for a bit of fun, with this chunky gold statement necklace matching the chunky chain on the Rebecca Minkoff suede maxi Edie bag well in terms of chunkiness. Even if they are different shades of gold I thought they complimented each other nicely.


Last worn: Witchery belted leather jacket, white and navy striped shift dress, tall leather boots. First time I've worn the gold statement necklace and Rebecca Minkoff suede maxi Edie bag as they are recent purchases.

Other ways to wearWitchery belted leather jacket and skirt, white and navy striped shift dress with pinktall leather boots worn 30 ways.




Rebecca Minkoff Suede Maxi Edie Reveal:






What I wore:



JacketJeanswest grey jersey blazer
Necklace: Red multi strand beaded statement necklace
DressAtmos&Here navy stripe tee dress 
Shoes: RMK Chester black ankle boots
Bracelets: the usual
BagRebecca Minkoff quilted maxi Edie crossbody in Porcini brown suede


Why I wore it:

Same outfit formula with the statement necklace, boots, and a navy striped shift dress, I just wore this into the office. Finally caved and pulled out my fleece tights for a cold winter morning! With them and my ankle boots I felt warm enough with just a grey blazer on top. The blazer made the outfit feel a little more office friendly. I liked the pop of red from the necklace with the neutral grey and navy too.

Again I wore my suede maxi Edie bag, I love it! Even though I don't need to carry much to work I've been enjoying wearing this new-to-me bag lately.


Last worn: grey jersey blazer, navy stripe tee dress, black ankle boots, Rebecca Minkoff suede maxi Edie (above). First time I've worn the red necklace as it was a recent purchase.

Other ways to weargrey jersey blazer and floral dress, navy stripe tee dress and leather jacketblack ankle boots worn 30 ways.

Perfect for pregnancynavy stripe tee dress in second trimesterblack ankle boots in second trimester.


Weekday Wear Linkup #225


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 BloglovinInstagramTwitterFacebook 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!


Subscribe for The Weekday Wear Linkup reminder emails





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Friday 2 June 2023

What I Bought In May & How I've Worn It: Preloved Purchases

After not buying anything for my wardrobe in January and February, I have been impulse buying a lot these past few months! Picked up some things in March and April, and now I've tripled what I spent over both those months with my latest buys in May!


What I Bought:





Why I Bought It:

Everything except the bag was purchased at Gladrags markets. It was a cold morning so I did a few laps around the market to keep warm, instead of sitting in my stall all the time. I ended up chatting to some of the other stall holders and making a few too good to pass up buys. Still made more than I spent, so a good day, and I got some incredible bargains too!

The handbag was an impulse buy as well - I've been looking at this style when it goes on sale quite often on the Rebecca Minkoff site, but even the sale prices didn't drop enough to make me buy. When I stumbled across this on eBay, ticking off a style I wanted to try, and a fabric I wanted to try (I don't have any suede bags in my wardrobe), I knew this was a keeper!


How I've Worn It:



Gladrags Markets was at the end of May, so I haven't had as many opportunities as I'd like to wear everything I bought. Even if it takes me a few days longer to hit my goals of wearing everything I buy twice in the month I bought it though, I've managed to wear everything at least once which is awesome.

The leather jacket was a very timely buy with our record breaking cold temps at the end of autumn - it's kept me very cosy! And I've managed to wear the bag 3 times too.



I can definitely see I've been increasing my spending since the start of the year. With that stall at Gladrags markets I'm being a bit more critical with my wardrobe, so that even if I haven't reached my 30 wear goal with some pieces, I'm creating a wardrobe full of things I love to wear and letting those that don't work for me go on to new homes. And it's so much fun seeing who your pieces go home with when you have a market stall!



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Friday 13 January 2023

What I Bought in December - Massive Opshop Haul!

I've previously shared my annual fashion spend and what I bought in 2022, but really wanted to make a post sharing my December purchases.

As usual, I'd finished my Christmas present shopping before December, so was ignoring all the pre-Christmas sales. Until I got the notification that my local opshop was finishing out the closing days of the year before Christmas with a "fill a bag for $10" sale.

This time it wasn't just clothes, it was anything in the store that you could fit into a bag, and you paid $10. If it didn't fit in the bag, it was just $1. The kids and I had a great time shopping - toys, puzzles, games and books for them, and a few new items of clothing for me!


What I Thrifted In December:



  • thrifted Kmart black and white embellished cover up
  • thrifted Kmart dusty rose cami (left out of video accidentally!)
  • thrifted No label chambray tie strap cami
  • thrifted Cotton On orange and white stripe The One crew neck tee
  • thrifted Forever 21 wine ribbed knit jumper
  • thrifted Valleygirl navy jersey blazer
  • thrifted Kmart rust button up linen blend skirt 2020
  • thrifted Kmart fuchsia linen blend shorts 2020
  • thrifted Kmart mustard linen blend pull on shorts

This whole haul was just $10! Everything works out to less than a dollar if you consider the things the kids got as well which I didn't include in the video. Such bargains!

I always aim to wear everything I buy within the month I buy it. It's something I started doing after having too many unworn pieces in my wardrobe during a clean out. It works pretty well and slows down my impulse buying, but I definitely threw that goal out when buying these pieces - I wasn't going to have enough days left in December to wear everything I bought, but I knew they'd get a lot of wear in 2023.


The only seasonal appropriate piece I haven't worn twice yet is the dusty rose cami - but January has been a bit of an unexpected one and I'll hopefully get to wear it tomorrow. The blazer and wine knit I will be able to enjoy when the weather cools.



Here's how I've worn it all so far:





I of course got a few things added to my wardrobe as Christmas presents too, like this dress, and this bag, so I'm excited for all the new outfit combinations I'll be able to wear for 2023! It's helped me ignore all the January sales, got so many new outfits I want to try from the pieces in my own wardrobe.





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Thursday 29 December 2022

What I Bought in 2022, and Fashion Resolutions For 2023

Just like last year and the year before, I'm looking back at all my fashion related purchases over the past 12 months. Seeing if I came under the spending goal I set myself in 2021, and how much I've been wearing all of the things I bought.


what i bought in 2022 fashion spend for the year style blogger awayfromblue


What I Bought & How Often I Wore It


It's always my goal to wear things twice in the month I purchase them. This stops me having items taking up space in my wardrobe unworn for weeks, and ensures I'm buying practical pieces that work for my current lifestyle. I don't always achieve that goal. Once again this year I went to the pre-Christmas sale at the opshop where I filled a bag of toys, clothes, books and games for just $10. It meant I had a lot of great value clothing items added to my wardrobe at under $1 each, but also sadly no time to wear them all with just a week and a half left in December! Giving myself a pass for that though, I know I will get a lot of wear from these pieces in the new year, just as I did with the pieces I picked up last year.


Opshop and Preloved Buys:

  • thrifted no brand navy grid print scarf - worn 3 times
  • thrifted Eb&Ive black wooden bead multi strand statement necklace - worn 5 times
  • thrifted Ghanda midi slink skirt in green mini blossom - worn 4 times
  • thrifted Kmart pastel soft culotte shorts in floral print - worn 3 times
  • thrifted Forever 21 wine ribbed knit jumper - 0 wears
  • thrifted Kmart dusty rose cami - worn once
  • thrifted Kmart black and white embellished cover up - worn once
  • thrifted Kmart rust button up linen blend skirt - worn once
  • thrifted Kmart fuchsia linen blend shorts - worn once
  • thrifted Kmart cumin linen blend pull on shorts - 0 wears
  • thrifted No label chambray tie strap cami - worn once
  • thrifted Cotton On orange and white stripe The One crew neck tee - worn once

Things Bought New:

  • Silver chain handbag strap - worn 3 times
  • Kmart long sleeve black tie neck dress in floral wisteria print - worn 4 times

The least worn were those late December opshop finds, naturally. Just not enough days left in December to wear them all when I bought them! I'm pleased to see I wore everything else a good number of times, and of course the Chloe Marcie bag was my most worn purchase of the year, which was fitting as it was such a big splurge!



Fashion Spend For 2022 - Under Budget!


This year was an interesting one, in terms of things I bought I don't think I've ever added so few items to my wardrobe in a year before! I only bought 18 things. All of them were preloved buys expect for 2. The floral Kmart dress I picked up in the store clearance sale, and I bought a new handbag strap as well. Everything else was an opshop (thrift store) find or a preloved find online. I'm really pleased I shopped second hand so much this year, it was one of my goals!

Although I didn't buy a lot I did have a few splurges in there, meaning that I spent more this year than last year. In 2021, I bought 26 items, and spent $580.63.

This year, I bought 18 items and spent $943.84.  Under my $,1000 budget and 36 item goal I set last year! And if you exclude the massive over $800 splurge on the Chloe Marcie bag, it would have been a very low spend year instead. Definitely felt like treating myself though, even if that one item took up most of my budget.



Fashion Resolutions for 2023


Much like last year, I have the same goals for my fashion spend in the year ahead:

  • Spend Less - $1,000 limit, but always trying to see how little I need to buy, and working on reducing impulse buys.
  • Shop Second Hand More - it would be good to have an entire year of nothing more than preloved additions to my wardrobe, although I'm certainly not going to turn down a retail sale bargain if I see it! Just like this year, having the majority of my fashion purchases being pre-loved will achieve this goal.
  • Buy Less - I bought under 20 items this year, would be good not to buy more than 20 next year!


Have you set yourself any goals or resolutions for your spending on fashion in the year ahead?



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Wednesday 6 October 2021

What I Bought In September (And How I've Worn It)

Sharing two things I bought in September - lucky opshop finds! No video this time, just some photos, as it was only two thrifted things.

What I Bought:




I couldn't resist picking these up at the opshop sale! We wandered in just for a little browse, with nothing in particular in mind to buy (although I was, as always, hoping to find a couple books for the kids and I). Nothing really appealed but I did see this cute little skirt hanging off the end of the rack when we passed the women's clothing section and for $1 I had to have it! I remember skirts like these being popular quite a while ago back in my uni days. Luckily, this one has a fully elasticated waist so I can wear on my hips and it doesn't feel too short. Not like the high waisted mini skirts I remember wearing when I was younger in the pre-blog days! Still just as fun to wear, just a little longer and so more practical for running around with the kids.

The necklace was another piece I just stumbled across - they have accessories right next to the registers and this designer inspired clover necklace from Mix Apparel was just $2, new with tags. I've gone to look up the website though and I can't see Mix Apparel any more or find out what happened to it (my local Coles store never sold it). For my non-Aussie followers it was a fashion brand you could buy in a supermarket here, not sure if you still can. For just $2 though it's a cute necklace!


How I've Worn It:




I really wasn't expecting to hit my "wear everything twice in the month I buy it" goal with this little ruffle skirt. But some summer like spring days after I bought this skirt gave me the opportunity to wear it almost right away! The necklace was an easy piece to hit that two wears in the month goal with too, I think it pairs nicely against plain block colour clothing pieces.



How I'm Tracking:

I was hoping as September was the last month of the Slow Fashion Season #FashionDetox to buy nothing, but didn't succeed. Although second hand shopping is allowed under the challenge I would have liked to finish with a no buy month! But couldn't pass up these two impulse buys. Not a bad track record for the 3 month challenge though, with nothing bought in July, a second hand bag in September and now these 2 thrift finds. Only 3 things total and all allowed under the rules.

With my spend for 2020 being pretty low and a lot of impulse buys (and bags!) this year, I'm surprisingly still under my 2020 spending limit at the end of September. Really hoping I can stick to that though as I'm getting close to matching what I spent last year already. I only spent $483.59 on fashion in 2020 though so I have a pretty tight budget to spend less than that this year!



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Wednesday 1 September 2021

What I Bought In August (And How I've Worn It) - Rebecca Minkoff Jumbo Love Bag

After achieving No Buy July I've been sticking firm to the Slow Fashion Season #FashionDetox challenge, which means buying no new fashion pieces from July to September. I'm really wanting to achieve that goal, and didn't see myself even doing much thrifting or second hand shopping for the 3 months, shopping that's allowed under the rules because it's not newly made. 

But then I stumbled across a preloved bag for an amazing deal and just like I did in June, and March, and February... I impulse bought another handbag 😂 Maybe I need a handbag detox!


What I Bought:





This beautiful bag is the Rebecca Minkoff quilted jumbo Love bag in cobalt. It's a bag I've considered a few times over the years but the cheapest I've seen it on sale was $190 and I eventually thought too long even at that price and missed out on it. Being petite and wary of bigger structured bags I didn't want to spend a lot in case it was too big for me. It currently retails for $539 at David Jones so I'd always thought it would be a bag I wouldn't add to my collection.

But then I saw this second hand on Gumtree for just $50 - and knew I had to try it at that price! I do think it is a bit big for me, and I can't wear it crossbody like I do with my other love bags as it's down at my knees! But while it won't be a permanent addition to my handbag collection I plan to enjoy it for a while, the colour is amazing.

Given I don't see it being a staple for me and that I've found it a little tricky to style so far it's an impulse buy I probably shouldn't have bought, but I was so curious about this style and it's nice to have a jumbo Love bag to try. It also brings my total purchases so far this year to: 5 items of clothing, 4 bags and a wallet! 🤣 Definitely a bag buying year this year! They have all been second hand bag buys so I'm still just under budget.


How I've Worn It:

3 ways to wear rebecca minkoff cobalt jumbo love bag quilted leather | awayfromblue blog



If I was in the office more this would be the perfect office bag I think, but we are still under hybrid ways of working with it meaning working from home most of the time. I've tried to work this bag into more casual outfits, with varying rates of success. I'm determined to make this bag work though, it's just so beautiful!








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Wednesday 7 July 2021

What I Bought In June - Chloe Ethel Bag!

Short and sweet what I bought post this month! While I made it through April and May without making any fashion purchases, June ended up much like March - I stumbled across a handbag on eBay I'd been thinking about at a price I couldn't resist, so I made another impulse buy.



What I Bought In June:




I've you've followed my blog since the early days this bag may look a little familiar to you - I had a pink version of this bag in 2012/2013 that I often regretted selling! As mentioned in the video I'd been thinking about it lately and searching a few sites for it, looking at options when I got rewarded at work with a gift card a few weeks ago, that spurred me on to buy this!

You haven't seen this pop up on the blog or even my Instagram yet. I'd been trying to find a place that could fix up the weak point on the strap around the local area, so it wasn't being worn while I was taking the strap out to the cobblers. No luck with that sadly, as I talked through in the video, but at least I have a few places in mind to go to if the strap does snap, ha!

I'm really looking forward to wearing this. I have my "wear twice in the month you buy it" rule for all new purchase that this bag hasn't met, but given the colour I know it will work with a lot of things in my wardrobe. I did get it right at the start of June but between authenticating, cleaning it up, trying to find a cobbler, the rain and our little 3 day lockdown we had in Brisbane recently there hasn't been a chance to wear it before I drafted up this post. 


In lieu of a how I wore it, these are the pics I texted to my bestie when I tried it on immediately after it arrived!

3 ways to wear small Chloe Ethel bag in light khaki | awayfromblue





Now hopefully I can copy what I did in April and March and make it through July without buying any fashion items - for my sixth year of attempting No Buy July! While I'm not near the budget I set myself this year I am getting near the fashion spend I achieved last year and I'm curious to see if I can pull off such a low spend again this year!

I'm going to try the Slow Fashion Season #FashionDetox challenge too. Buying no new fashion from July to September. We will see how I go!



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Thursday 25 March 2021

What I Bought In March And How I've Worn It: Rebecca Minkoff Love Too

Well... I bought another bag 😂 Despite saying I didn't need or want anything this year I've managed to make an impulse buy or two every month. But this one was definitely worth it!


What I Bought:






Why I Bought It:


We have an internal recognition program at work and there's a little monetary reward associated with it. Which I was lucky to get, and immediately put towards getting this bag! I hadn't used my Christmas bonus gift card yet either which covered the rest.

I'd checked out the Rebecca Minkoff sale and gotten as far as adding this bag to my cart before I realised that even with the extra % off, the shipping cost and exchange rate didn't make it that much of a bargain. It's a style I'd been wanting to try for a while but didn't want to pay the $400+ it retails for here either.

When I later browsed eBay with that work reward in mind I stumbled across the exact same bag I'd been eyeing on the Rebecca Minkoff site. At $100 cheaper than I'd seen in the Rebecca Minkoff sale! Of course I had to buy it!

As you can see in the video it didn't quite go as smoothly as I'd hoped but the handful of times I've used this bag it's been issue free and I've really enjoyed wearing it!



How I've Worn It:


awayfromblue blog 3 ways to wear teal rebecca minkoff love too croc crossbody bag


The seller on eBay was super sweet and shipped this bag so quickly, it arrived much sooner than I expected. Which let me wear it for the first time on my return to the office. We had a celebratory lunch planned related to the work I mentioned above. It was so good to catch up with my colleagues and empty out all the food I'd left behind in the office before lockdown last year! It was nice being back, although throwing out all that expired food that hadn't been touched in over a year was not a nice experience!



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Thursday 4 March 2021

What I Bought In Feb (And How I've Worn It)

Just a couple of unexpected purchases in February! Even though I hadn't planned to buy anything this month I scored some shoes in the Kmart clearance and I also couldn't resist scooping up a lucky opshop find. An authentic designer bag!


What I Bought:







Why I Bought It:


I'd seen some clearance shoes in Kmart earlier in the week but didn't have time to stop as we were on the hunt for things for my son's upcoming birthday party. Next time I was in Kmart I had a proper look, and although there was a much smaller selection, the shoes were reduced to $2! I wouldn't normally go for chunky platform sneakers - but since ballet flats and pretty sandals are out at the moment as my knee continues to heal, I have been wearing a lot of sneakers and for just $2 these looked like fun to try!

The bag was a bit of a splurge! It was actually out on display in the opshop and so the first thing I saw when I walked in the door before I headed off to the book section. I was sure it wouldn't be authentic but realised when I picked it up that it was. $65 is a lot of money to spend in an opshop but I wasn't going to let the chance pass me by to snag this! 

As mentioned in the video, I've once got a gift with purchase cotton Balenciaga clutch in an opshop for $2 which I was pretty pleased with, but this is the first time I've ever seen an authentic designer handbag. Once I picked it up and verified it was real (I used to have a few MbMJ bags back in the day) I wasn't going to put it back down again! I walked around the opshop with it for about 10 minutes before I decided just to get it, and I'm glad I did. If I'd left it behind it would have been long gone by the time I couldn't get it out of my head and decided to go back to grab it, and I do love a good magenta bag 😉


How I've Worn It:



Being a platform sneaker, these chunky shoes not only give my petite self an extra little height boost but are also quite comfortable on my knee! I've enjoyed wearing them so far. 

I didn't wear the bag right away as I wanted to clean and restore it first, it had a little bit of wear and needed some TLC, but I've enjoyed wearing it after giving it a bit of a clean and condition. Shoulder bags aren't my thing at the moment, being a mum I prefer crossbody bags, but my Rebecca Minkoff guitar strap is the perfect length to allow me to wear this cross body and it's super comfortable to wear. An amazing colour too, it looks great with pink!


Again, I'm not planning to buy anything next month, but as I have this month I'm not going to leave anything behind if I stumble across any more bargains or lucky finds 😂 I've only bought 7 items so far this year, these two included. It means that despite consistently buying things each month I have both spent less and bought fewer things than I did at this time last year, so still on track with my budget goals!




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Wednesday 3 February 2021

What I Bought In January (And How I've Worn It)

Well, I have gone a little overboard with the shopping! It's not the massive haul of last January, but it's still more than I expected to have bought so far this year, after setting out my goals for 2021's fashion spending recently. It can be explained with one sentence - "I had a $10 cotton on rewards voucher...."


Here's What I Bought:






Why I Bought It:


Yes, with the exception of the wallet which I needed to replace my Coach wallet, all I bought was Cotton On tees this month! 

The wallet was a much needed replacement for my old Coach one which no longer zipped up, and had already been repaired once before. It had embarrassed me one time too many when I picked it up out of my bag upside down and cards and receipts flew everywhere.... This new one is a flap closure and only has a tiny zipper for coins so I'm hoping it lasts longer than 2 years! I haven't bought Mimco in a while so fingers crossed the brand still has the same quality levels it did when I bought my first expensive bag there back in my uni days. Good old button bags, that uniquely Aussie trend! The wallet was on super sale at David Jones for boxing day so I thought I'd give it a try.


I'm counting my other boxing day sale finds as January buys too as they didn't arrive until January - two clay coloured Cotton on "The One" fitted tees. I used my $10 Cotton On rewards voucher, and with them already being on sale and then having an extra 30% off, it was too good a deal to say no to! They were reduced to $7.99 each, coming down to just $2.99 each after applying the rewards voucher.

Then right at the end of January there was another sale, I had another $10 rewards voucher after my boxing day sale spending (as I bought for the kids as well as the two tees for me) and I was on the hunt for some cute pyjamas to replace a pair I had that wore out. And then I just looked at the tees, which had new colours, were on sale and had an extra 20% off, and so I bought two more 😂

If you're keeping score at home, that's now 7 of these Cotton On "The One" v-neck tees I have, 4 of which I added to my wardrobe this month. At least they are all different colours I guess? And 20% recycled cotton too! I really do love these tees but think I have ventured into crazy "gotta have them all" territory this month!



How I've Worn It:




The last two tees I bought I selected instore pickup for so while they arrived just before the end of the month for me to know they were keepers to include in this wrap up post, I didn't actually get to wear them both! So my mango tee is still unworn at the moment.

Aside from the two tees that I picked up on Friday, I have been able to wear everything at least twice in the month I bought it, my goal for all purchases to stop the "new with tags but never worn" items in my wardrobe. And I'm sure that I'll be achieving two wears on the last two tees in the next week or so!

Perhaps my goal for February should be to not buy any more tees though! If they bring out a green and purple I'll be doomed...they are the only two colours I need before I will literally have a rainbow of these tees!



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Friday 1 January 2021

2020 Fashion Spend Wrap Up and Yearly Budget For 2021

Happy new year! Keeping with the spirit of 2020, my fashion spend for the year was unexpected! I was proud of how little I spent last in 2019 but also thought I wouldn't spend so little again. Then of course the pandemic happened and we learned 2020 was the year for surprises! Today I'm sharing what I bought last year, how I tracked against my budget, and what my spending goals are for 2021.


Here's What I Bought In 2020:


waht i bought in 2020 fashion spend and budget and goals for 2021 | away from the blue blog


Bags:


Other Accessories:

  • Fashion Scarf Girl colourful print scarf in green
  • Fashion Scarf Girl lush forest scarf
  • thrifted blue statement beaded necklace
  • thrifted gold and cream multi strand pearl necklace
  • thrifted gold and marble statement necklace
  • Thrifted Adidas Superstar sneakers

Tops:


Kimonos/Jackets:

  • Jeanswest Melanie floral kimono
  • Jeanswest Kensley tie dye summer poncho kimono
  • thrifted black Emerson anorak
  • thrifted digital print no label kimono
  • thrifted Supre black sheer floral kimono

Dresses:

  • Kmart short sleeve tiered jersey dress in amber
  • Kmart short sleeve tiered jersey dress in Fuchsia
  • thrifted Kmart white and navy long sleeve stripe tee dress

Bottoms:

  • Jeanswest harper skinny pant in Russet
  • thrifted navy viscose no label maxi skirt
  • thrifted Tree of Life ochre maxi skirt



Most Worn: the Jeanswest Melanie floral kimono (last worn here) was worn 8 times in 2020, but I did buy it in the January sales right at the start of the year.

Least WornCotton On The One Deep V tee in marle nep white body black has only been worn once, because I bought this right before Christmas so haven't had much opportunity to wear it yet.

Best Deal: The $3 Adidas Superstar sneakers, a lucky opshop find, are probably the biggest bargain of the year!




Fashion Spend For 2020 - Under Budget!


This was the lowest spend year since I've been tracking my fashion spending! I spent a total of $483.59 this year, on 27 fashion items. That works out to an average of $17.91 per item, or slightly more than buying a new item every two weeks. The $483.59 total includes a $134.99 gift card spend, so $328.60 without including the gift card spend.

In contrast I spent $633.18 in 2019, including gift card spend, on 43 items. Despite being sure I wouldn't spend less than that, I managed to this year! I'm pleased to see I spent less than intended this year as one good thing to come from 2020. I also bought fewer items as well that helped keep the cost down.

Even when I did 7 months with no fashion purchases back in 2017 I spent over $1,000 that year so I'm really pleased to have spent less than $500 this year.

One thing to note is that I didn't include the $88 New Balance sneakers in my spend for this year. I class them more as a medical choice than a fashion choice as if I didn't have my knee injury I wouldn't need or want to buy these, and from the Instagram poll most people agreed. I am still under budget even if you include these but just wanted to disclose why they weren't part of the total or in the list above.




How I Stuck To My Budget:


I think that reduced fashion spending isn't anything ground-breaking for most people this year. It hasn't been a year that has called for a lot of new outfits or necessitated buying new things. Hubby and I were luckily able to keep our jobs and work from home in 2020, although I know others weren't as lucky and restrictions and lifestyle changes are still in place in other countries and even in other parts of Australia. Here's how I spent less this year despite being lucky to still have an income:

  • Staying home more and working from home means more pyjamas and loungewear (and I certainly didn't need to buy any more of those!) and less wearing of actual clothes, so while I have bought new things now and then it hasn't been the big hauls of the past. 
  • There has been less window shopping as we have been shopping in person a lot less. I did notice an uptick in spending in the later half of the year when we were out of Iso and I started going to shops again though. 
  • I've spent less time browsing opshops (thrifting) too which has resulted in less clothes for myself, due to a lot of my favourite stores permanently closing after Iso or changing opening hours so they are harder for me to get to. I've also gotten back into reading this year thanks to my neighbour starting up a virtual Iso book club so I focus on the book section instead of clothes or accessories when I do venture into an opshop.
  • Most of my online ordering through the year was essentials, treats for the boys or Christmas presents and while I occasionally added an item or two to an order for myself I rarely did that. 
  • When I did buy, I made the most of sales and rewards. When I was buying things for the kids if I got a rewards voucher I would sometimes use that towards something for myself. Cotton On is good for this where you get a $10 voucher after spending $100. It brought things like my $20 tee on sale for $13 down to just $3 after applying the $10 voucher. I also got quite a few rewards vouchers as bonuses from David Jones this year which made the already massively reduced Rebecca Minkoff bags I bought even more affordable. (For example, the Rebecca Minkoff Leo envelope clutch in champagne gold was on final sale, reduced from $140 to $34 and that was without rewards vouchers.)

All that combined lead to a year with less spending without a lot of conscious effort on my part, just a reduction in shopping opportunities, and less interest in shopping in general with so much going on in the world. I know from my previous 6 months without shopping challenge that browsing less and occupying my time with other things is the most effective way to help me shop less, as I don't suddenly see things I "need". I'm also willing to wait until the final reduction days of sales before I buy, as if things sell out it just wasn't meant to be!



Goals And Fashion Budget For 2021:


I'm not feeling confident about setting a goal for 2021 as we all know nothing is guaranteed! I'd like to have another under $1,000 fashion spend this year though. To help achieve this I'm going to continue browsing fashion stores less. While there have been no cases here for over 104 days in Queensland I am still preferring online shopping as we don't have a vaccine available in Australia yet. I have been visiting shops a little more regularly the past few months with life returning to normal, but nowhere near as much as I used to.

I'm mostly hoping that I can buy fewer clothes this year to help keep the spend down, focusing on achieving my 30 wears posts by rewearing more of what I already have until I achieve 30 wears with more things in my wardrobe. If I can buy less than the 27 items that I bought this year in 2021 I'll be really happy, this is my main goal.

I got some new clothes for Christmas that helps with my "buy less goal" too, I have lots of new outfits I want to wear heading into the new year without much January sale shopping. I have spent some Christmas money and gift cards in a couple of boxing day sales though, but nothing has arrived yet to know if it's a keeper to include in the budget.



Did you spend less on fashion in 2020 too? Have you set any fashion spend goals this year? 




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Wednesday 9 December 2020

What I Bought In November

Short and sweet what I bought post! Showing you two things I bought for myself last month - I did take advantage of some of the black Friday and Cyber Monday sales but that was to buy Christmas presents for others. So I wanted to share some things I picked up for myself before all the sales, just two things!


What I Bought:




Why I Bought It:


The shoes were such a lucky find. I have never been able to find shoes in my size at an opshop but I always glance at the shoe rack just in case. I was thrilled to realise these were in my size and just $3! Looking a little worse for wear I figured I could clean them up a bit at home, trying a few different things to get rid of the yellowing the scuff marks and stains on the leather. They certainly don't look new but $3 for a $150 pair of shoes I'm pretty happy with how they scrubbed up!




The bag was an impulse buy - and while I also bought it at the start of November it was on better sale than it ended up being on Black Friday. I'd been eyeing it for a while unsure about the colour it looked on the David Jones site, but once it was further reduced I had so snap it up. As you can see in the video I didn't need to worry about the colour! It's been a firm favourite bag to wear since I bought it.



How I've Worn It:


ways ive worn November purchases rebecca minkoff jean mac crossbody bag


The bag has had the most wear as I've only worn the shoes once so far as it took a while to clean them up. I was pleased with how they were looking so wore them on Monday to check out how comfortable they would be with my knee injury. Pretty happy with them! I know both pieces will get a lot more wear in future too.

I'm not planning to make any fashion related purchases in December but who knows what sales will tempt me 😂 At the moment though I'm on track to be under my 2020 fashion budget and I want to stick there!



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Monday 2 November 2020

Weekday Wear Link Up : Striped Tees, Maxi Skirts and Marc By Marc Jacobs Fran Bag

For today's Weekday Wear Linkup it's a simple staple mum outfit formula! Striped tees and maxi skirts. The simple stripes look so good with the block colour maxi skirts. I accessorised with my Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag that I recently took out my wardrobe for a spin, realised it needs to be worn more!

What I wore:

marc by marc jacobs classic q fran bag with navy striped tee, orange maxi skirt, gold sandals in spring | away from the blue

ochre maxi skirt and  Marc By Marc Jacobs Classic Q Fran bag with gold hardware in carob brown | away from blue

awayfromblue Instagram | spring mum outfit gold sandals MbMJ fran bag, ochre maxi skirt and striped tee

NecklaceRoie Designs long freshwater pearl necklace with tassel
TeeAtmos&Here navy stripe v-neck tee
Skirt: thrifted Tree of Life ochre maxi skirt
ShoesNovo Tawny rose gold sandals
BagMarc By Marc Jacobs Classic Q Fran bag with gold hardware in carob brown

Why I wore it:

Wore this a few weeks ago to participate in the Ooshie swap day. The boys wanted a couple more Ooshies to play with, as we had already completed our collection, and I wanted to give away the piles of extra ones we had! The swap day was done slightly differently this year to be COVID safe, but it was less hectic than last year as a result so we enjoyed it! I'm just glad the Ooshie madness is over now.

It was good to get out with the kids - we've been avoiding crowded places with them and sticking with parks and trails instead, but they enjoyed getting out to the shops and weren't too upset we had to run a few errands after the swap day!

I like navy with this ochre maxi skirt, so this navy stripe tee seemed like a good pairing, and with the gold hardware on the Marc By Marc Jacobs Fran bag I picked my gold sandals to wear, as we didn't have to walk very far so it wouldn't put a lot of pressure on my knee injury. I really liked the way the brownish-purple bag went with the ochre maxi skirt too.


Last wornnavy stripe tee, pearl tassel necklace, ochre maxi skirt, gold sandals, Marc By Marc Jacobs Fran bag.

Other ways to wearnavy stripe tee and shorts, ochre maxi skirt and foil tee, gold sandals and tee dress, Marc By Marc Jacobs Fran bag in the office.

Perfect for pregnancynavy stripe tee in third trimester, Marc By Marc Jacobs Fran bag at 40 weeks.



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





What I wore:

grey striped tee with navy maxi skirt and brown MbMJ fran bag classic | away from the blue

grey striped tee, Marc By Marc Jacobs Classic Q Fran bag with gold hardware in carob brown | away from the blue

grey tee navy maxi skirt casual spring school run outfit | away from blue instagram


Necklace: Jeanswest Taryn turquoise tassel bead necklace
TeeAtmos&Here oversized stripe tee
Skirt: thrifted navy viscose drawstring no label maxi skirt
Shoesslim navy and pink Havaianas
BagMarc By Marc Jacobs Classic Q Fran bag with gold hardware in carob brown
 

Why I wore it:

Since I liked the outfit formula above so much, I repeated it! This time with a grey striped tee and a navy maxi skirt. Again I think the Marc By Marc Jacobs Fran bag went well with this and it was the perfect size to hold our water bottles when my youngest son and I went for a little walk after school drop off.

It was a little windy so perhaps this maxi skirt with the slits up the sides wasn't the best choice, but it was definitely nice and comfortable!


Last worngrey striped tee, turquoise tassel necklace, navy maxi skirt, navy Havaianas, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag (above).

Other ways to weargrey striped tee and double denimturquoise tassel necklace worn 30 ways, navy maxi skirt and printed tee, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag and orange dress.

Perfect for pregnancygrey striped tee at 40 weeks, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag in third trimester.



How You Can Wear It:


You can't beat a striped tee as a wardrobe staple! It goes with everything and paired with a block colour maxi skirt is a good choice for a hot spring day.



What I Bought In October And How I've Worn It:


I only bought two things this month so thought I'd add them onto this post rather than giving them a post of their own:


I needed new shoes to support my knee (my old running shoes were literally falling apart and looked really ugly, especially for shoes I've been having to wear so much). I ended up finding these on sale at the Iconic for just $88 and took the leap, cautiously trying them out on carpet for a while before I decided to keep them. As they were a purchase for my knee and not something I'd ever have bought otherwise, I'm not going to include them in my budget spend at the end of the year. And I'm really hoping they don't become a permanent fixture here, I'm doing what I can to strengthen my knee at home so I can return to normal activities and normal shoe choices for summer - but the physio did warn this  injury could take a year to heal.

The dress was, like the last Kmart dress I bought, a total impulse buy! I was desperately hunting for a bike we had promised to buy for Christmas, with the bike shortage in Australia making that tricky. Once I'd managed to find the bike at Kmart I saw a rack of new dresses about to be put out on the sale floor and this pink dress called to me! Like the same one I have in orange, it was just $15 and loose and light, perfect for summer!


How I've Worn The Pieces So Far:







Weekday Wear Linkup #94


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:
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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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