Cardigans, Jeans and Louis Vuitton Speedy Bandouliere: Live Your Best Life for Less

Both of these outfits were worn to take part in Shea's Live your Best Life for Less challenge. It's a set of lifestyle challenges for each day of the week, and she's included a few style challenges that I've been able to participate in despite the weather being the opposite season here in Brisbane. It's been good to have some new ideas when picking what to wear in my wardrobe. It's been difficult getting inspired sometimes as my 6 months without shopping is almost completed and I haven't added anything new to my wardrobe.

As well as being part of #LYBLforLess, these outfits both feature my Louis Vuitton speedy bandouliere bag and cardigans.

What I wore:

Sunnies: Ray-Ban new Wayfarers
Jacket: Jeanswest brown marle waterfall cardigan

Necklace: Roie Designs long freshwater pearl necklace with tassel
Top: Zalora basics ruffle hem tank in black
Jeans: Sass and Bide pale grey skinny jeans
Shoes: Marc by Marc Jacobs suede flats in red
Bag: Louis Vuitton Damier Ebene 30 speedy bandouliere
Nails: Revlon 'Plum Seduction'

Why I wore it:

As well as taking the 'bright shoes with a neutral outfit' style prompt from Shea, I copied one of her poses on Instagram too! When I read that challenge I instantly thought of these red ballet flats. I adore them, but I really don't wear them often! Despite having them over 5 years, I haven't even hit 30 wears on them. It was so good to get them out again, and they do look lovely with the neutral outfit.

This tank I'd been wanting to wear for a while, I love the peplum hem, very flattering on a post-baby mum-tum. If I can still claim the post-baby label now Baby Boy is over a year old!

Wore this for a quiet day with the boys - a few errands in the morning then some arts and crafts at home as they attempted to make a present for someone special.


Last worn: Ray-Ban Wayfarer, brown marle cardigan, black peplum tank, Sass & Bide straight leg jeans, red suede flats, Louis Vuitton speedy bandouliere.

Other ways to wear: brown marle cardigan and pink maxi dress, black peplum tank and lace skirt, grey jeans and winter layers, red suede flats and pencil skirt, Louis Vuitton speedy bandouliere and printed dresses.

Perfect for pregnancy: cardigan and black dress in second trimester, peplum tank hiding an early baby bump, red suede flats and a bump hiding dress, speedy B and maternity shorts.

---

Where to Buy A Louis Vuitton Speedy Second Hand:

---

What I wore:

Jacket: Paper Scissors grey wrap cardigan

Scarf: Forever New Skye Foil Feather scarf in berry / gold (Christmas gift, now on sale!)
Necklace: Ruby Olive Softies Charlotte teething necklace
Tee: Atmos&Here navy stripe v-neck tee
Jeans: Jeanswest 'spoylt' flared jeans
Shoes: Marc by Marc Jacobs metallic mouse flats (on sale in black, and super cute in cherry print!)
Bag: Louis Vuitton Damier Ebene 30 speedy bandouliere
Nails: Revlon 'Plum Seduction'

Why I wore it:

I wore this last month, when we had our first cooler day in a while and I was so excited for scarf season. Of course the days warmed up again afterwards, but I enjoyed wearing this briefly before the heat returned.

The beautiful gold foil feather scarf was a Christmas gift from my sister, so it was nice to give it a wear at last! She has such great taste. I thought the feather print worked nicely with the striped tee. First time I've worn these jeans for a while too. While my favourite jeans are skinny jeans, I do have a couple of other styles in my denim wardrobe. These flares are a pair I finally got hemmed after my wardrobe detox session a few years ago, and I'm glad I did as I wear them a lot more now. I'm petite so unhemmed flared jeans and flats don't work, I really need the length taken up first!

Again this was worn for a quiet day. We went shopping for a birthday gift for one of Toddler T's friends. It's always so fun shopping for kids toys, even if it's not for your own kids.


Last worn: grey belted cardigan, stripe tee, flared jeans, gold mouse flats, Louis Vuitton speedy bandouliere (above). First time I've worn the scarf as it was a Christmas present.

Other ways to wear: grey belted cardigan and chambray skirt, stripe tee postpartum, flared jeans and Converse, gold mouse flats and graphic tee, Louis Vuitton speedy bandouliere and denim shorts.

Perfect for pregnancy: striped tee in third trimester, flared jeans in first trimester, mouse flats and maternity wrap dress, speedy bandouliere and baby bump in maxi skirts.

---

More Cardigans Under $50:

---

How You Can Wear It:

Cardigans go with everything! They are the perfect light layer when it's a little chilly, and I wear mine the most in spring and autumn. Pick a printed one like in the first outfit it what you're wearing is a lot of plain, block colour items. It's a nice way to add some interest to an otherwise monochromatic outfit too. A basic grey cardigan works perfectly for an outfit where you are playing with colour and print too, like with the stripes and feathers the second outfit. Whenever you're stuck for outfit ideas, style challenges are a great way to come up with new ways to wear what you own.


Linking up with Fabulous Friday.

Follow Away From the Blue on:
Bloglovin : Twitter : Instagram : Youtube : Facebook : Google Plus : LikeToKnow.It 

Olive Tanks, Jeans, Rebecca Minkoff Love Bag

Green is one of those colours I don't have a lot of in my wardrobe. Unlike purple or blue, I find it tricky to wear. Olive green is a neutral colour but I don't find it as easy to wear as my favorite neutral, grey! The two outfits below are me stepping out of my comfort zone a little and trying some new colour combinations.

What I wore:

Jacket: Shein cream lace kimono (C/O)
Necklace: Roie Designs pearl and antique gold long necklace
Tank: Cotton On stripe sailor tank in dusky green / grey marle
Jeans: Sass and Bide 'Three Words' metallic gold jeans
Shoes: RMK Chester black ankle boots
Bracelets: the usual plus Roie Designs waxed leather cream howlite beaded wrap bracelet
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Love cross body bag in grey (on sale!)

Why I wore it:

I like green and gold so thought I'd try this olive striped tank with my gold Sass & Bide jeans. After unboxing all of my jeans a few weeks ago when the cooler weather eventually arrived I've been trying to wear through them all to make sure I still want to keep them.

These jeans were an impulse buy when I got excited about fitting back into normal jeans after my first son was born. They are a nice departure from classic blue jeans, but sometimes feel a bit much to be worn for daytime, especially as a stay at home mum! While they are fun it's not good to have something in my wardrobe I feel I have to wear so they probably won't be hanging around much longer, even though I did love them in this outfit.

The lace kimono I wasn't sure about - but I needed a little something to take the morning chill off and wanted something soft for babywearing. Settled on this anyway and rushed out the door for a coffee date with some of the mums from my ABA group. We had a lovely chat and I had a delicious piece of caramel pecan slice. Unfortunately I had to eat it super quickly to stop grabby little toddler hands trying to take it off my plate! Eating around toddlers is never easy, even if you do try and distract them with their own choking-hazard-free-foods.


Last worn: lace kimono, olive and grey striped tank, metallic skinny jeans, black ankle boots, Rebecca Minkoff Love Bag.

Other ways to wear: lace kimono and ombre maxi dress, olive and grey striped tank and denim shorts in summer, metallic skinny jeans and purple cardi, black ankle boots and shirt dress, Rebecca Minkoff Love Bag in a monochrome outfit.

Perfect for pregnancy: lace and chambray in second trimester, olive striped tank and maternity denim, ankle boots and tee dress for pregnancy announcement, Rebecca Minkoff Love bag and thirs trimester maxi dresses.

---

Where To Buy The Rebecca Minkoff Love Bag:

---

What I wore:

Jacket: Jeanswest Nadine 3/4 sleeve dusky pink blazer

Necklace: Roie Designs long freshwater pearl necklace with tassel
Tank: Target embroidered khaki tank
Jeans: Nobody Denim Siren skinny super high-rise jeans in power black denim (C/O)
Shoes: Walnut Melbourne 'Ava' black lizard ballet flats (also available in silver)
Bracelets: the usual plus Roie Designs pearl, howlite and hematite beaded bracelets
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Love cross body bag in grey (on sale!)

Why I wore it:

I'd actually been thinking about trying this blush pink blazer with an olive top for a while. It was Shea's Live Your Best Life for Less challenge prompts that gave me a reason to finally wear it. While it's not a combination I would have come up with on my own, and something I've picked up from reading other blogs, I quite liked the resulting outfit.

The olive tunic is long so I usually half-tuck it in (like I did here) to stop it overwhelming my petite frame. The Nobody denim skinny jeans are quite high waisted so the tuck was a little too high, and didn't look as good with the longer boyfriend length of the blazer. Really liked the tunic untucked in this outfit, and it was an incredibly comfortable outfit for Baby Boy's weekly weigh and running a few errands as well as spending time with my mum in the afternoon.


Last worn: blush boyfriend blazer, olive embroidered tank, Nobody Denim skinny jeans, black ballet flats, Rebecca Minkoff quilted Love bag (above).

Other ways to wear: blush blazer and navy stripes, olive embroidered tank and denim shorts, Nobody Denim skinny jeans and Vans, black ballet flats and flares, Rebecca Minkoff quilted Love bag and tweed jacket.

Perfect for pregnancy: blush blazer and maternity office wear, ballet flats and third trimester bump, Rebecca Minkoff Love and maternity dress for Christmas.

---

More Olive Tanks Under $50:

---

How You Can Wear It:

Olive is a lovely neutral that's perfect for autumn and winter. If you find it or any other colour tricky to wear, look to your own outfits. Do you wear a similar colour already? My previous outfits with seaglass green inspired the first outfit. You can also get ideas from bloggers, and Instagram style challenges are a great way to push yourself out of your comfort zone and try a new colour combination. In the end, they are only clothes, you don't lose anything if you try something new and don't like the result - have a play in your wardrobe and see what you can come up with! Consider this post a style challenge to encourage you to try a new colour combination tomorrow!



Linking up with Style Sessions, Turning Heads, Confident Twosday, Wardrobe Wednesday, Fashion Files.

Follow Away From the Blue on:
Bloglovin : Twitter : Instagram : Youtube : Facebook : Google Plus : LikeToKnow.It 

Navy Tanks, Jeans and Kimonos

Wearing my favourite kimonos, trying a new outfit colour combination and an old favourite. And also sharing more about what happened when a bird flew into my house, as I mentioned in my Insta stories a few weeks ago.

What I wore:

Sunnies: Ray-Ban new Wayfarers

Jacket: New Look Petite print kimono

Necklace: Zanele 40 handmade rope necklace
Tank: Kmart navy ribbed tank
Pants: Jeanswest 'Fiona' skinny leg pant in shiraz
Shoes: Asos leather Chelsea boots in tan
Bag: Chloe Paddington in 2007 Brun

Why I wore it:

This was set to be a busy day. My mother in law came over to watch the boys for a few hours. Before I hopped in the car, as I always do, I stopped for a minute to take photos. Like usual I left the house door open so the boys could watch me and know I was still nearby. Just as I'd taken my photos a flock of noisy miner birds flew overhead and I stood there amazed as one flew into the house through the open door.

Ran in to Toddler T excitedly telling me there had been a bird flying around the ceiling. Poor thing then flew into the window and fell....into Cooper's waiting jaws. Luckily he dropped the little guy on command, and I was able to wrap the injured bird up in a tee that was next to the window. Quickly put him in a cosy little box to rest, called the vet and was going to have just enough time to drop off the bird before racing to my appointment.

The little bird perked up on the way to the vets, was nice to hear him scrabbling around in the box. Was not so nice when I pulled up at the vets, turned off the ignition and he flew out of the box and around the car! After capturing him again and putting him in the box again (much harder this time with him flapping!) I took him into the vets. I'm fairly certain he has no wing damage from Cooper's teeth after he flew around the car, but the vet checked him over to confirm before releasing him. And I was only 5 minutes late for my first appointment of the day, phew!

Outfit wise I really liked the colour combination with the navy and burgundy and brown. I wasn't sure at first but decided to wear it anyway and try something different, and ended up loving this. It's been so long since I last carried this Chloe paddington bag too, brought it out after my bestie wore hers recently. Not a kid friendly bag with the heavy padlock, but nice for spending time without the boys.


Last worn: Ray-Ban Wayfarer, navy kimono, navy ribbed tank, burgundy pants, tan Chelsea ankle boots, Chloe Paddington bag.

Other ways to wear: navy kimono and denim shorts, navy ribbed tank and pink vest, burgundy pants in the office, tan Chelsea ankle boots and chambray dress, Chloe Paddington bag and printed pencil skirt.

Perfect for pregnancy: navy printed kimono and green maternity tank, burgundy pants and a belly band with an early bump, ankle boots and dress in second trimester, Chloe Paddington in Second Trimester.

---

Printed Kimonos Under $50:

---

What I wore:

Sunnies: Ray-Ban new Wayfarers

Jacket: Somedays Lovin' Yakuza print kimono

Necklace: Nibbly Bits Abacus teething necklace in pop
Tank: MEV Britney bubble tank in mood indigo C/O Zibibo
Jeans: Jeanswest Super Skinny Jeans in Mid Indigo
Shoes: Balenciaga studded sandals in sorbet RGGH
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff MAB mini in soft grey (on sale, 20% off!)

Why I wore it:

This is an outfit pic that got lost on my computer- it's from April! As you can probably tell by the sandals. Definitely not sandal weather now, winter has arrived in Brisbane.

To break up the monochrome outfit I added the pink Balenciaga sandals and the printed kimono. I love this grey kimono, it's got so many different colours in the print that it works nicely with so much of my wardrobe.

Unlike the outfit combination, I knew this colour combination would work as I've worn the navy tank and floral kimono together before.

This pic had gone unnoticed on my computer for a while as when I was wearing this outfit I took a picture for a Jeanswest competition on Instagram. Sadly I didn't win, but I did have fun taking over 20 photos as the boys ran around in circles! This outfit picture was in a big block of those photos and I hadn't gone through them to realise I still had an unposted blog picture. Glad I could share it now, as I really liked this outfit.


Last worn: Ray-Ban Wayfarer (above), Somedays Lovin' kimono, navy breastfeeding tank, skinny jeans, Balenciaga studded sandals, Rebecca Minkoff mini MAB satchel.

Other ways to wear: Somedays Lovin' kimono and green top, navy breastfeeding tank and striped maxi skirt, skinny jeans and grey tee, Balenciaga studded sandals and chambray dress, 30 ways to wear Rebecca Minkoff mini MAB satchel.

Perfect for pregnancy: kimono and maternity shorts in third trimester, navy tank in third trimester, studded sandals in second trimester with maxi dress, MAM bag and maternity pencil skirts.

---

More Neutral Navy Tanks Under $50:

---

How You Can Wear It:

A navy tank is a great neutral basic that can be worn many ways in your wardrobe. If your outfit is feeling a little plain or monochromatic, add a printed kimono for some more colour and interest. Picking a similarly coloured kimono like in the first picture is a good fail-safe idea if you're playing with colours elsewhere in your outfit.



Linking up with Passion For Fashion, Friday Favourites, The Ultimate Rabbit Hole, Ladies Who Link Up, Mummy Mondays, Shoe & Tell, Mix It Mondays, Modest Mondays, Hello Monday, On Mondays We Link Up, On Trend.

Follow Away From the Blue on:
Bloglovin : Twitter : Instagram : Youtube : Facebook : Google Plus : LikeToKnow.It