Every month I like to share what I've bought and how I've worn it. This month was a month of impulse buys, driven by sales. Grab a drink and watch the video where I go through everything in detail, and try everything on.
I know I don't usually include beauty products in my hauls, mostly because only wearing makeup two days a week to go into the office means I rarely have to buy replacements! But I picked up a couple of things in the Priceline 40% off sale.
No surprise I wore the navy Jeanswest top twice right away - it's perfect for SAHM life and office life. You could even breastfeed in it if you do the singlet underneath trick and lift it up for access.
I'm pleased I managed to wear everything else twice too, especially the kimono as I was worried it would be too warm to wear this month. Thankfully autumn weather started to arrive near the end of April so I could meet my goal and wear it twice! I like to wear everything I buy twice in the month I buy it. It ensures I buy things I can use right away, stops things being bought just to sit unworn in my wardrobe, and makes me think of different ways I can wear things before I buy.
When I got the email that Jeanswest had a sale on, I hopped on the site for a quick browse. I saw this top and instantly fell in love, and purchased it the same day. Originally $59, reduced to $20, I couldn't say no! While it's got the tassels and the studs, it's still a lovely neutral navy, and I can see it going with so much in my wardrobe. I wore it below for a casual day of shopping, and more formally for a day at the office.
After a busy few weeks, I was really looking forward to a relaxing day of shopping. As relaxing as it can be with two little boys in tow! Overall, they were pretty good. We had time to browse a few stores. I had a hunt through the Jeanswest sale again, and while I tried some things on nothing came home with me. My sister did buy this star print tee which you might remember I bought last month! We have quite a few of the same or similar pieces in our wardrobes actually, so I wasn't surprised when she picked it up.
With the navy top and navy shorts together, I wanted something to break it up a little. I was originally going to wear my pink Rebecca Minkoff mini MAC bag, but felt a bigger pop of colour was needed. The sorbet pink Balenciaga city bag was perfect, and it meant I could be matchy matchy with the Balenciaga sandals as well, not just the top and shorts.
I woke up this morning not feeling too great, but figured it was because of a busier than weekend. Put on this lovely top to boost my mood, and the Rebecca Minkoff Regan bag as I like how nicely the navy colours work together. Once I was at work I realised I couldn't shake the head cold, and ended up going home a little early after my final meeting for the day. I intended to rest up for a couple hours before the boys got home from daycare, with the idea that I'd feel better the next day after resting. Unfortunately, I did not. I ended up being pretty sick for a few days - as were the boys, which didn't help with resting and recovering! Thankfully we are all feeling much better now.
I'm glad it was a warm enough morning that I didn't need a blazer with this so that it was easier to see the fun studded sleeve detail. I did wish at the end of the day when I started getting feverish that I'd had a scarf in my bag to wrap myself up in though. Heading home to bed was the next best thing!
More Boho Style Peasant Tops For Work And Weekend Under $50:
How You Can Wear It:
Neutral tops like this in modest cuts are perfect for casual days out with the boys, or more formally with a pencil skirt for the office. The beauty of a block colour top is that you can pair it with fun printed pieces without worrying about patterns clashing. I'm always looking for more ways to wear pieces in my wardrobe, so tops like this that do double duty in the office and on weekends are must-haves!
It's taken me a while to share these office outfits, worn back in March! I wanted to wait until I'd edited the video of the Brisbane YouTube Creator day I went to so you could see what I got up to. It was a lot of fun!
I was so extremely nervous for this day. Excited too, but mostly nervous! I had been talking a lot on Twitter about it, trying to figure out how things would go. My outfit was full of classic pieces picked to make me feel good. I love this boucle jacket and it helps me feel pulled together. The printed tank, a gift from my mum, is quickly becoming a favourite. A pencil skirt as it's a classic office piece. I did consider bringing jeans or maybe another skirt to change into after, but already my bag was pretty full. I'm glad I kept it simple and wore the same outfit to work and the Creator Day.
You can see in the video that my bag is really full! I picked this one as it's a beautiful colour and coming from my bestie's wardrobe, gives me a little boost of confidence. Plus it fit everything I needed so elegantly. Even if I did end up leaving it on the table at the Creator Day and blocking Eve's view a bit! Sorry Eve! She made a great video recapping her experience there.
The Creator Day was so fun! I learned a lot, took tons of notes, and as you can see from the video, had a blast catching up with some of the YouTube friends I've made this year. It's so strange walking into a room and feeling like you know people, even though you've only known them from their YouTube videos! You can see more in the video below.
Despite this outfit following the same outfit formula as the one above, I didn't like it as much. I think the grey pencil skirt and cream blazer didn't look as good together as the black jacket and skirt in the outfit above, I did enjoy wearing this ruffle polka dot print blouse again though! It's been a while between wears. It is strictly a work only piece for me, it feels a bit fancy for stay at home mum days and it's not breastfeeding friendly.
I do like the navy top with the purple Balenciaga work bag though, and I've worn them together before. While I wasn't a fan of all of these pieces together, I like them enough separately so they are all staying in my wardrobe.
When I'm not sure what to wear with a printed piece, I'll pick out a colour from the print itself and wear that with it. That's why I wore black tanks with both of these a-line printed skirts. Add a blazer and a cute bag like the Rebecca Minkoff Regan and it's easy business casual office wear.
Can't believe it's taken me so long to wear this necklace and skirt together! They are such a good combination. With the black in the print and the black top and jacket, the yellow necklace was a fun way to continue the cheerfulness of the skirt into the rest of my outfit.
It was a busy day though! I usually try get a quick mirror outfit pic to share on my Insta stories like here (in the bathroom at work, classy!) but I didn't get an opportunity on this day. I snapped one on the way home instead.
I frequently wear this silk skirt with black, it lets the lovely autumnal colours of the leaf print stand out. I thought the cream blazer would be nice with it, with the taupe in the print, but I didn't like the combination as much as I thought I would.
I did like the little blue necklace I added though! It was a gift from my lovely friend, and with the navy bag I thought I should introduce something else navy into my outfit other than my blue nail polish. Usually I'd go for a longer necklace with a plain tank like this, but I liked the shorter one with this.
This day wasn't as busy as the previous day above. It was a little bit of a stressful day with a complex problem at work that required a morning Starbucks run, but we had a big Easter afternoon tea with LOTS of hot cross buns and some chocolate to kick of the Easter long weekend so it turned into a great day. Chocolate is always a mood booster!
If you're in a business casual environment, a knee length a-line skirt is a great option. You can get so many fun prints too, it's a nice way to add a little colour to your work wardrobe. You can keep things simple (and make getting dressed for work faster!) by picking a colour out of the print and wearing a coordinating top. In both these cases, there was some black in the prints, so a nice neutral black tank was a great option with both skirts.
Colourful handbags make up the majority of my (pretty large!) handbag collection. I just love adding bright accessories to outfits. With these two classic fit and flare dresses that I wore to the office I added my newest handbag, the Balenciaga Pompon bag in murrier. It's a lovely lilac purple that works well with blue, and looks great here with the black and white too.
I was so sure that I'd worn this necklace and dress together before! I like wearing statement necklaces against the black and white stripes, it makes the pink in this necklace really pop. Was quite surprised when I sat down to write this post and looked through the blog and realised I haven't actually worn the combination before. I have worn something similar though.
I really liked the pink and purple with this. A neutral outfit is a great base to add colourful accessories too, and pink and purple are so complimentary. The Balenciaga Pompon bag is such a large bag and easily carried everything I need for work. I have a more detailed review of it in the video below.
Keeping it simpler this time, with just one extra colour in my outfit. Classic little black dress with a textured jacket and neutral silver accessories, so the only touch of colour is the pretty purple Balenciaga pompon bag.
I liked the mix of textures in this outfit, with the jacquard jacket and the ribbed dress. The silver necklace seemed like an obvious choice with the metallic silver thread in the jacket.
The only problem with this is that the jacket has pretty zipper pulls on the sleeves. Looks great, but not ideal for wearing to the office and typing in, it makes such a noise! So I had a cardigan with me and swapped the jacket for a cardigan at my desk.
Fit and flare dresses in a neutral colour are a great outfit backdrop for any more colourful accessories you might want to add. With the neutral backdrop, the purple Balenciaga pompon bag really stands out. As you can see from the first outfit, your colourful accessories don't always have to match, sometimes it's fun to wear different colours to add even more brightness to a black and white palette.
I love the dresses I have in my wardrobe, but sometimes I like to try different things with them. This dress below is the perfect casual dress, I've worn it to Bondi beach and I love it as a beach cover-up. It's so easy to make the dress work in other ways too though. Below I'm wearing it as a top in two different ways, one for the office and the other for a day of errands.
After a few days signed off sick from work, my voice still wasn't fully back, but I could kind of hold a conversation, so I headed into the office. This was a mistake and I should have stayed home. I ended up getting told to go home by two different bosses. By lunch time I took their advice, called it quits and went home.
While I felt horrible, my outfit was designed to make me feel better, with the colourful and cheerful magenta Balenciaga day bag as a pop of colour with all of the black. The jersey blazer and skirt look a bit 'suit-like' in an attempt to project an air of professionalism with all my coughs and wheezes! Despite having a horrible day and feeling too exhausted to do anything other than order takeaway for dinner, I did like this outfit. It's a shame I wasn't well enough to enjoy it, ha!
Feeling much better, I wore the dress again as a top a few days afterwards. Instead of layering a pencil skirt over the top, I just bundled it up and partially tucked it into my denim shorts, which have been on heavy repeat lately. As the weather is getting cooler here in Brisbane, the longer sleeves from the dress worked nicely with the slightly longer length of the bermuda shorts.
Added the Converse as it was a bit of a showery day and as much as I love my trusty Havaianas that you'll see in most of my outfit photos, I don't like them in the rain much! The Converse were much easier for running around chasing after the boys as we attempted to achieve multiple things in one morning.
Try rewear your favourite dress differently by layering and wearing it as a top. For shorter dresses, you can add a pencil skirt over the top to instantly make them a work-appropriate length. If the dress is a light soft fabric like this viscose one, scrunch it up and tuck it into a pair of shorts for a different casual summer look.
You can't beat a classic wrap dress for easy office style. I love printed dresses as they are instant outfits, with little to no accessorising required. Both of these Atmos&Here dresses have tulip hems. The tulip hem and midi length is something I'd usually worry would make my petite self look even shorter, but I don't feel that with these dresses. I love them both, even when worn with flats.
Although I lay my outfit out the night before to make getting ready in the morning faster, I don't always know what accessories I'm going to wear. I was standing in front of the mirror trying to pick a necklace when I saw this turquoise and gold beaded one and realised it would be perfect, and meet the 'matchy matchy' theme for the #AutumnStyleFile challenge on Instagram. Only I got my days mixed up and the challenge for the day was actually 'colour makes me happy'. This dress was still perfect for that theme though with the colourful turquoise print.
With the turquoise dress I thought the navy blue Rebecca Minkoff Regan bag would be a good accessory, and it's such a nice bag for the office with the structured sides.
This was my 'I don't know what to wear' outfit solution. The beautiful zig zag print wrap dress always gets compliments. It's the perfect dress to wear as it goes with any colour of accessories, although again I went with the navy Rebecca Minkoff Regan bag.
There was no style challenge this day to help me pick out what necklace to wear like there was with the first outfit, so I went with this pretty gold beaded necklace that my bestie gave me, I thought it tied in nicely with the gold mouse flats.
Whenever I wear these mouse flats they always get a reaction when someone spots them - usually causing a debate over what animal they are meant to be. They are Marc Jacobs mouse flats, the animal is in the name, but someone suggested they look more like wombats. I'm tempted to call them my golden wombat shoes now next time anyone asks about them! 😂
A wrap dress is one of those classic wardrobe 'must-have pieces' I completely agree with and think everyone needs in their wardrobe. They work in pregnancy, although you may need to size up to continue to cover an expanding bump. The turquoise printed wrap dress above is a size larger than normal and I wore it through my third trimester. The wrap style is perfect for breastfeeding post-baby too, flattering on any leftover baby bump and something you know will fit even with all the postpartum body changes! And of course, they work in an office setting. A great all-rounder!