There are a couple reasons for buying so much this month:
Doing Christmas shopping meant more exposure to stores and more temptation to shop
I love spring/summer clothing and it makes up the bulk of my wardrobe as I find ways to wear it year-round. And there have been some really nice new season pieces.
I've been decluttering and downsizing my wardrobe So I'm starting to feel there are 'gaps'.
Jeanswest had a 40% off sale and I still had unspent gift cards that I had been setting aside for after my 6 months without shopping challenge at the start of the year.
I have a rule that whenever I buy something I have to wear it twice in the month I bought it. I couldn't do that with all of my October purchases, as one arrived over a month after I ordered it, and some had to be taken to the tailor first. I had better luck this month though, as you can see below. The only thing I haven't worn twice are the earrings as I'm saving them for Christmas.
The idea behind wearing things twice in the month I buy them is that I have to come up with two ways to wear it immediately before I buy so I know it will be useful in my wardrobe. I no longer have things new with tags sitting unworn for years and I have to really love it to want to wear it so frequently right away. I've slowed my shopping and gotten more use from the pieces I've bought since I've implemented this rule so I'm keeping on with it.
I'm wearing it for different seasons in the two outfits below. It shows how versatile the dress is, but also how crazy our weather was near the end of winter. Within a few weeks it went from winter, to summer to winter again. Now it's spring it's thankfully continuing to warm up again.
When I first saw this dress I instantly thought of wearing it with tights, ankle boots and a mustard cardigan. I was lucky to find this one at the start of August as I'd missed out on my dream mustard cardigan in an opshop as I was doing my no-buy challenge! It was so good to be able to wear the outfit I'd dreamt up when I first saw this dress. I thought the green necklace was another nice touch of colour with the mustard yellow.
It was a bit of an eventful day for Toddler T. His first trip to the dentist (he did really well!) and then his first play. There was a local production of 'Going on a bear hunt', one of the books he loves reading.
We finished the day with dinner at the in-laws. I liked how well this outfit worked for everything in the day, and at night. It was really cold in the evening so I was glad I wore the tights!
In complete contrast to the outfit above, this was a much warmer day. I added the cardigan because it was a little windy in the morning, but with 30 degree weather when we went for a walk in the park the cardigan quickly came off. It was nice to get a little taste of summer near the end of winter. I'm looking forward to wearing this dress again with Converse now it's spring in Brisbane.
While it's very similar to the outfit above, I think the beauty of a little black dress is that you can make it look a little different each time just by changing the accessories.
Since I like to review everything I buy after wearing it twice to see how it's working for my wardrobe, my review of this little black dress:
I love this dress. It swishes beautifully when I wear it, although as you can see I haven't been able to capture a pic of that yet! I stumbled across it in Kmart while looking for shoes for baby Boy, and I hoped it would be there once my no-shop challenge is over. When it was still there I figured I'd wait until it went on sale. After checking the stock levels each time I went in and constantly thinking about it I decided to go ahead and buy it at full price. It was only $15. I don't like buying things full price no matter the cost, but it was only $15 and it has now sold out in my size without being reduced so I'm pleased I got it. I have so many outfit ideas in mind for it!
A classic little black dress in any style is widely regarded as a wardrobe staple. You can make it look different each time by changing the accessories you wear with it. Both these outfits followed a very simple formula, picking a colourful cardigan and similar accessories. Just like kimonos in summer and scarves in winter, cardigans are good for adding a little colour in those in-between seasons. To keep things simple, you can wear a colorful cardigan with neutral layers, like a little black dress.
I'd had one big splurge planned but other than that I wasn't really sure what I wanted, as I tended to overthink most things I went to buy. I ended up making a few impulse buys. I've actually had quite a lot enter my wardrobe too, mainly from my sister's wardrobe clear out.
What was added to my wardrobe during my no-shop challenge:
A knitted dress from my Grandma's wardrobe (worn here)
As you can see, only one of the things I bought was with one of my end-of-challenge gift cards. I'd asked for gift cards for Christmas and set them aside to spend at the end of my no-shop challenge. I just haven't seen anything I had to have that looked as good as I imagined when I tried it on (with the exception of the impulse buy polka dot tee, which is SO soft). With more spring and summer stock coming into the stores as winter ends I'm sure I'll have spent them before they expire in December. Being in Brisbane, winter clothing isn't a priority for me to buy as I tend to wear my summer pieces year-round, just with a few extra layers.
I still have my 'wear it twice in the month I bought it' rule to ensure that everything I buy and add to my wardrobe will work with what I already own. While there might have been a few impulse buys, I'd mostly been thinking about adding similar pieces for a while, and I've hit two wears on everything this month.
The Kmart dress is the only thing I bought full price. I probably could have waited for a sale, but seeing it while I was on my no-shop challenge and then starting to notice the stock levels falling in my local store made me go snap it up before I missed out quite quickly in August! It was only $15 so I'm not too upset I paid full price - still a bargain! And out of stock in my size now in my local Kmart so a good purchase.
The Starfish Project necklaces were an impulse buy too, I was a few days into August and hadn't bought anything yet when I stumbled across the brand on Instagram. From their website, 'the Starfish Project restores hope to women escaping human trafficking and exploitation in Asia.' They provide shelter for women and their children, counselling and employment and education. For every piece on their website that you can buy, it tells you exactly what that money can do. The yellow Veronica necklace is equal to the cost of 5 days of room and board at the Starfish Project shelter. The turquoise Hannah necklace is is equal to the cost of 1 week of counseling for an exploited woman.
This isn't a sponsored post, I bought the necklaces with my own money - but I wanted to share as with Christmas coming up it's a lovely gift idea - especially as you get a little note with each purchase. A nice way to help someone look and feel good when they unwrap your gift on Christmas day! I may have added a gift for someone special to my order too...
I'm going to try Beth's #noSpenderSeptember now! With some hand-me-downs coming into my wardrobe during my no-shop challenge, and having bought a few pieces in August, I'm pretty wardrobe content at the moment. I still have a lot of gift cards to spend though so we will see what happens...
After I completed 7 months without shopping, I celebrated in my usual fashion and bought a new bag! 😂 Although it's big and purple, I still think it's perfect for the office - you don't have to stick to neutral bags for work.
I wore it to the office the other week with a classic black shirt and textured pencil skirt outfits, wearing more of my office pieces that were packed away while I was on maternity leave.
I felt really lady-like in this outfit! Which helped counteract some of the awkwardness I felt when I stepped back from setting my tripod up in the morning to get a blog photo and realised I'd just been standing in my bemused neighbour's way (you can see them jogging away in the background!). So awkward. I never know what to say when people see me taking outfit photos so I just kinda smile and shrug.
I've worn this top and pencil skirt together before. Back then I was hiding an early baby bump, this time around I'm using the outfit to disguise my mum-tum 😉
This pencil skirt was one I saw in a magazine a few years ago and thought it was nice, so I checked out the price details. When I saw it was called the 'Mica' skirt I just had to get my namesake. It's perfect for the office and one of those pieces I'm glad I impulsively bought. Despite the top layer being textured polka dots on a fine mesh, it's held up well over the years and I'm impressed by the quality, considering I bought it 5 years ago.
I hadn't planned a necklace to wear with this, I'd set out the clothes and thought I'd pick one at the last moment. I was still unsure as I was getting dressed until I added the tweed blazer I knew I had to go for my pearls. They are actually two different freshwater pearl necklaces! The shorter one is from my jewelry designer friend and I've worn it as a bracelet before.
I've been wearing blue and purple together often recently! I really like the combination. This purple scarf was the perfect topper to my black and navy outfit, and tied in nicely with my purple bag.
This black shirt is another one that hasn't been worn for a while. It's button up so would work for breastfeeding, but it feels a bit 'fancy' for stay at home mum wear so it was packed away with all my office clothes while I was on maternity leave. It's a little hard to see in the pictures with all the layers but it's got a fun ruffle detail down the front. You can see it better when I previously wore it here, again with the same skirt!
This jacquard pencil skirt is one of my favourite textured ones - it's a very pretty design, even if the skirt rides up a little as I walk! A ruffle shirt, textured pencil skirt and purple accessories might sound a bit much for the office, but I think all the pieces work well together.
Neutral bags are a good choice for the office, but if you have a relaxed work environment with a business casual or smart casual dress code, it's easy to add a little extra colour to your outfit with a bright bag. While there are some exceptions, my general rules for picking a bag for work are to: Carry a neutral bag if - I'm going to be travelling for work, either across the city or to another state, and I'll need to carry my bag into meetings. Carry a bright bag if - I'm going to be in meetings in the same building all day leaving my bag behind at my desk and I'd like something fun to look as I work. Don't be afraid to add a little colour to your office wear with a bright bag.
Winter weather did take a while to arrive in Brisbane so I waited longer to wear this coat than I expected, but I'm still glad I bought it last year and to be able to wear and enjoy it now, it kept me perfectly cosy.
No style challenge for this one, but another excuse to wear navy and burgundy together again. Since I liked the dress and boots combo above with the navy jacket, I wore it again with black ankle boots and my burgundy jersey dress. It was a pretty quiet day with just a few errands to run, but I did wish I'd added a scarf to this as it was a little chilly in the morning.
As it's the second time I've worn this jacket and I try to review everything I buy after I've worn it twice, my purchase review:
I like this jacket. I love the colour, it's cosy for winter, and will be perfect for the early morning commutes to the office. The only thing I don't like is how the lapels kinda stick up a bit - but I'm sure that will settle down with more wear. It looks really nice belted (came with a belt) but I haven't been able to wear it that way and still show what I'm wearing underneath it!
Navy and burgundy look beautiful together, but you could apply this style tip to any colour combination you enjoy. Look at the pieces you have in your wardrobe that will allow you to wear the colours year round. First time I wore navy and burgundy it was with a tank, kimono and pants in autumn. It was easy to wear the same colour combination again in winter with season-appropriate pieces. While both of these dress and boots outfits include the same navy jacket, by changing the other pieces and sticking to the same colour scheme I've created two outfits that look different while wearing a familiar combination. Thinking of different ways to wear a colour combination you love is a good way to come up with new outfit ideas in your wardrobe, without having to buy anything new.
Another one of my Jeanswest Cyber Monday sale purchases! I bought this maxi skirt as a replacement for my plain black maxi skirt that I felt was getting a little worn. I am enjoying having both skirts in my wardrobe for the moment though. This maxi skirt is part of the "luxe" collection at Jeanswest which means it's quite a thick jersey. The side splits mean I'm still able to wear it over summer though as it has pretty good air flow.
Followed a simple outfit formula the first two times I wore the skirt: a tank, a teething necklace and Rebecca Minkoff cross body bag. One colourful outfit, the other more neutral.
This is what I wore for a trip to the outlets in January. Hubby had some Christmas money to spend, although I'm doing 6 months without shopping. I'm saving my Christmas gift cards for a post challenge shopping spree. 😉
I employed my usual trick of babywearing. With baby strapped to me I couldn't easily try things on no matter how tempted I was by the awesome sales (Jeanswest had an extra 50% off sale items so the sales were good!). Wearing this new skirt I bought last year reminded me I already had new things to wear still as well. Managed not to spend anything and stick to my no shop challenge. As I last wore this tank over a year ago I definitely didn't need to shop!
Wanted to try a fitted tank tucked into this skirt to show off the drawstring waist. You can also see how high it sits on me because it's not a petite friendly length. Wearing it higher means I don't have to try get it hemmed shorter though. I picked the purple mini MAB tote bag as it tied in so well with the pink top and colours on the teething necklace. I really liked this outfit. I liked the pink tank and purple bag together last time I wore that combination too.
Took the boys out to rhyme time at the local library. Wanted a quick easy outfit to help make getting ready and out the door quicker. While the outfit formula is the same as the one above, with a printed and relaxed fit tank I think it looks quite different.
I really liked how this necklace added a pop of colour with the neutrals too. Out of the two outfits with this skirt, I think this is my favourite. I do prefer this looser style top for breastfeeding over the fitted tank. This printed top is one of my favourites and I wear it sparingly, wanting to 'save' it for special occasions. I'm trying to make an effort to wear more of those kind of pieces in my wardrobe. Not only because I'm doing the 30 wears challenge, also because there's point in having clothes if I don't wear and enjoy them!
This wrap dress was just $26 (now reduced even further to just $21!), so I snapped it up in the December boxing day sales. Even though the thicker fabric and long sleeves aren't ideal for a Queensland summer... I regretted choosing to wear this dress on such a hot day! Didn't hit my goal of wearing this dress twice in a month after buying I like I aim to do with all my purchases. The summer heatwaves have made wearing it an unattractive choice and they seem set to stay a little longer.
I am trying to wear more of my dresses as I've realised I've been favouring denim outfits during my maternity leave. To try and make this dress a little more casual I wore my Havaianas with it but I think any other shoe would have looked better, I felt they looked strange with the dress. Just a little too casual with it.
Other than the less than perfect shoe choice and feeling too warm in the dress, I actually enjoyed wearing this. It helped that we got good news at Baby Boy's appointment. Made me so happy.
Another specialist appointment, another wrap dress! While this watercolour print and colours in the dress are different from the black and white zig zag print on the wrap dress above, I think the Louis Vuitton Neverfull still goes nicely with it. I've mentioned before I see this bag as quite simple to wear, almost seeing the checkerboard print as a neutral.
I liked the sandals better with this dress instead of Havaianas, and this was again a nice easy outfit to wear for a morning in the city after our appointment.
Hopefully I'll get more wear out of these wrap dresses over my maternity leave. While they are perfect for the office I think a wrap dress is a classic style you can wear casually too. They are breastfeeding friendly, so I just need to get over my hang-up that makes me think they are too 'dressy' to be worn for SAHM life and wear something other than denim for a change.
