After not buying anything for #NoBuyJuly16 I didn't buy as much as I thought I would in August. I picked up the dress I'd had my eye on in July after it went on sale again, and another wrap top from Atmos&Here. With the 30% off at Jeanswest for rewards card members I filled up my cart, but never bought anything in the end. With the official start of spring later this week I thought it best to wait and see what I end up wearing a lot of and where any wardrobe gaps are before I buy any more clothes.
Continuing with my goal of wearing things twice in a month after buying them, I've worn both things twice. Since I only bought two things this month, it was really easy to wear them both. I think they are pieces that will get a lot more wear as the weather heats up and we move into spring. I would have liked to have found a replacement for my black maxi skirt since I returned the midi skirt but after the hassle and cost of hemming the last skirt I bought I'm happy to wait a little longer until I can get the right one for my short self. Or until I find another local tailor!
As well as making sure I can think of two ways to wear things immediately before I buy, I'm starting to add things to my cart and then come back another day to buy them only if I've still been thinking about it. Not sure how I'll carry on with this pattern when I'm back to shopping in stores, right now with two boys under 3 online shopping is my main way to shop. It seems to be working to slow my spending for the moment.
I will be attempting #noSpenderSeptember next month and seeing if I can replicate July's no buy month in September too! I got the idea from Beth at Almost Posh. Wish me luck!
Back in April, Beth over at Almost Posh blogged about a beautiful chambray maxi skirt. I fell in love with everything about it except the price. I added it to my Iconic wishlist anyway and waited for a sale. 2 months later it finally went on sale and I had an extra % off discount code so it was the perfect time to buy!
Sine The Iconic share measurements for most of their items, I knew this skirt would be too long for my petite self. However when I got it I was pleased to find I could wear it right away...just by pulling it up super high. The elasticated waist helped! Felt really happy in this all day, and cosy for a morning at playgroup with the boys. The wrap top is a new purchase too, although the wrapped portions are held together with a stitch you can open it up below there so it's easy to breastfeed in.
I liked the pink and purple the first time I wore this maxi skirt, so decided to wear it with purple again. Blue and purple is one of those colour combinations I love to wear.
I didn't like this outfit as much as the first one though. It had been raining early in the morning and so when we hopped out the car at the post office I stepped right in a puddle, wetting the hem of the skirt. It just dragged the skirt down to my waist again, making it much too long. By the time we'd arrived at the ABA group catch up I was regretting my decision to wear this without belting it in place or without getting it hemmed first.
As it's the second time I've worn this skirt, my purchase review:
I adore this skirt. So much that I wore it twice before getting it hemmed as I was too eager to wear it!
Once I find a new tailor to hem this skirt it will get worn a lot more often - it really is perfect in every way except the length. It has pockets! Even with the cost of a tailor it's still a pretty affordable skirt, and I did know I'd need to get it taken up so I'm happy with this purchase.
May was a pretty big shopping month for me, so I decided not to buy much in June...then the Iconic had an extra % off sale items. I couldn't resist picking up a maxi skirt I' d had my eye on for months after seeing it on Beth's blog, and of course I had to add in a few extra things to get free shipping ;)
In the end I only kept 3 of the things I'd ordered and returned another 3 so I'm quite pleased I didn't buy too much this month. Definitely going to be doing No Buy July again this year though! No clothes or accessories purchases for the next month. I didn't quite achieve it last year, hopefully I can do better this year! Here's what I bought before starting #NoBuyJuly16.
I have a goal of wearing things twice in a month after buying them. By setting myself this goal I'm making sure I'm only buying things I'll actually use now, and not just store in my wardrobe with the tags on. My wardrobe is full enough already! I'm trying to make sure I buy versatile pieces I can wear a few different ways too. I've started a Ways to Wear series to show the different ways I've been wearing what I bought. Really pleased I managed to wear everything twice this month!
Since we are halfway through the year already, I thought I'd do a tally on my spending so far. (I got this idea from Beth too, it's not just shopping inspiration she gives me!) I've spent a total of $1,510.77 which averages $251.80 a month. Most months, like this month, I'm well under that total. Considering I've bought 3 handbags this year I'm surprised the total is relatively low, but I'm hoping that for the second half of the year I can spend even less.
Last month while out shopping with Beth we stopped by Target on the way home. I spotted this tank while browsing the sales racks. A neutral colour, flowy fabric, generously sized enough to fit my very different postpartum curves and just $10, it came home with me.
First time wearing this tank and I knew I wanted to pair it with this striped cardi and flares. I think this outfit would have looked even better with wedges, and maybe a felt hat...but neither of those things were practical for getting groceries with two boys under 2.
This was another outfit I had in mind when I was contemplating buying the tank. I thought the brown would look nice with the khaki. After putting it on I wasn't too sure about the embroidery with the print on the cardi, but gave it a go anyway. Comfortable for errands in the morning and spending time with the in-laws in the afternoon.
Since it's the second time I've worn this tank, my purchase review:
This was a complete impulse buy (I didn't even try it on). I'm glad I picked it up though. Brisbane winters are usually mild enough that I can still wear a sleeveless tank with enough layers, and I really like the embroidery detail. Getting a size larger than usual and it being a pretty relaxed cut to start with means it's really flowy, but I think it works with the style of top and it means I'm still quite covered when I lift one side up to breastfeed. I've got lots of other outfit ideas for this tank too, a sign of a great purchase. Really pleased I got this.
While it was an impulse buy, I did stop and take a few minutes to think about how I'd wear the tank and how it would work in my wardrobe before I bought it. I'm pleased that I'm getting into the habit now of thinking things through before I buy them, and reviewing them after I wear them means I better be able to prove it's a good purchase. Really pleased I've made this a shopping habit so I'm more mindful of what I buy.
With the autumn temperatures slowly starting to arrive, it's been good to get my scarf collection out again. While baby is small I'm avoiding necklaces or extra bracelets he could get tangled in, but a scarf is so easy to remove when feeding and soft for baby to snuggle into.
Had some shopping to do in the morning and family came to visit in the afternoon. Wanted to add some colour to the black outfit with the colourful scarf and bag. Maxi skirt, stripes and colourful accessories - such a simple and practical outfit. I really liked wearing this.
Because I really liked the maxi skirt and skull scarf combo above, I tried it again. And again I really liked it. Perfect for the daycare drop off / pick up and a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. I've worn the tee and skirt and the tee and scarf together before.
Wasn't sure if the burgundy tee and purple bag would go together though. I actually googled for 'burgundy purple outfits' during baby boy's late night feed (when I usually plan what I'll wear for the day!) to try and figure out if my outfit idea would work! I'm glad I gave it a go though. It was good to try a little something different and I think the purple looks nice with the burgundy.
Despite buying a few things in April, I managed to buy quite a bit in May. I focused mainly on accessories as clothes shopping so soon after birth is tricky - it's difficult enough guessing what in your own wardrobe will fit, never mind trying to pick the right size from a store!
Lots of impulse buys but everything that is sure to work in my wardrobe over winter. It still feels strange to think that winter is just a few days away, with autumn being so warm. The weather is cooling though, already we have caught our first cold of the season. So no full video this month, I've lost my voice! I did take a reveal of my Yoox sale purchases before I got sick, so you get to see some of the things I bought in action but not all.
Yondale Designs custom coordinates cuff bracelet (never removed from my wrist since I got it)
I have a goal of wearing things twice in a month after buying them. It means that when I buy something I've thought of two different ways to wear it, and that I can wear it right away. By doing this I'm hoping to add things to my wardrobe that will actually be useful and worn frequently.
While I found it easy to wear the cardi and the top, I found the scarves trickier. As it's been a mild autumn I've been wanting to maximise the wearing of my kimonos before it gets too cold. I can't wrap my head around a kimono and scarf outfit, so the scarves haven't been worn much yet. I know I'll be wearing the scarves a lot more over winter though.
While it's autumn in Australia, I'll be continuing to share more summer outfits. Because I'm a little behind with blogging and because Brisbane isn't showing any signs of reducing the 30+ degree temperatures we've had over summer.
More singlets and shortssummer outfits. It really is the best way to keep as cool as possible in the third trimester, if you don't count a bikini as acceptable clothing outside of the pool/beach! To vary things a little, one brighter outfit and one neutral outfit, both with different cross body bags.
Felt like it had been a while (4 months!) since I last wore this lace kimono so decided to get it out again. Had to take toddler T to a checkup at the doctors in the morning, then we had his gymboree class.
I've been wearing this gold necklace a lot recently - it seems to go with everything, and although the stone is turquoise I thought I'd give it a try with the green tank. Didn't mind the combination.
Another day, another maternity singlet and shorts combo, but this time with a different cross body bag. While the LV speedy bag I wore above is a nice neutral for a bright outfit, this time it was a bright bag and a neutral outfit.
In case you missed me sharing about it on twitter, I had a chat with Eileenabout handbags for Sugarmama.tv. I shared my must-have bags, as she's currently writing about capsule wardrobe planning. I said a cross body bag was a real essential for mums. Now that toddler T spends almost all his time outside of his stroller, cross body bags have been really helpful! I'm starting to think I might be wearing nothing but cross body bags by the time baby comes along. Just as well I have a few in my handbag collection to pick from!
When I was post-Christmas sales shopping I had some Jeanswest vouchers to spend. I splurged on a couple more maternity tanks, even though I was close to the end of the second trimester. I'm struggling a bit with the summer heat and I'm finding singlet and shorts is a great go-to outfit, so I felt the late pregnancy purchase was justified. I'm sure to get a lot of wear out of these in the final trimester! I'm wearing both of the tanks below.
It's the first time I've worn this tank. I'd saved it for a hot day so I didn't cover up the awesome laser cut detail with a kimono, but it hasn't really shown up well in the photo! It has laser cutouts on the shoulders and on the back, you can see it better on the Jeanswest site.
I thought the bright statement necklace and colourful bag dressed up a casual outfit nicely, and added a lovely touch of colour. I had the day off to relax and unwind and I spent some time with my mum in the afternoon.
Unlike my other tank in the first outfit, this is the second wearing of this one that I bought at the same time. I'm loving the print on this. The material is different to my other Jeanswest maternity tanks too, not as stretchy but very soft so it's lovely to wear. Wore this to work from home.
Kept the same bag as I love the way the magenta pops against the blue.
I love this tank. It's different from the other maternity tanks I have as it has a print, it's light and cool to wear and of course it's in my favourite colour. Even though I only have a few months left in my pregnancy I'm glad I bought this. Otherwise I'd end up wearing nothing but the three plain maternity singlets I had before!
Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone celebrating the Lunar New Year! Neither of the outfits below feature the traditional red or gold, instead I'm sharing what I wore to work a few weeks ago. Toddler T is still getting generously showered in little red envelopes though, we celebrate Chinese New Year.
The advice that I would give is to fast from social media. When you give it up, you give up your ties to it and it's hold on you is gone. Just distance yourself from it at least for a while.
There were lots of great entries, and similar advice, but I liked Sarah's mention that sometimes we need to to break the 'hold' we feel social media has on us.
I was excited to wear my new dress! I saw this on incredible sale at the Iconic for boxing day and ordered a size larger than my usual so that it would hopefully fit the baby bump. Was really pleased to find it accommodated a third trimester belly nicely. It's still on sale too...
I had an important meeting in the morning and then lunch with friends in the afternoon, this dress was the perfect office wear for that. And the print nicely disguised the fact that I spilled a little sauce down the front at lunch, haha!
While the dress in my first outfit isn't a maternity piece, this maternity wrap dress is one of my favourite pregnancy purchases from last time around. It always looks good, worked well for another day in the office and the navy MAB tote goes with everything of course.
