Printed Shirts, Maxi Skirts, Rebecca Minkoff Love Bag

First up, tomorrow welcomes October and I will be doing the #Frocktober2015 challenge! I am very behind with blogging so I probably won't be posting any of my October outfits for a couple weeks. If you want to see what I wear daily, check out instagram (@awayfromblue) instead.

I've set myself the challenge of wearing 31 different dresses for the 31 days of October to raise money for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation. You can make a donation here, and it's not too late to sign up and start your own challenge to raise funds.


Now, what I've been wearing: more quick and easy outfit formulas! Wearing printed shirts casually, with maxi skirts, and getting my Rebecca Minkoff Love bag out again. I really like this bag! I've included my youtube video review of it below.

What I wore:

Necklace: Tai gold alphabet necklace

Top: Zara star print shirt
Skirt: Target grey marle maxi skirt
Shoes: Walnut Melbourne 'Ava' black lizard ballet flats
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Love cross body bag in grey

Why I wore it:

When I was looking for printed shirts to wear to work, I saw this one and was going to wear it, but at the last moment changed my mind to pick another striped one instead. I knew I still wanted to wear this shirt though, so I tried it with a maxi skirt.

I really, really liked this outfit. I always enjoy wearing this shirt, maxi skirts are comfortable, and the Rebecca Minkoff bag Love bag is such a great bag, goes with everything. I didn't do much in this outfit, just day care drop off/pick up and a doctor's appointment (for my knee) and working from home, but it was really a perfect outfit.


Last worn: star print shirt, grey maxi skirt, black ballet flats, Rebecca Minkoff Love bag.

Other ways to wear: star print shirt and shorts, grey maxi skirt with red tank and cardi, black ballet flats in the office, Rebecca Minkoff Love bag and skinny jeans.

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Where to buy the Rebecca Minkoff Love bag:

(some of the above are on sale too!)

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What I wore:

Sunnies: Rayban new Wayfarers

Necklace: Tai gold alphabet necklace
Shirt: Target blue abstract floral print shirt
Skirt: Jeanswest plain jersey black maxi skirt
Shoes: Walnut Melbourne 'Ava' black lizard ballet flats
Bracelets: the usual
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Love cross body bag in grey

Why I wore it:

I tried the printed shirt and maxi skirt combination with this #noBuyJuly15 shopping ban breaking purchase, the lovely blue printed shirt. I've worn it to work before but really wanted to wear it casually too. It looks great with jeans, but maxi skirts are better with the knee bandage, and I had to do a lot of driving so needed to wear it.

I don't know what it was about this outfit, if it was the combination of the shirt and skirt together (this skirt sits a little lower on the waist than my other maxi skirts), or if it was because I had a terrible afternoon that I didn't like it as much as the outfit above.

The day started off great, early morning wakeup from toddler T meant we had plenty of time to get to playgroup without rushing, and enough time to get home and get lunch organised. Then that's where the day started to go wrong. I ended up running late for a really important appointment, getting stuck in traffic...I was so flustered by the time I got to the destination! Thankfully the rest of the day was a lot more relaxed and enjoyable. Still wouldn't repeat this outfit again though.


Last worn: Ray-Ban Wayfarers, blue printed shirt, black jersey maxi skirt, black ballet flats (above), Rebecca Minkoff Love bag (above).

Other ways to wear: printed shirt and a pencil skirt, black jersey maxi skirt and a graphic tee, black ballet flats and skinny jeans, Rebecca Minkoff Love bag with a pleated skirt.


And as mentioned above, my video review of the Rebecca Minkoff Love cross body bag:

Linking up with What I Wore, Fashion Files, Throwback Thursday, Fun Fashion Friday.

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Corporate Style: Printed Scarf, Fit and Flare Dresses, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran Bag

Before the outfits, since it's nearly the end of September I wanted to share my usual monthly purchases with you. Although I don't have any! I ended up doing Beth's #noSpenderSeptember without really thinking about it.

There's a mix of reasons why I haven't bought anything this month:

• last month I had a big splurge on a bag I'd been wanting for a while.
• house hunting is still ongoing and some of the tiny wardrobes we are seeing are reinforcing that I need to own less, not more.
• I completed a technology detox (#strugglesFast) with my church that had me rethinking a lot of my habits, especially the constant online window shopping.
• #noBuyJuly15 and the lessons I learned are still quite fresh in my mind.
• I'm doing the Frocktober challenge in October to raise funds for Ovarian Cancer Research, and I really want to wear 31 of my existing dresses for that. Not a lot of time to wear anything new.
• there hasn't been a lot of 'must buy' sales going on.

The lack of incredible sales is probably the biggest driver for me not buying anything this month to be honest, ha! If you're really missing a purchase update from me, you can always browse my old monthly purchase recaps on youtube.


Now, what I've been wearing. Sticking again with another simple outfit formula for the office, fit and flare dresses. I even ended up wearing the same scarf with each dress! I've worn these two dresses one after the other before too.

What I wore:

Jacket: Jeanswest Cassandra jacquard jacket

Scarf: Jeanswest Lux paisley print scarf (C/O)
Dress: Jeanswest tucked ponte black dress
Shoes: Walnut Melbourne 'Ava' black lizard ballet flats
Bag: Marc By Marc Jacobs Classic Q Fran bag with gold hardware in carob brown

Why I wore it:

Feels like it's been a while since I last wore this jacket to work! I've been wearing my trench coats to the office often as it's been colder even though it's spring and they are the warmest coats I have for commuting. As it was really quite warm on this day, I took the chance to wear something else over my outfit for a change!

I liked the simplicity of this outfit, even if I don't like the picture as the scarf is sitting a little oddly.


Last worn: jacquard jacket, blue printed scarf, black ponte knit dress, black ballet flats, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag.

Other ways to wear: jacquard jacket and jeans, paisley scarf and a striped cardigan, LBD with gold accessories, black ballet flats a maxi skirt, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag with burgundy pants.

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Shop more fit and flare dresses, under $50:

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What I wore:

Jacket: Barkins beige trench coat 

Scarf: Jeanswest Lux paisley print scarf (C/O)
Cardigan: Jeanswest Peggie kimono cardigan in purple mulberry marle
Dress: Jeanswest 'Rita' stripe jersey dress
Shoes: Asos airtime leather Chelsea boots in tan
Bag: Marc By Marc Jacobs Classic Q Fran bag with gold hardware in carob brown

Why I wore it:

The trench coat is back out! After a nice sunny and warm spring day (above) a storm rolled in and brought a lot of rain and cooled it back down again.

I had been planning to try recreate an outfit I'd seen on Shea. She posted a really cute outfit with a similar dress, blue tasselled printed scarf, ankle boots and a pink cardigan. I was planning to wear my pink blazer instead, as I don't have a pink cardigan, but with it being so cold I ended up grabbing my purple cardigan and a trench. Although it didn't work out like I'd planned, I really liked this outfit. The ankle boots came in handy with the rain too, kept my feet nice and dry!


Last worn: trench coat, purple cardigan, paisley print scarf (above), striped fit and flare dress, Asos Chelsea ankle boots, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag (above).

Other ways to wear: trench coat and a plaid shirt, purple cardigan and a maxi skirt, paisley print scarf and a chambray dress, striped fit and flare dress belted, ankle boots with a shirt dress, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag and printed jeans.


Linking up with Hello Monday, Modest Monday, Let It Shine, Style Nudge, Budgeting Bloggers, Mix It Monday, On Trend Tuesday, Turning Heads, Style Sessions, Wardrobe Wednesday.

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