I bought a few things in January but as I mentioned not everything arrived in time for me to make a video, so I decided to compile my January and February purchases together. Some January sale finds and a few opshop bargains!
What I Bought In January / February:
Kmart culotte short in navy lemon print
Kmart black sleeveless frill hem peplum tank Rebecca Minkoff Edie small crossbody bag in magenta
Thrifted Kmart abstract blob print tee
Thrifted Crossroads black ruffle hem maxi skirt
Thrifted Target colourful printed tank
Thrifted red statement bead necklace
Thrifted Spirit grey marle jumper Jeanswest Emily cotton v-neck tee in coral
Why I Bought It:
Despite getting a lot of lovely clothes and accessories for Christmas, I just had to check out the Kmart clearance sale in the new year and came away with some new clothes and even PJs, using a gift card I got for Christmas.
My search for a good local opshop continued in January and February, trying to find an alternative one after my favourite closed. I picked up quite a few bargains when I was browsing the opshops in the surrounding areas, most of the clothes only being $1 each. All completely impulse buys though, and nothing I absolutely needed, just things I wanted.
How I've Worn It:
I noticed I'd perhaps gone a little overboard with the buying (although certainly not the spending!) when I struggled with meeting my 'wear twice in the month I buy it' goals with some of my pieces. A good reminder that even if those clothes are only $1 each, I need to be more thoughtful with what I buy. With the grey jumper being an autumn / winter piece, I'm giving that a pass for not meeting the 'wear twice in the month I buy it' rule as I know I'll love it later!
I anticipate that the next few months will be a little slower with the purchases, while I enjoy what I own for a while.
A 30 wears post with this classic grey marle jersey maxi skirt is so overdue. It's been worn nearly 50 times (48 exactly!) since I bought it in my third trimester four years ago.
The #30wears challenge is committing to wearing things you buy at least 30 times. As I take daily outfit photos, I have over 6 years of outfits to look back on and see all the different times I've worn things. Blog labels and searches in the archives come in helpful for pulling these posts together, and it's fun to see how many things I've hit 30 wears on.
#30Wears: Grey Marle Jersey Maxi Skirt
It's no secret that I love maxi skirts, and I've posted a few #30 wears posts featuring some of my maxi skirt collection (see them at the end of the post).
Maxi skirts are for petites too! I got lucky with this Target one, the perfect petite friendly length with no hemming required. It was $25, so that's 52 cents a wear so far on it. It's got a lot of life left in it still, and it's not going anywhere from my wardrobe. Not bad for an impulsive pregnancy buy four years ago!
Maxi Skirt and Graphic Tees (and a Tank)
A plain grey maxi skirt makes it easy to wear fun printed graphic tees, as it's a great neutral base. Even though one of these is a graphic tank instead of a tee, you can see it's still just as simple to wear. A nice easy outfit to pull together, the graphic top adds interest that the plain skirt lacks.
Maxi Skirt and Long Sleeve Tops
Maxi skirts work well in cooler weather with long sleeve tops. The long skirt protects your legs from the cold and keeps you cosy, and a longer sleeved top is an extra layer for a cooler day. If it's really cold, a scarf makes you even warmer. Again, you can see in these three outfits that the plain maxi skirt base means you can add fun printed scarves, bright colours, or even a top with embroidery detail, without your outfit feeling too overpowering.
Maxi Skirt and Layers
Sometimes you need a little more than a long sleeve top with a maxi skirt. As I wear my maxi skirts year-round, I've worn them with all kinds of layers. You can see the variety in these outfits, with a denim jacket, cardigans, a blazer, and a kimono. I've also worn this skirt in the middle of winter with a leather jacket when it's been really cold. These layering options are great pieces to add in spring or autumn when it's too cool to wear a skirt and top on it's own.
Grey Maxi Skirt And Summer Outfits
A maxi skirt is really made for summer though, it makes summer dressing easy. And if you have babies or toddlers, the long maxi length means you can run around with them and not worry about things being too short or showing more than you intended when you bend over to pickup the kids, or something they've dropped for the tenth time that day, ha!
Grey Maxi Skirt and Monochromatic Outfits
Lots of colourful outfits so far, but you can go completely neutral with a grey skirt and create a monochrome or monochromatic outfit. I like the two shades of grey together on the end there, but with the black v-neck tee is my favourite. I'm still sad that tee didn't survive through too many incorrect wash cycles on the washing machine and had to leave my wardrobe.
Jersey Maxi Skirt In Pregnancy
Since I bought this maxi skirt while I was pregnant, it makes sense that the most frequent way to wear it has been with a baby bump. It's been so nice having this piece that I could wear through my third trimesters with both my boys - and still be wearing and loving it afterwards. I'm impressed the elastic has held up too, they were pretty big baby bumps near the end!
Jersey Maxi Skirt Postpartum
Forgiving jersey material, a soft stretchy elastic waistband, all the things I loved about this skirt in pregnancy make it a great postpartum choice too. Much nicer pulling this on in the newborn days than attempting to squeeze into something with buttons, a zipper, or zero stretch! Having something you know will still fit and make you feel great makes getting dressed easy after being up all night with a newborn, and anything to make parenting easier is a winner!
Grey Maxi Skirt for Travel
I've gone on about how great this jersey maxi skirt is to wear, but the material is perfect to travel with too! It's comfortable for a long day of sightseeing, it can be crumpled up in a carry on bag and doesn't need ironing at your destination. For pregnancy travel (the middle pic) it was wonderful, and for running around Sydney with two toddlers (the left and right photos) it works just as well.
It makes me happy to have a piece in my wardrobe that's wrapped around my baby bump for both boys that's still going strong. It's nice to put together a post like this and see the bumps at different stages. So many fun memories attached to the times I've worn this skirt. I'm enjoying continuing the 30 wears challenge this year as it's great putting these posts together.
Grey Jersey Maxi Skirts Under $50:
This Target skirt is no longer available, but above are some great alternatives, all under $50!
30 Ways to Wear a Grey Maxi Skirt (In Video Format):
Dressing in pregnancy is a fun challenge as the baby bump grows and changes every day! In order to simplify things this time around, I implemented a third trimester capsule wardrobe.
Why I Made a Pregnancy Capsule Wardrobe:
I've never tried a capsule wardrobe before (unless you count living out a suitcase for travel).
The baby bump was outgrowing my current wardrobe faster than I anticipated this time around.
I didn't have the luxury of time that I had in my first pregnancy to try on lots of outfit options each night and find things that still fit. (Or I didn't have the energy to do so after spending time with my toddler!)
The summer heat and humidity (that continued well into autumn in Brisbane) left me less inspired to try new things.
I had lots of great maternity pieces I wanted to wear as much as possible to make sure I got my money's worth.
Third Trimester Capsule Wardrobe in Video Form:
Below is a video covering the pieces in my capsule wardrobe, how I wore them, and my general thoughts about the experience.
I didn't include accessories (scarves or bags or shoes) in this count. I also didn't include 'completer' pieces like my printed kimonos or blazers. I freely grabbed these from my wardrobe as and when I wanted them.
The pieces included were suitable for my part time office job, as well as being perfect for a stay at home mum the rest of the week.
Not everything was a maternity piece, I used pieces from my regular non-maternity wardrobe too.
There were a few times at the start of the third trimester where I wore pieces that weren't included in the capsule, but after realising they were getting uncomfortable I stuck to my capsule wardrobe for the majority of the time.
The 22 items I had were great over summer (and multiple heatwaves!), but would need to be changed for cooler weather. Simple things like swapping the maternity denim shorts for jeans instead, and some long sleeved tops and fewer tanks.
Outfit Combinations from a Pregnancy Capsule Wardrobe:
Some photos of my favourite third trimester outfits from my capsule wardrobe to give you an idea of how I wore all the pieces in the third trimester. Not an exhaustive list, as 3 months worth of daily outfit photos would be a pretty big post! You can see all the outfits I wore in the third trimester here.
For my first capsule wardrobe experience, it was pretty fun, and I hope that it gives you some ideas or inspiration to try your own capsule wardrobe if you've often thought about it too.
While I'm in the hospital with baby, I've set up a few scheduled posts.
As soon as I can I will be back to posting my usual daily outfits. I'll be sharing bits and pieces on my instagram (@awayfromblue) about life with baby until I'm back to blogging. Until then I hope you enjoy the little break and slight change of format.
Today I wanted to share some of my favourite outfits and clothes I wore during my pregnancy, across all three trimesters. Bit of a picture heavy post!
You can click on each image to go to the original post and view the outfit details.
Want more outfit inspiration and advice on how to come up with a wardrobe plan for your pregnancy? The ultimate guide, How to Have a Stylish Pregnancy On a Budget is available now!
