What To Wear On Days Out With Kids: Model Railway With Printed Tank, Denim Shorts, Kimono

I titled this post what to wear on days out with kids, but honestly this was my staple stay at home mum style for any days with the boys over summer. Shorts, tanks and kimonos. Perfection!

What I wore:

Jacket: Shein lace trimmed crochet inset white kimono C/O
Necklace: Lovisa gold filigree heart pendant
Tank: Atmos&Here 'Florida' tank in Aztec print
Shorts: Thrifted Jeanswest distressed denim shorts
Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star low in white
Bracelets: the usual plus Cora purpleheart and mother of pearl watch C/O JORD
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan satchel in Harvest Gold
Nails: OPI Koala Bear-y

Why I wore it:

Despite the heat, I had to wear closed in shoes, so I went with my trusty Converse. I don't like wearing closed in shoes on hot days, but those were the rules! We surprised the boys with a trip to the local model railway club, Brisbane Bayside Steam Railway Society. It had been a tough few weeks so I thought a day out was a nice idea.

I've included the video below, the model railway society have a track set up at a park (1900 Wynnum Road) and you can ride on miniature versions of trains. For my train mad boys, it was perfect. We went around a few times, trying out the different trains. So much fun for them. There's a little model race track setup for remote control cars too so we spent some time there before heading away to get lunch.

I knew I'd need a bit of physical sunblock too for being out in the sun, so I added this white kimono over the top of my printed tank and denim shorts. With the gold in the tank, the rose gold filigree heart necklace seemed like a good accessory, as well as the 'harvest gold' / mustard micro Regan bag.

While I did take the Converse off as soon as I got home, the rest of the outfit stayed on. I wore it to film a couple YouTube videos while hubby occupied the boys.


Last worn: crochet trim kimono, Aztec print tank, distressed denim shorts, Converse Chucks, Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan bag.

Other ways to wear: crochet trim kimono and printed shorts, Aztec print tank and skinny jeans, distressed denim shorts and stripes, Converse Chucks and pencil skirt, Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan bag and maxi dress.

Perfect for pregnancy: Aztec print tank and hidden baby bump, Converse Chucks and maternity shorts.

---

Day Out Vlog

---

What I wore:

Jacket: Shein lace trimmed crochet inset white kimono C/O
Necklace: Nibbly Bits Abacus teething necklace in pop
Tank: Jeanswest 'Rowena' print tank
Shorts: Jeanswest Trinity Bermuda denim shorts
Shoes: black slim Havaianas thongs
Bracelets: the usual plus Cora purpleheart and mother of pearl watch C/O JORD
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff metallic silver mini MAC

Why I wore it:

Since I liked the outfit above so much, recreated it again with the same kimono, but different tank and shorts. And different shoes! Havaianas are much better suited to the hot Queensland weather! Swapped the micro Regan bag for my silver mini MAC bag too.

We had a few things to do on this day. I took the boys to a messy play day at playgroup in the morning, then we had the doctors in the afternoon. Not quite as much fun as the day out on the miniature railway, but the boys always enjoy playgroup, especially if it's a messy play day!

Unlike the outfit above, I expected to be holding squirming kids on my lap at least some point in the doctor's waiting room, so I went with a more kid friendly necklace! My boys are passed the teething stage but I still like these silicone teething necklaces as they are safe for them to play with and tug on and I know they won't break them!


Last worn: crochet trim kimono (above), animal print tank, bermuda denim shorts, Havaianas, Rebecca Minkoff silver mini MAC bag.

Other ways to wear: crochet trim kimono with monochrome outfit, animal print tank and maxi skirt, bermuda denim shorts and wrap top, Rebecca Minkoff silver mini MAC bag and embroidered shorts.

Perfect for pregnancy: animal print tank hiding 20 week bump, Rebecca Minkoff silver mini MAC in third trimester.

---

Printed Tanks Under $50

---

How You Can Wear It:

Printed tanks and denim shorts are a comfortable stay at home mum outfit for me in the warmer weather. If you need to add a little physical sunblock, try adding a plain kimono. It's breezy fabric won't overheat you, even on a warm day. The beauty of a printed tank outfit is that just by swapping one tank for another, you change the whole outfit by just changing the print you're wearing. A good way to keep your outfits feeling fresh and new without buying anything extra.


Linking up with Lizzie In Lace, The Weekend Link Up, Style Wise, Shoe & Tell, Hello Monday, Modest Monday, On Mondays We Link Up.

Follow Away From the Blue on:
Bloglovin : Twitter : Instagram : Youtube : Facebook : Google Plus : LikeToKnow.It 

Grey Tees, Maxi Skirts, and Tesalate Towel

A good fail-safe wardrobe option for me is a grey tee. With all of the printed pieces in my wardrobe, grey tees are staple pieces I can always pull out when I'm not sure what to wear with something. With brightly coloured printed maxi skirts like the ones I'm wearing before, a grey tee is a simple choice.

What I wore:

Necklace: Happiness Boutique turquoise and coral pendant necklace (C/O)
Tee: Marc by Marc Jacobs blossom pocket tee in grey
Skirt: thrifted Billabong red printed maxi skirt
Shoes: Rebecca Minkoff Georgina studded gladiator sandals in blush
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan satchel in Harvest Gold

Why I wore it:

I realised I hadn't worn this grey tee for a while and decided to give it a last wear. When I'm not sure about something in my wardrobe or it's been so long between wears, 'the last wear' lets me find out if I still love something and it deserves to stay, or if it needs to leave my wardrobe. I had such mixed opinions about this when I wore it though! Wasn't too happy with it in the photos, but it is so soft, comfortable and I felt great in it all day. It's staying in my wardrobe for now.

I want to try it with something other than this maxi skirt - as I've mentioned before it's a slightly too long thrift find that I just roll up and wear higher on my waist so it's a lot of bulk together with a slouchy tee. I will need to get this skirt tailored, I'm sure it's a keeper now!

Wore this to run a few errands with the boys. I've worn yellow and red together before, and again I really liked the combination. I think the mustard yellow micro Regan bag works nicely with the bright red of the maxi skirt.


Last worn: grey pocket tee, red printed maxi skirt, studded sandals, Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan bag.

Other ways to wear: grey pocket tee in winter, red printed maxi skirt and blue tee, studded sandals worn 30 ways, Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan bag worn 30 ways.

Perfect for pregnancy: grey pocket tee in second trimester.

---

Grey Tees Under $50:

---

What I wore:

Hat: Big W bow detail sunhat
Tee: Spectrum basic v-neck tee in grey marl
Bikini: Kiargo 'Captains Bridge' striped bikini
Skirt: thrifted tribal print maxi skirt
Shoes: slim gold Havaianas
Bag: Louis Vuitton MM damier azur neverfull

Why I wore it:

Wore this for a much-needed relaxing beach day the week before Christmas. My first weekend after finishing up at work for the Christmas break, so some sun was just what was needed.  I'd attempted no-heat curls the night before by plaiting my hair, but as you might have seen on Insta stories it didn't work too well! I ended up throwing my very frizzy and not at all curly hair up into a messy bun and hiding it under my sun hat at the beach. I got the chance to try out my new Tesalate towel at the beach too! They kindly sent me one, the 'this is love' towel.

Tesalate towels are 'sand free', and I was surprised to find that this claim is actually true! I tried to take a video showing how easy it was to flick the sand off the towel, but with my hands full with two toddlers it didn't happen. Trust me, it is sand free. No sand sticks to it, even wet sand. It washed well too.
The only downside is that after we went to the kid's water play area and sat down on the grass to dry off, it accumulated a few leaves on the underside of the towel. So it's good for not taking a bunch of sand home with you, but watch out for leaves and twigs!

I picked the grey tee to wear as I wanted something easy to throw on over my bikini, it was perfect. And my Louis Vuitton neverfull is frequently selected as my beach bag. It's nice to have a big bag to throw everything in when it doesn't fit in the baby bag which is filled with all the usual things plus towels for everyone! (That's another bonus of the Tesalate towel, it folds up so small!).


Last worn: sun hat, grey tee, striped Kiargo bikini, tribal print maxi skirt, gold Havaianas, Louis Vuitton damier azur neverfull.

Other ways to wear: sunhat and tunic, grey tee and skinny jeans, tribal print maxi skirt, Louis Vuitton neverfull and wrap dress.

Perfect for pregnancy: grey tee and maternity pencil skirt, Louis Vuitton damier azur neverfull at 38 weeks.

---

Printed Maxi Skirts Under $50:

---

How You Can Wear It:

If you have a printed skirt you're not sure what to pair it with, try a grey tee. It's a classic neutral that goes with everything. Perfect for a casual relaxed day at the beach, or a busy morning running errands.


Linking up with Style on the Daily, Fashion Frenzy, Oh Hey Girl, Fashion Files, Fun Fashion, Weekend Wear, Flashback Fashion.

Follow Away From the Blue on:
Bloglovin : Twitter : Instagram : Youtube : Facebook : Google Plus : LikeToKnow.It 

Outfit Formulas: Stripe Tees and Floral Embroidered Olive Shorts

Everyone repeats clothes at some point (even celebrities who probably have more clothes than they could ever possibly wear). In my quest to try and get more use from my wardrobe, I try to wear things a little differently now and then. Instead of completely repeating an outfit piece by piece, I'll take elements I loved and use it to come up with an outfit formula to follow to wear the same thing slightly differently. Like everyone else though, sometimes you just have to repeat an entire outfit head-to-toe!


When I saw these olive embroidered shorts, I instantly thought of wearing them with stripes. I decided to wear them with my foil striped tee, and loved it so much the next time I wore them I picked another striped tee. Same formula, slightly different results.

What I wore:

Necklace: Nibbly Bits Feather pendant in peach (C/O)
Tee: Jeanswest Anika foil stripe tee in white and silver
Shorts: Jeanswest Tessa olive embroidered shorts
Shoes: Wittner 'Jasmarie' studded sandals
Bracelets: the usual plus Christmas bow bracelet (with bells!)
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff metallic silver mini MAC

Why I wore it:

I wore this back in December! I'm usually a little behind with sharing my outfit photos on the blog, but nothing makes me feel more disorganised than sharing December photos in January, with the new year making these last years photos 😂

Delayed posting aside, I really liked this outfit! I wore this for our playgroup Christmas party which I overly shared on Insta stories. I've been going to this playgroup since Toddler T was a baby, he had his first Christmas party there and I always go snap happy taking tons of photos of the boys enjoying the massive picnic spread. There were chocolate eclairs this time, and so of course I have a fair few chocolate face photos!

I thought the metallic foil stripes on the tee and the Christmas bow on my wrist were nice nods to the Christmas theme without getting too dressed up, as there would be a lot of sitting on the ground and running around with toddlers. I did dress the boys up in their novelty Christmas tees though!


Last worn: metallic stripe tee, olive embroidered shorts, studded sandals, Rebecca Minkoff metallic mini MAC bag.

Other ways to wear: metallic stripe tee and floral kimono, olive embroidered shorts and black tee, studded sandals and maxi dress, Rebecca Minkoff metallic mini MAC bag and denim jacket.

Perfect for pregnancy: studded sandals and maternity shorts, silver mini MAC and maternity denim.

---

Embroidered Shorts Under $50:

---

What I wore:

Necklace: Nibbly Bits Abacus teething necklace in pop
Tee: Atmos&Here navy stripe v-neck tee
Shorts: Jeanswest Tessa olive embroidered shorts
Shoes: Wittner 'Jasmarie' studded sandals
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan satchel in Harvest Gold

Why I wore it:

I liked the first metallic stripe tee outfit so much that I planned this one, again with the same shoes, although a different Rebecca Minkoff bag. I liked this resulting outfit much I wore it twice! Wore it on Monday, for some errands and a specialist appointment and then again a couple days later on the Wednesday. There was a bit of a stressful day or so in between with an unexpected overnight hospital stay for the little one, and some frantic rescheduling of planned appointments and work for me so that Baby Boy was taken care of.

To make things easier on myself, I just pulled on Monday's outfit again. Another doctor's appointment but also the opportunity to work from home while my mother in law looked after baby boy. An outfit formula is a wonderful way to make getting dressed easy, but there is nothing easier than repeating an entire outfit when you're too stressed to think of anything else!

Crazy backstory aside, I did enjoy wearing this outfit. Nothing really matches, with the navy stripe tee, olive floral embroidered shorts and mustard bag, but I do love the way all of the colours work together.


Last worn: navy stripe tee, olive embroidered shorts (above), studded sandals (above), Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan bag.

Other ways to wear: navy stripe tee and chambray skirt, olive embroidered shorts and floral kimono, studded sandals and a dress, Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan bag worn 30 ways.

Perfect for pregnancy: studded sandals in second trimester, stripe tee in third trimester.

How You Can Wear It:

Nothing wrong with repeating an outfit combination you love! But if you want to change things up a little, try using the pieces that you loved from the outfit to make up a formula to follow to recreate a similar one with different pieces. This also works if you're inspired by an outfit you see but don't have the exact pieces in your wardrobe - identify what you liked about the outfit and see if you could create something similar based on that formula.

Outfit formulas work well when you're pushed for time in the mornings too. You can use an outfit you loved for inspiration for a quick outfit another day, just by following the formula you create.

Follow Away From the Blue on:
Bloglovin : Twitter : Instagram : Youtube : Facebook : Google Plus : LikeToKnow.It 

Print Mixing: Floral Kimono With Stripes and Polka Dots Foil Print Tees

I love this floral kimono, and I've been wearing it a little more than usual lately to meet a challenge I set myself at the start of the year to wear more pieces in my wardrobe 30 times.

As I recently got two new foil print tees, I took the chance to wear it with them for a little bit of print mixing: floral with stripes and polka dots. It helped me hit 30 wears of the kimono too!

What I wore:

Jacket: Somedays Lovin' Yakuza print kimono
Tee: Jeanswest Anika foil stripe tee in white and silver
Shorts: Jeanswest Sara distressed hot short
Shoes: Wittner 'Jasmarie' studded sandals
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Love cross body bag in grey

Why I wore it:

I've worn this floral kimono with stripes before - stripes are my go-to for print mixing as they really go with everything! When I got this striped tee in the Jeanswest sale I knew I'd wear it with this kimono, i think the grey of the kimono and the silver foil stripes go together nicely. With the busy print mixing on top, I stuck with a neutral pair of shorts on the bottom - another Jeanswest sale purchase! I continued on the grey and silver theme with the grey Rebecca Minkoff love bag with silver hardware. I really liked how this outfit came together, perfect for a quiet Saturday running a few errands.


Last worn: floral kimono, black denim shorts, studded sandals, Rebecca Minkoff Love bag. First time I've worn the striped tee on the blog as it's a recent purchase.

Other ways to wear: floral kimono worn 30 ways, stripe tee, black denim shorts and burgundy tee, studded sandals and denim shorts, Rebecca Minkoff Love bag and boho dress.

Perfect for pregnancy: kimono and maxi skirt in second trimester, studded sandals in second trimester, Rebecca Minkoff Love bag in third trimester.

---

Floral Kimonos Under $50:

---

What I wore:

Jacket: Somedays Lovin' Yakuza print kimono
Necklace: Nibbly Bits Abacus teething necklace in pop
Tee: Jeanswest Flavia foil printed polka dot tee deep iris
Shorts: Jeanswest Sara distressed hot short
Shoes: slim gold Havaianas
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan satchel in Harvest Gold
Nails: OPI Fire Escape Rendezvous

Why I wore it:

Once again I'm realising I've worn this tee to my Australian Breastfeeding Association group - it gets worn there quite a lot, haha! I wore this to a topic I'd really been looking forward to - we had a first aid presentation from St John's ambulance. When Toddler T was little, I'd gone to a first aid course for babies and felt quite confident with everything baby first aid related.
A few months ago, when Baby Boy fell ill, everything went out the window and I panicked. I barely remembered what to do and had to ask the 000 operator to tell me each step to do as my mind was blank. Instinct kicked in and I did a few things but couldn't remember what to do next, it was scary. It wasn't until we were out of the ambulance and in the hospital when we were asked if we had done a first aid course that it all came flooding back to me, and I started remembering what we'd been taught.

I asked the presenter to cover the topic again for me and it was nice to know I'd done the right thing calling the ambulance. I picked up some other useful tips and advice from her too, that I hope I'll never have to put into practice!

Outfit-wise, I thought the polka dots and floral print was something very different for me. I don't have a lot of polka dot pieces in my wardrobe. Really liked this combo though - I think the gold foil polka dots on the tee work just as well with the floral kimono as the silver stripes on the tee above. And the mustard yellow micro Regan bag is a nice combination with the yellow on the kimono as well as the navy tee. I've worn this tee and bag together before.

I usually do a purchase review after wearing everything I buy twice. The goal is to learn what works and doesn't in my wardrobe, so I make wiser purchasing decisions in the future.

I love these shorts (even if this is the fourth wear, I forgot to do the review earlier). I already had a couple pairs of black shorts, but I got rid of them as I was worried they were too short. These are still short shorts, but slightly longer than the ones I had before, and still just as comfortable (perhaps even more so!). A classic pair of black shorts is essential for Brisbane summers, I'm really pleased I bought these, and thankful for the Christmas gift card I used to buy them!


Last worn: floral kimono (above), polka dot tee, black denim shorts (above), gold Havaianas, Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan bag.

Other ways to wear: floral kimono and chambray dress, polka dot tee and mustard cardigan, black denim shorts and a dress, gold Havaianas, Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan bag worn 30 ways.

Perfect for pregnancy: floral kimono and maternity shorts.

---

Foil Print Tees Under $50:

---

How You Can Wear It:

You don't have to stick with neutral basic pieces when wearing colourful printed kimonos. Stripes and polka dots are fun to try print mixing with. If you're unsure, picking similarly coloured pieces like the silver stripes and grey kimono is a good way to go, and keeping it simple with just two prints and having the rest of your outfit plain makes it easy. The benefit of having one of your pieces being a printed kimono is that if you are unsure when leaving the house and later change your mind, you can easily take that layer off!


Linking up with Fabulous Friday, Fab Favourites, Trend Spin.


I hope that you have a very merry Christmas and enjoy spending time with your friends and family on Monday as we reflect on the greatest gift of all, God sending Jesus.

Follow Away From the Blue on:
Bloglovin : Twitter : Instagram : Youtube : Facebook : Google Plus : LikeToKnow.It 

Maxi Dresses For Christmas Events (And Where To Get One Now For Christmas Day!)

It's no secret that I love maxi skirts and dresses. While I recently bought a lot of shorts for summer, you can't beat a classic maxi dress in December for all the Christmas related events. I almost always wear a maxi dress on Christmas day too, it's such a good choice. Comfortable for opening presents, running around with toddlers and nice and loose so you can indulge in all that yummy food!

The two jersey maxi dresses below are some of my fave wardrobe oldies. There's still plenty of time to order a maxi dress now and have it arrive before Christmas so you can wear it on Christmas day too!

What I wore:

Necklace: Uniquely Made with Love Sea Change necklace

Dress: Jeanswest 'Chantelle' crochet detail blue printed maxi dress
Shoes: Rebecca Minkoff Georgina studded gladiator sandals in blush
Bracelets: the usual plus silver charm bracelet
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Love cross body bag in grey

Why I wore it:

I wore this a little while ago! We had our family Christmas photo, and as usual I went with the easy maxi dress option. I picked this one specifically as I'd bought the boys little blue poloshirts for the photo, and with hubby in a blue shirt too we were all perfectly themed but not too matchy matchy!

I had a bit of a giggle when we got to the photo area though - it was a blue background! We really coordinated! We usually go to Westfield for our photo, Chermside do pet Santa photos. Unfortunately they had cut their pet santa photos down to just 2 hours over the month and they were of course almost immediately booked out as a result. We ended up booking in with the RSPCA Santa Paws photos for the first time and while it was more expensive, the resulting photo was much better quality. Santa was very understanding too and they took the time to help and suggest things so we managed to get a good photo of us all despite our terrified toddler, who never got anywhere near as close to any other Santas we saw! I recommend them if you're looking for a photo with the whole family, we can't imagine our annual photo without Cooper!


Last worn: blue maxi dress, Rebecca Minkoff Georgina studded sandals, Rebecca Minkoff Love bag.

Other ways to wear: blue maxi dress for first birthday, Rebecca Minkoff Georgina studded sandals worn 30 ways, Rebecca Minkoff Love bag and gold jeans.

Perfect for pregnancy: maxi dress at 39 weeks, Rebecca Minkoff Love bag in second trimester.

---

Where to Get Maxi Dresses for Under $50 for Christmas Day!

There is still enough time to order yourself a beautiful maxi dress to wear on Christmas day, if you order now!

In Australia, use next day shipping for dresses at The Iconic:

Last Christmas delivery order date varies depending on your state but can be as late as early morning on the 22nd for same day delivery, or mid-morning on 21st December for next day delivery.

In the UK, shop for maxi dresses at ASOS:

Last Christmas order date is 22nd December for standard UK delivery, or 23rd for express.

In the US, shop maxi dresses at Amazon:

Last Christmas order date is 22nd December for 2 day shopping, or 24th December at 9am for same day delivery.

---

What I wore: 

Necklace: Nibbly Bits Wilma teething necklace in pale daffodil
Dress: Jeanswest 'Elodie' tie dye grey jersey maxi dress
Shoes: black slim Havaianas thongs
Bracelets: the usual plus Christmas bow bracelet (with bells!)
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan satchel in Harvest Gold

Why I wore it:

Another Christmas event, another maxi dress! It seemed the most obvious choice for a Christmas party with the boys.  I like grey and yellow together, so when I saw one of the style challenges in Instagram for the day was 'bold hue', I knew I'd pick yellow accessories with this dress. I've worn the dress and bag together before, it's a nice combination. The little Christmas bow on my wrist was a fun addition for the party, and met yet another Instagram style challenge for 'tied'.

This was such a fun party for me to attend. Last year, we had been looking forward to it. I was in hospital with Baby Boy but we had been confident that we wouldn't be in there long, just a few days at most, which would mean we would be out for the party. Instead, we stayed there much longer than expected and the party marked day 6 in hospital as I continued to room in with Baby Boy. Toddler T's grandparents took him to the party solo instead. It was just a kid's party, but was quite emotional for me reflecting back on where we were last year. I didn't have time to dwell on it for long though, there was a lot to do and see and then we had to dash to swim lessons, and celebrate putting the Christmas tree up in the afternoon.


Last worn: tie dye maxi dress, Havaianas, Rebecca Minkoff Micro Regan bag.

Other ways to wear: tie dye maxi dress knotted, Rebecca Minkoff Micro Regan bag worn 30 ways.

Perfect for pregnancy: tie dye maxi dress at 38 weeks pregnant.

---

More Printed Jersey Maxi Dresses Under $50:

---

How You Can Wear It:

For me a maxi dress will always be a go-to over December. It's the perfect mum outfit as it's quick and easy to wear with minimal accessorising required, although you can add bright accessories if you want a bit of a pop. Maxi dresses are comfortable and casual enough for running around with toddlers but dressed up enough for parties and family Christmas photoshoots.

There is still enough time to order a special dress in for Christmas too, with great options under $50 at ASOS, Amazon or The Iconic linked above. I love next day shipping at the Iconic for last minute gifts too.



Linking up with Style on the Daily, Oh Hey Girl, Fashion Files, Fabulous Friday, Passion for Fashion.

Follow Away From the Blue on:
Bloglovin : Twitter : Instagram : Youtube : Facebook : Google Plus : LikeToKnow.It 

Tailoring Thrifted Pieces: Is It Worth It? Opshop Finds and Denim Jackets

While I'm not a massive opshopper (thrift shopper for my American readers!) I do like browsing when I can and occasionally getting a bargain. Back in October, my local store had a 'fill a bag for $2' sale. I took the rare opportunity to leave the boys home with hubby and have some time to myself to browse. I didn't try anything on, just filling my bag with things that looked good and I guesstimated would work.

I've shared before that I sometimes wonder if it's worth buying less than perfect pieces at the opshop with the idea of spending more to get them tailored to fit. But with two of the thrifted pieces I'm wearing below I decided to go ahead and spend more on getting them tailored. They worked out at 67 cents each so even with the average $14 tailoring price for both they were still bargains.

What I wore:

 

Jacket: Bubblegum denim jacket
Necklace: Nibbly Bits Wilma teething necklace in pale daffodil
Tank: Jeanswest brown marle singlet
Skirt: Thrifted tribal print maxi skirt (new purchase)
Shoes: slim gold Havaianas
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan satchel in Harvest Gold

Why I wore it:

This beautiful tribal print skirt used to be a strapless dress. It looked nicely made, but you could see where the fabric had been pulled from someone constantly adjusting it. I couldn't get past the gorgeous print and colours, it looked lovingly handmade too so I added it to my bag, reasoning I could wear it as a maxi skirt. When I got it home and tested this theory out, I realised it was going to need a bit of elastic sewn in to keep it in place as a skirt. Luckily my tailor was happy to do that for me. While it's not quite maxi skirt length, and is more an ankle grazing length on me, I adore it. I've never seen anything like this in the stores and being cotton it's sure to get a lot of wear over summer.

It's made me think about getting my red maxi skirt fixed up - it's a bit too long (#petiteprobs!) but I usually just get around that by wearing it higher on my waist.

Wore this out for an errand filled day with the boys, trying to cram everything in before a predicted storm was due to arrive. Thankfully it passed right by us. I did a little detour in the morning and stopped by the Jeanswest sale again, and picked up another little something which you'll have already seen in my November purchase post.


Last worn: denim jacket, brown marle tank, gold Havaianas, Rebecca Minkoff Micro Regan. First time I've worn the skirt as it was a recent purchase.

Other ways to wear: denim jacket and maxi dress, brown marle tank and wrap dress, Rebecca Minkoff Micro Regan worn 30 ways.

Perfect for pregnancy: denim jacket and hidden baby bump, brown tank in third trimester, gold Havaianas and maternity bermuda shorts.

---

Denim Jackets Under $50:

---

What I wore:

Jacket: Bubblegum denim jacket
Necklace: Nibbly Bits Abacus teething necklace in pop
Tee:  thrifted mix apparel black space dye tee
Shorts: Thrifted pastel pink cotton shorts
Shoes: black slim Havaianas thongs
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Love cross body bag in grey

Why I wore it:

Both the tee and the shorts I picked up at the same $2 sale! The super soft tee was perfect as it was, so no alterations were needed there. I got it to replace my black tee which I accidentally destroyed by sticking it in the wrong wash cycle one too many times!

When I saw these shorts I was drawn to the colour and felt positive when I saw the size label was my normal size. I threw them in the bag. After having my colours 'done' pastels were one of the things suggested to keep away from my face, so I thought these shorts would be a nice way to add some pastels to my summer outfits.

I was disappointed to get them home and realise that they were either labeled incorrectly or a different sizing standard, as they were much too big. After debating if I could belt them, I decided to go ask my tailor if she could do anything. And she could! I felt pretty good about giving these shorts a new life, slightly tapered off by then seeing very similar shorts on sale for less than half the cost of the alterations.

The way I see it though, I supported a charity buying them in the first place (even though it was just $2...), and supported a local business with the alterations. So I don't feel too bad that there are similar styles available cheaper. $14.67 is a pretty good price for a cute pair of shorts!

Wore these out to playgroup, where the boys had chocolate chip cookies and of course my shorts were smeared in chocolate. Hopefully these light shorts will fare better next time I wear them!


Last worn: denim jacket (above), black marle tee, black Havaianas, Rebecca Minkoff Love bag. First time I've worn the pastel pink shorts as they are recently back from the tailor.

Other ways to wear: denim jacket and printed maxi skirt, black marle tee and olive shorts, Rebecca Minkoff Love bag and floral maxi dress.

Perfect for pregnancy: denim jacket in third trimester, Love bag and maxi dress in third trimester.

---

How You Can Wear It:

It can be tricky to find your size when op shopping. While there are ways around things being slightly too big like belting or wearing skirts higher on your waist, you can always alter something to make it fit. If you're not crafty or are a bad sewer like I am, finding a local tailor is a good idea. They can give you ideas and advice on ways to change garments and make them work for you. Something to try when you love something so much you don't want to leave the store without it. (Tia is my local tailor who I recommend if you're in the Brisbane bayside and this post was not sponsored, she doesn't even know I'm writing it).


Do you buy things knowing they will need alterations, or do you leave them on the opshop rack and hunt for other treasures that fit?


Linking up with Turning Heads, On Trend, Confident Twosday, Style Sessions.

Follow Away From the Blue on:
Bloglovin : Twitter : Instagram : Youtube : Facebook : Google Plus : LikeToKnow.It