30 Ways To Wear: Magenta Balenciaga Day Hobo Bag | Magnificent Magenta

This quarter's Magnificent 8 collaboration post theme is magnificent magenta! And with it being so close to the end of the month when I usually do my 30 ways to wear posts, what better time to share 30 ways you can wear this marvellous magenta Balenciaga day bag?

30 Ways To Wear: Magenta Balenciaga Day Hobo Bag

I'm surprised I haven't done a 30 ways to wear post with this bag yet, it's one of my favourites! It's definitely my favourite Balenciaga pink too. I have owned a few bags in this colour, which came out in 2005 over the years, but this style made it a keeper in my wardrobe. It's no secret I like bright and colourful bags, and this isn't even my only magenta bag.... But a magenta bag goes with so many more outfits than you'd think!

Cost Per Wear

I got lucky and picked this Balenciaga day bag up preloved at the end of 2015, for just $607. Despite being a 10 year old bag at the time, it had such a vibrant vivid magenta colour, and hardly any signs of wear. 7 years of me owning it later, and it still looks just as good as it does when I got it - Balenciaga bags slouch so beautifully as they age! Being a bit of a splurge, although I've worn it a lot (50 times so far), it works out to $12.14 per wear at the moment. Much higher than the $1 per wear most people aim for for value for money, but pretty good for a spendy buy, and one that will be in my wardrobe permanently, getting the cost per wear down even lower!

It took me quite a while to go through all the 50 times I've worn this magenta bag and come up with just 30 of my favourite outfits! I picked a few outfit and colour formulas to share with you, to give you an idea of how versatile a magenta bag could be in your wardrobe. Here are some of my favourite ways to wear it.

30 Ways To Wear: Magenta Hobo Bag | Video Style

Magenta Bag In Office Outfits

I love wearing my bright and colourful bags into the office! It's nice to have a bit of colour on your desk through the day while spending hours sitting at a computer. And of course, these 4 outfits show the easiest way to wear any bright colour - pair it with black! With all the black and the other neutrals in these outfits, it makes the magenta bag really pop.

Magenta Bag with Blue Outfits

It's no secret I love blue and pink together. Having so much blue in my wardrobe, I've worn this magenta bag with every shade I own, and it always looks good! From the pastel baby blue skull scarf, denim dresses and skirt, even a cobalt scarf, magenta just works with any shade of blue.

Magenta Bag With Purple

Magenta being the perfect blend of pink and purple together means it looks so good worn with other purple pieces. You don't have to go big and bold like I have with the purple printed dress in the third outfit, you can try the colour combination on a smaller scale with a purple scarf. A bright scarf and bag are a fun way to add colour to a neutral layered outfit in winter too.

Magenta Bag With Tee and Denim

Forever a staple outfit, a classic tee and denim formula is a go to the world over. To make it just a little different from a standard basic formula though, you can add a bright bag. And this fun magenta bag is definitely bright enough to add more interest to any version of denim and tee you wear!

Magenta Bag With Matching Magenta Accessories

Since magenta pairs so perfectly with blue, and I have a lot of blue in my wardrobe, I also have quite a few other magenta pieces. It's fun to make a matchy-matchy outfit and wear more than one magenta piece at a time. From a pink skull scarf to a magenta cami peeking out from under a dress, or a larger matchy-matchy with the magenta cardigan and bag together! Even if the pink in that last skull scarf isn't quite magenta...it's close enough to make my matchy-matchy self happy!

Magenta Bag and Printed Dress Outfits

A big bold block colour hobo bag like this Balenciaga day bag is so easy to wear with statement printed dresses. You can try coordinating like I have with the pink and purple dress in the third outfit there, or just have the bag be a bright pop of colour and contrast against the print like I have in the other three outfits.

Magenta Balenciaga Day Bag In Pregnancy

I always love putting pregnancy photos in these 30 ways to wear posts. Because not every item of clothing will be wearable through all 3 trimesters of pregnancy and beyond, but a handbag sure will! A big practical hobo bag like this, it got a lot of wear over my last pregnancy.

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Where To Buy The Balenciaga Day Bag:

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More Outfit Ideas:

For more outfit inspiration and ideas, you can view all 50+ ways I've worn this bag in my blog archives, or browse the complete 30 wears series.

Similar Posts In The 30 Wears Series:

• 30 ways to wear a blush pink bag: Rebecca Minkoff Darren
• 30 ways to wear Mulberry Alexa in foggy grey
• 30 ways to wear magenta pink bag: Rebecca Minkoff Edie bag
• 30 ways to wear a neon pink bag: Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAC
• 30 ways to wear Balenciaga city bag in sorbet pink
• 30 ways to wear navy Rebecca Minkoff Regan tote bag
• 30 ways to wear a red bag: Rebecca Minkoff Micro Avery
• 30 ways to wear red Balenciaga velo bag
• 30 ways to wear a grey Rebecca Minkoff MAM bag
• 30 ways to wear mustard yellow Rebecca Minkoff bag
• 30 ways to wear a red Rebecca Minkoff saddle bag
• 30 ways to wear Louis Vuitton Neverfull tote
• 30 ways to wear Rebecca Minkoff Love bag
• 30 ways to wear Balenciaga black Part Time bag
• 30 ways to wear Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAB Tote in plum purple
• 30 ways to wear Chloe Marcie Hobo Bag
• 30 ways to wear brown Balenciaga Day hobo bag
• 30 ways to wear purple Balenciaga Work Bag
• 30 ways to wear navy Rebecca Minkoff medium MAB tote bag

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The Magnificent 8

The Magnificent 8 is a collaboration of 8 stylish women, ranging in age from early 20’s to early 80’s. The mission of this collaboration is to showcase how ageless style is. There are no age restrictions on style. So wear what you want, when you want, add a smile, and strut your style with confidence. And be sure to check out all 7 of these other amazing ladies!

• Grace of Graceful Rags
• Mica of Away from the Blue
• Roxanne of Glass of Glam
• Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge
• Rena of Fine Whatever
• Eugenia of Age of Grace 
• Lesley of Jodie’s Touch of Style 
• Charlotte of Jodie’s Touch of Style

Every quarter, the group chooses a theme and each create an outfit that suits our own personal tastes and fashion choices. We post them on the last Wednesday of every third month. Check out everyone’s posts with the links above for style inspiration at any age as they show you their magenta outfits!

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30 Ways To Wear A Purple Cardigan: #30wears Outfit Challenge

This 30 wears post has been a while coming, after I hit 30 wears on this cardigan in spring last year. It just didn't feel right to post about it over summer though. Now the weather is cooler and it's officially winter here in Brisbane, I'm happy to share some of the 30 ways I've worn this cardigan in the past. I even managed to find some of the ways I'd worn it before I had the blog so I could share that with you for something different.

30 Ways To Wear: Purple Cardigan

The past few times I've done a 30 wears post I've managed to calculate the cost per wear. Unfortunately, I bought this cardigan so long ago, I can't remember what I paid for it. I've only photographed my outfits consistently every day since I started this blog in 2012 so I'm not sure exactly how many times I've worn this. There have been over 33 times I've photographed it and I'm pleased with that. The earliest pic I could find was winter 2011, so it's at least 7 years old and still going strong.

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How To Wear a Purple Cardigan Video:

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Belting A Cardigan

One of my early blog pics there in the middle! It's fun seeing how things have changed. I used to have to balance my camera on the BBQ and use the self timer, so often it wasn't aligned properly. I much prefer the other pics, taken with my camera remote and tripod.
No matter what the photos look like, I love each of these outfit ideas though. I really like the way this cardigan looks belted. It's something a bit different, and good in the middle of winter as it keeps you warm as the cardigan stays closed in place. It makes the draped pieces sit really flatteringly too and almost creates a peplum effect as you can see in the last photo.

Colourful Cardigan and Matching Bag

Each season, Balenciaga come out with new colours for their bags. I always take a liking to the pinks, but the 2005 magenta is my favourite pink. As you can see in the photos above, my current magenta Balenciaga Day bag isn't the only magenta bag I've had, the old selfie in the middle is back when I had the same colour in the city style too.

With the touch of pink in this purple cardigan, and the touch of purple in the pink bag, the cardigan and bags are a nice combination. They aren't a perfect match, but the shade is close enough together that I like the almost matchy-matchyness.

Purple Cardigan With Blue Tops

It's not just similar colours I like wearing this purple cardigan with. Blue and purple is a combination I frequently wear, so I really like navy tops with this cardigan.
Of course that last outfit there is my favourite, it was Baby T's first outing after we got home from the hospital. Even though I'm exhausted, my postpartum tum is on display, and we were going to a clinic for breastfeeding help, it was still a comfortable outfit and my favourite photo of the post!

Purple Cardigan With Pink

Another frequently worn colour combination of mine is pink and purple. With the bright purple colour of this cardigan, it's easy to introduce just a little touch of colour through a small bag like this neon pink mini MAC I'm wearing in the last two photos. If you're feeling bolder or particularly colourful, you could wear it with a pink top too, like I've done with the ombre tank in the first outfit.

Purple Cardigan With Purple Accessories

You'll know from reading my blog (or looking at some of the outfits I've already shared!) that I like my colourful handbags. They are fun accessories with an outfit. And while the deep plum purple of these Rebecca Minkoff bags in the outfits above doesn't match the pinky-purple shade of the cardigan, I think they compliment each other quite nicely!
Even if your accessories aren't a perfect match to a colourful cardigan, it's good to give the combination a try - as you can see I loved the little purple MAB tote bag with this cardigan so much I've worn it quite a few times!

Colourful Cardigan With Neutral Outfits

If you're completely stumped about what to wear with a colourful cardigan, throw it on over a neutral outfit. It can be something as simple as a grey tee like in the first picture, or a monochrome black outfit like the last photo. It also works well with cream and neutrals as you can see in the middle there. I'm also employing my previous tip above of wearing a purple bag with the cardigan in these last two photos, but you could easily stick with a neutral brown like the Chloe paddington bag in the first outfit.

Colourful Cardigan and Printed Tops

The fun thing with a bright, single colour cardigan like this purple one is that it's so easy to wear with printed pieces in your outfit. The lack of print on it means it will go with anything. Stripes is my favourite combo, as you can see here! But a plain cardigan will go with any print you want to wear.

Draped Cardigan and Maxi Skirts

With a loose, drapey waterfall cardigan you'd usually follow the 'one fitted, one flowy' rule to balance your outfit. But I like the casual outfit created with a long maxi skirt and this long cardigan. It's a nice way to wear a maxi skirt outside of summer! And as you can see from the last picture, a cardigan is the perfect piece to wear when babywearing, soft for baby to cuddle up to when he's in the carrier.

Purple Cardigan and Dresses

The last way that you can wear a purple cardigan is with dresses! I smiled when I put this picture together as it shows off some of the other things I'd mentioned above! A purple cardigan with purple accessories, a neutral black dress, with blue, and with prints. Just like it does with with maxi skirts, a cosy and colourful cardigan is a nice way to make a spring or summer dress work into autumn, especially when paired with ankle boots!



I really like the beautiful purple shade of this cardigan, and I find it so easy to wear. One of those purchases that's proved it's worth in my wardrobe. I have had to spend a little more than what I originally paid on it after I accidentally snagged it and got a hole in it. Thankfully my tailor repaired it very affordably, and this cardigan will continue to be worn and loved in my wardrobe for a long time still.


Hopefully these outfit ideas gave you some ways to wear a purple cardigan, or even just a colourful cardigan, that you own. If you don't have one, it is very versatile as you can see from the outfits above, so I've included some similar pieces below you can shop.

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Where To Buy Purple Cardigans Under $50:

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Want more outfit inspiration? All of the 30+ ways I've worn this cardigan on the blog.




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Monthly Purchases: January and February

While I'm keeping track of everything I buy through the blog, I thought I'd expand a little further.

Instead of just sharing what I've bought, and having the goal of wearing it twice in a month after buying it, I thought I'd do a wrap up and show how each purchase was worn.

Let me know if you find these kinds of posts interesting!



I didn't buy anything in February, and ended up doing a no buy month / Frugal Feb with Kiki from According to Kiki. Partly because the third trimester is not the time to be buying any new clothes. Nothing fits! As can be seen by the one-off wears of a couple of non-maternity pieces I bought.

What I bought in January:

How I wore my purchases over January and February:

• Jeanswest Carla Maternity Cut out tank (non-maternity version) (worn 6 times)
• Jeanswest Sol Maternity jacquard tank (worn 4 times)
• Jeanswest Florence print long line tank (worn once)
• Balenciaga Day bag in 2005 magenta (worn 12 times)
• Cotton On 'Gemma' cocoon kimono in Laos blossom navy print (worn 4 times)
• Slim gold Havaianas (worn 10 times)
• Be Free maternity/nursing bras - worn countless times, but never visible on the blog.
• Atmos&Here Betsy jersey wrap dress in watercolour print (worn 3 times)
• Atmos & Here Arlene wrap top in navy (worn once)

The Balenciaga day bag I bought has had the most wear, which is good since it took up most of the budget!

Click on image to enlarge

You can see my third trimester capsule wardrobe starting to come through with this wrap up of photos - I'm sticking to just a handful of pieces that still fit the baby bump at the moment!


Overall I'm pretty pleased with how well I've used the things I bought last month, although I did expect to get more than one wear each out of the non-maternity tops I bought, the baby bump just grew too quickly. Both pieces will get lots of wear post-baby.




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