I love printed pieces, especially stripes, and given the choice between a plain piece and a printed piece I'll usually go for the print! Over the past couple of years I've been really trying to focus more on adding basics to my wardrobe - nice plain pieces that go with anything in my wardrobe. Plain doesn't have to mean boring though, as you can see from these fun colourful tanks. Simple style and cut but bright and cheerful colours.
For their first wear, I wore these bright tanks with some relaxed and soft printed shorts. Easy summer SAHM dressing.
I was excited to wear these two new pieces together, I bought them both during separate shopping trips at the Jeanswest sale. I like that these shorts have pockets too. I was surprised to see how nicely the blue tank works with the aqua bag - I wouldn't change anything about this outfit! It was so comfortable and perfect for a hot summer day.
We took each of the boys shopping separately to let them pick out Christmas gifts for each other, then watched Santa's arrival parade at out local shopping centre. (I wore this earlier in December). To finish off a busy morning, we had swim lessons. It was a much more relaxing and quiet afternoon!
It was a quiet Sunday, just a couple of errands in the morning, but I loved how bright and colourful this outfit was. I'm looking forward to wearing this tank a lot more - perfect addition to my wardrobe.
An ideal wardrobe would have the perfect balance of plain pieces and printed pieces to allow for a lot of outfit options. Basic plain pieces don't have to be neutrals - add a little colour with bright basics that still pair just as nicely with printed pieces as neutrals do!
Boxing Day Sales!
Here are some of the best boxing day sales around:
Up to 50% off at The Iconic plus get an extra 20% off with code 'HOT20'! Same day or next day delivery available for New Year's Eve outfits! Order up to 29th December for NYE delivery.
My blog friend Ruth does these 5x5 style challenges on Instagram. Another blog friend, Eileen and I started talking with her about it and thought it would be fun to participate. We decided to do an international style challenge a couple of weeks ago near the end of November.
The rules: 5 pieces of clothing to create 5 outfits over 5 days, with a black and burgundy colour scheme. Accessories like shoes, necklaces, scarves, handbags, outerwear, can be added as needed and don't count as one of the 5 pieces.
Who took part: Ruth @ruthyannie, Eileen @eileensed and myself, @awayfromblue. Ruth did this over autumn in the cold weather, and Eileen had to dress a growing baby bump too! I have so much admiration for them both!
This is going to be a bit of a long post as I share with you what we wore over 5 days! I hope you'll get a lot of outfit inspiration from it though, and discover some new ways you can rewear pieces you already own.
My Capsule Wardrobe
After a few last minute swaps and changes, these are the 5 pieces I came up with for the challenge.
black drawstring waist maxi skirt
black denim shorts
burgundy jersey dress
black, burgundy and cream shirt dress
burgundy slouchy tee
My choices were limited by the colour scheme which helped me make decisions about what to pick as my 5 pieces. The last time I did a capsule, it was my third trimester capsule wardrobe and the growing bump helped limit my options there too! I did have to go into the office for one day which made me pick the shirt dress, even if the print is more red than burgundy. I figured it was close enough!
The main worry I had was around structuring the pieces I wore to allow me to have them washed and ironed ready for the next wear With two messy toddlers it was highly unlikely I was going to be able to wear things twice in a row without washing them! In the end I came up with 6 outfit ideas so that if something wasn't ready in time, I'd have a fall back option.
For the first day of the challenge I went with a classic tee and maxi skirt combo. When I'd first started planning outfits and pieces for the challenge I'd went with a different burgundy tee, and changed my mind and swapped it for this tee instead. I didn't like the way this one sat with the maxi skirt though, I was a bit frustrated with it both tucked and untucked and wasn't as comfortable with this outfit as I could have been. Easy outfit for playgroup though.
This was as 'formal' as my outfits got during the challenge, the majority of them were casual outfits. I had to go into the office, so picked this shirt dress to fit in with the business casual dress code. I found myself fussing with this outfit too during the day though, the dress seemed to ride up a lot and I was constantly tugging it back down. I much prefer wearing this dress as a kimono, or layering it up with tights in winter.
I knew with the darker black and red print on the dress (it's a geometric print although it looks like polka dots in the pics!) that this Marc Jacobs bag would work perfectly with it. This bag doesn't get worn as often as it did when I first got it, but it's still a nice choice for work. It's been tagged in 62 posts on the blog and most of the time it featured in both outfits of the posts, so you can see it was worn a lot in the past! Such a unique colour too, a deep purple-y brown.
The simplest of all my challenge outfits, and also the most popular. I wore this to work from home and attend a specialist appointment with baby boy in the afternoon. With the burgundy star print dress, I added black through my accessories, with the same ankle boots I'd worn the day before and another little worn bag, my Mimco button bag.
This was actually my first expensive bag purchase, despite how little I wear it now I'm never going to let it go. I spent months thinking about it and saving for it and picking out the perfect colour combo I wanted and I still remember the excitement of going to the store to pick it up! Very treasured even if not frequently worn now. I think I bought it in 2007 at the height of the button bag trend, still looks great. Sadly it's discontinued, the closest thing is the Mimco Turnlock bag that's around $200 more expensive than the button bag was 10 or so years ago, or to go to ebay for the classic style.
An incredibly busy day called for a comfortable and casual outfit, and the first wearing of the last of my 5 pieces, my black denim shorts. Added the comfy slouchy burgundy tee and the printed dress was worn as a kimono. Converse were a practical choice for a busy day, and the mustard yellow bag was a fun touch of colour with the black and burgundy.
Baby boy had some more tests at the hospital in the morning, so I had the day off. With my mother in law available to watch the boys, as it was a day I normally work, I made the most of it and she looked after them both once the testing was done so I could gt a rare child free afternoon to go Christmas shopping. And I shopped up a storm, getting the majority of the things remaining on my Christmas present list!
For my fifth and final outfit with my 5 pieces, I wore my denim shorts again and the lovely burgundy dress as a top. I added turquoise accessories with the necklace and Rebecca Minkoff mini MAC bag for an extra touch of colour. I've won dresses as tops before, it's a nice way to wear something a little differently. The extra dress fabric wasn't too bulky although it was a bit of a pain tucking it in to the shorts every time I went to the bathroom! I had considered doubling up on the dresses and wearing the shift dress as a kimono over this again, but despite how little time I spent with the boys the day before it still got messy and had to have a wash. That was the hardest part of this challenge - making sure everything was washed and ironed in time to wear again!
This was a nice outfit to finish the challenge on, I ran around with the boys completing a few errands.
Hope you enjoyed seeing the different outfits we were able to create for the challenge. While it was a fun challenge for me, I was looking forward to getting back into my regular wardrobe at the end of it! Especially after buying lots of new pieces that month that I was eager to wear.
Thanks so much to Ruth and Eileen for inviting me to take part - if you don't already, you should follow them on Instagram!
Ever since impulse buying a tiered floral print maxi dress last year, I've been a fan of tiered dresses. If it's got an extra layer or ruffle I'm admiring it! With my 7 months without shopping at the start of the year I've been pretty good and not gone overboard with buying everything I see, but couldn't resist adding a couple more dresses to my collection now I'm shopping again!
Fell in love with this dress on Ruth's blog. Thought about it for a while and then Zaful had a free shipping sale so I went for it. After waiting 4 weeks it finally arrived.
As I've had experience with these kinds of store before, I knew what to expect. I checked the sizing carefully, and knew it would be a while before it arrived. As I'd seen real life photos on Ruth's blog I knew I'd get what I ordered, so didn't worry about that. Apart from being a little unsure it was worth the $30 I paid (after spending months not buying anything) and a lot of time cutting off loose threads, this dress really grew on me. It gets compliments everywhere you go and lets me try out a few trends at once with the tiers, ruffles, statement sleeves, floral print and victorian collar.
The statement sleeves are fun but of course got wet and caught in a door. Not the most practical choice for life with toddlers! I wore this for a day out where there was less food prep and cleaning at home to try avoid getting the sleeves dirty. I had a rare morning to myself shopping the 'fill a bag for $2' sale at the local opshop and then a parade through the city with the boys and lunch before a quiet afternoon at home, with the in-laws over for dinner in the evening.
I found this length okay for life with two toddlers, the swing style means it doesn't ride up as you walk which is good, and even babywearing didn't pull the dress up and make it feel too short. Was nice and light for a hot day too.
I'd planned this outfit for a work from home day, and as usual laid out the outfit the night before. However in the morning I realised as soon as I woke toddler T up he wasn't going to be able to go to daycare as he was unwell, so I called out of work and we had a quiet day together with a doctor's appointment for him in the morning and then Baby Boy's specialist appointment in the afternoon.
Wore this pink blazer as I wanted a little something to cover my shoulders in the cooler morning, although I didn't need it in the heat of the day. This is one of those outfits I've worn just because of seeing something on another blog. I was reading Lorena's blog and she was inspired by Gemma from Jacquard Flower to wear her pink blazer, which made me realise I needed to give mine a wear again, and so this outfit was the result. I definitely get a lot of outfit ideas and inspiration from blogs even if I don't recreate the outfit exactly (stripes, jeans and pink blazer was the original inspiration!).
Dresses are so easy to throw on for spring. Picking a dress with extra details like a fun print, tiers, ruffles, statement sleeves or even all of the above can make your simple dress outfit feel a little more special. Even with the same accessories, the details on each of these dresses are so different it seems like a completely new outfit even though it's exactly the same formula.
Best of the Black Friday Sales!
A few of my top picks from the Black Friday sales that are live right now.
I've been on a bit of a shorts buying binge this spring! I've been slowly swapping out some of my current shorts and selling or donating them to make room for some more of these cute relaxed fit soft shorts. I'm not really sure if they have a proper name, 'relaxed fit soft shorts' seems a bit long. I do know that they are insanely comfortable and perfect for Brisbane's heat though. They look great with this floral print kimono too.
Ordinarily I wouldn't wear voluminous pieces with a kimono, I don't always like the results, but I loved the relaxed vibe of both these outfits. Perfect for playgroup.
With the warmer weather, I have been so excited to wear these blue printed shorts again. I know from my personal stylist session that they aren't the best style for me, because post-babies my waist isn't the narrowest part of my body and these shorts highlight that. But I really don't care, I love them anyway. So much so that I went and bought a couple more in a similar style!
I'm surprised that these have only been worn 16 times so far, nowhere near 30 wears but I'm aiming to reach that goal with them this spring/summer!
I usually pair these shorts with stripes if I'm wearing another print, but decided to go with the neutral metallic tank and add the floral print kimono for something different. Partly also because I'm trying to hit 30 wears with this kimono this season. I really liked this combination, nice and comfortable for a warm day at playgroup with the boys. I've worn the tank and shorts together before too.
Back when we had our failed shopping trip that ended up with x-rays, I'd seen these shorts in Jeanswest and considered them but figured they were a little too expensive and I didn't love them enough to go try them on. I hadn't been able to get them out of my head since then though, and even tried going back in store to buy them. They didn't have my size and again something came up with the boys and I couldn't get to the store that did have my size.
So when I saw these shorts in the 40% off sale I had to get them! Was so pleased to discover them as it's been a while since I last saw them. While the shorts are already a relaxed fit, I thought of pairing them with this black tee right away. I really liked the combination, and the floral kimono added a little extra colour to the outfit. I was really inspired by loving the first outfit so much.
It's got a bit much going on, with the voluminous pieces together, and the mix of prints and embroidery, but I really liked this outfit. So insanely comfortable, and such an easy outfit after our big day out the day before.
How You Can Wear It: Relaxed fit, soft shorts are perfect for hot days. light and airy, and still great coverage when running around with two toddlers, without having to worry about things riding up. You don't have to stick to neutrals if you have a pair of printed shorts either, a kimono is a fun layer that doesn't make you overheat in the sun.