Away From Blue | Aussie Mum Style, Away From The Blue Jeans Rut

Another month over, another month of my #6MonthsWithoutShopping challenge completed!

Just like last month, I managed to avoid the sales and stores most of the time. The continuing heatwaves meant playdates at home in the aircon and so there was no shopping temptations from meeting up in Westfield. Unsubscribing from emails from online stores has helped keep temptation at bay as well.

The biggest help in avoiding shopping has been the boys though! Their naps have gone from sometimes lining up to never lining up so it's extremely difficult to waste time online 'just browsing' shopping sites. That has been the major factor to make this month another easy month for avoiding shopping. I feel it's made me a bad blogger too as it's so hard to read other blogs but baby routines change so much, it's only temporary.

Two years ago I did a wardrobe inventory. I wanted to do one last year but never seemed to find the time. I'd like to make it an annual thing. In 2015, I had 101 accessories and 266 items of clothing.

Since then I have had many more declutter sessions, a wardrobe detox with a personal stylist and another pregnancy. I was interested to see how the count would have changed this year. The totals below doesn't include things like pieces I only wear for layering, pyjamas and loungewear.

Wardrobe Inventory Closet Count for 2017 | Away From Blue Style Blogger

2017 Closet Totals

Accessories:

30 scarves

29 bags

3 tote bags (Mulberry Bayswater, Louis Vuitton Neverfull, Rebecca Minkoff medium MAB tote)
1 travel bag (Louis Vuitton Keepall)
4 hobo bags (Balenciaga day bags in Truffle, Magenta and Tempete. Sarah Conners python bag.)
7 shoulder bags (Rebecca Minkoff MAM, Marc Jacobs Fran. Balenciaga sorbet city, black part time. Mimco Button Bag, Chloe Paddington, Guess)
11 cross body bags (Avalina leather. Rebecca Minkoff mini MAB tote, saddle bag, micro Regan, striped mini MAC, aqua mini MAC, metallic mini MAC, neon pink mini MAC, quilted Love. Louis Vuitton Speedy Bandouliere, Mulberry metallic Lily)
1 vintage Chanel bag
2 clutches (Chloe paddington clutch, Balenciaga envelope clutch)

24 pairs of shoes

8 pairs flats
1 pair of wedges
3 pairs of heels
2 pairs of Converse
3 sandals
2 pairs of thongs (flip flops)
5 pairs of boots

Clothes:

97 tops, including

15 fitted tanks
21 other tanks
24 nongrey tees
7 grey tees
9 long sleeve tops
6 shirts
5 camis

6 jumpers

8 cardigans

20 jackets, including

3 blazers
7 kimonos
3 leather jackets
2 trench coats

16 pairs of jeans

1 set of flares
2 printed jeans
13 skinny jeans

4 pairs of shorts

19 skirts

8 maxi skirts
1 a line skirt
10 pencil skirts

41 dresses, including

3 wrap dresses
11 maxi dresses
17 office dresses

Final totals:

83 accessories
211 items of clothing
294 pieces

My wardrobe had 367 items in 2015 so 294 is a step in the right direction! I do try to share my wardrobe edits on the blog when I've given something its last wear and it is leaving my wardrobe. Sometimes I never give pieces a final wear and I don't like them when I try them on or I remember I didn't like them last time I wore them and so I donate or sell them.

It's wonderful that I've managed to reduce the number of bags and scarves but I'm surprised I've increased the number of shoes I own! I'm disappointed I have so many dresses, after I got rid of a few at the end of the Frocktober challenge. It's good to see I've halved the number of grey tees though.

How Many Outfits?

Since I'm attempting the #30Wears challenge this year I thought it would be interesting to calculate how many outfits I'd have in my wardrobe if I tried to get 30 wears from everything. Keeping it simple as maths isn't my strong point, just looking at tops and dresses and not outfit combinations:

30 wears from 41 dresses is 1,230 outfits. Almost 3 and a half years of outfits.
30 wears from 97 tops is 2,910 outfits. Almost 8 years of outfits.

And I frequently think I have nothing to wear, wow...😮

If I was to just focus on getting 30 wears out of everything I currently own, I wouldn't need to buy any new clothes for around 11 years. Somehow 6 months without shopping seems like a very short time. You can be sure I'll be looking back at these numbers when I'm tempted to buy something, to help me stick to my no-shopping challenge for the next 4 months.

I really liked looking at how my wardrobe has changed in 2 years and if you enjoyed seeing it too I'll attempt another inventory next year. If you've done a similar count please leave a link to your post in the comments, I'd love to read it.

Linking up with Fashion Files, Budgeting Bloggers, Fun Fashion, Fabulous Friday.

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During my 6 months without shopping, I'm aiming to get 30 wears out of as many pieces in my wardrobe as possible. Every month I'll be sharing 30 ways to wear something, from my huge archive of over 5 years of daily outfit photos.

This month it is the Balenciaga coquelicot (poppy red) Velo bag.

30 Wears: Balenciaga Coquelicot Velo Bag

Sharing an accessory this time: the Balenciaga coquelicot Velo bag. I bought this in 2011 and it has been worn over 50 times. (More if you include the year I wore it pre-blog). It ages so well too, very little wear and tear after years of use. Just like the black maxi skirt I featured for last month's 30 wears, it was hard narrowing this post down to just 30 outfits. The velo fits so much inside it's a great bag for many different occasions.

10 Ways to Wear a Balenciaga Velo Bag with a Skirt

The Balenciaga Velo bag looks great with any kind of skirt. Pencil skirts for work, skater skirts or maxi skirts for casual Friday or the weekend. I like wearing it with black skirts as it really pops.

10 Ways to Wear a Red Balenciaga Velo Bag with Denim

While some people worry about denim transfer with Balenciaga bags, I water and stain proof all my bags before I use them and I've never had a problem with my jeans rubbing off onto the leather. I've worn the Balenciaga velo bag with skinny jeans and shorts, the poppy red colour is perfect with all kinds of denim. It doesn't just have to be your standard blue jeans, printed jeans and even red jeans work quite well.

10 More Ways to Wear a Balenciaga Velo Bag

The Balenciaga Velo works just as well with a casual outfit as it does an office outfit. Printed dresses or black skinny pants, it really is a versatile bag. While some people might worry the bag is too slouchy and casual for office wear, it holds so much it makes perfect sense to take to work. The bright red colour is a nice pick-me-up when you sit it on your desk too!

I love handbags, they are my favourite accessory and I have quite a lot. While Balenciaga is one of the more expensive bag brands I have I do think they are worth the money and worth saving up for. That's why I have so many! I've included a few preloved Balenciaga bags below that are a little more wallet friendly, as well as some other brands.

If you're unsure if you should buy the Balenciaga velo or another Balenciaga style, this video answers that question for you and compares a few of the common Balenciaga moto line bags.

Want more outfit ideas with the red Balenciaga Velo bag? All 50+ wears of the Balenciaga Velo in my archives.

If you enjoyed this 30 wears post I'm always happy to hear your suggestions for what clothing item or accessory to feature next!

Linking up with Weekend Wear, Flashback Fashion, Friday Faves, The Ultimate Rabbit Hole, Let It Shine, Shoe & Tell, Hello Monday, Modest Monday, Mix It Monday, Start the Week Stylish, Monday Mode, On Trend.

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