What I Bought In June & How I've Worn It: Shopping Haul & Try On Video

Time for an overdue shopping haul video! The last item I ordered in May finally arrived so I thought I'd do a wrap up video with some of my May purchases and my June ones. I felt like I bought a lot, but it was only a handful of pieces - 3 to be exact! You can see my June purchases and the other pieces I bought in May in the video below. Plus, I included some bloopers at the end!

What I Bought:

• Rebecca Minkoff chevron quilted small Love crossbody bag in pale coral 
• Thrifted SES fashion mustard marle knit
• Thrifted navy stripe Coca-Cola logo tee
• (Red and navy cardigans in the video bought last month)

A month of impulse buys, after last minute browsing of the Rebecca Minkoff sale and just popping into the opshop for a quick look both resulted in buying things.

While I'm a little annoyed that the handbag I bought didn't arrive the same month I bought it, and it wasn't the colour I expected, I absolutely adore it. It was a bargain too, at 50% off! I'll upload a proper review of it on my YouTube channel at some point, but for now I'll just say I love it and I've enjoyed every time I've worn it.

I had been looking at the new Jeanswest winter collection and admiring the yellow knits when I saw this one in the opshop and for just $1 I quickly forgot all about the Jeanswest ones I'd been looking at! While it would be too thin a knit for winter in most other places, it will be perfect for Brisbane. When it gets really cold, I plan to layer a long sleeve tee underneath, which I've done in the past with my open knits to make them more winter appropriate.

The Coca-Cola tee caught my eye to add to my collection of Coca-Cola things. I have so many glass bottles, as well as towels, balls, badges, toy cars, even a Coca-Cola cookbook! While I don't drink it so much now, I still smiled when I saw this tee and just had to snap it up for just $1. I also feel like I've seen something similar in stores lately, with the recent rise in logo tees it's perfectly on trend.

How I Wore It:

I had no troubles finding and thinking of different ways to wear the pieces I got this month - which is a sign that they will hopefully be good additions to my wardrobe. They seem to be so far.

Every month I set myself a goal of wearing everything I buy at least twice in the same month I buy it, to make sure I'm buying pieces I want to wear immediately and can easily think of different ways to wear. As you can see from the pics above, everything was happily worn twice or more.

I'm giving myself a little bit of grace with the Rebecca Minkoff Love bag, as it didn't arrive until a month after I ordered it. I did wear it 3 times in the month after it finally arrived though, so still counting it as meeting my goal.

Update on Yearly Budget:

June is usually a big spending month for me as it's a change of season and I want to stock up on all the fun winter pieces in store. I'm pleased I haven't done much of that and only bought a handful of pieces this year. I'm really focusing on rewearing more of what I already own.

I've definitely spent more in the first six months of 2018 than I did in 2017 though, only because I did 6 months without shopping in the first half of 2017. I'm still less than half way under my total spend from last year so I'm hoping I can stick to that and spend less overall this year than I did last year. Fingers crossed!

I'll be attempting #noBuyJuly18 (just like I've done in previous years) so there shouldn't be any purchases next month to report. Feel free to join me if you want to forgo fashion spending for a month! My tips for surviving 6 months without shopping might come in helpful!




And finally, I was the Featured Fashionista over at Have Clothes, Will Travel so go check it out! You'll find out a little more about me and why I blog.



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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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What I Bought In May & How I've Worn It - Jeanswest Waterfall Drape Cardigan

While I did do some shopping, there is no haul video this month. One of my purchases hasn't arrived and so I'll wait until then to film a video. Instead, I'll share with you the two pieces that I do have after buying them this month.

Jeanswest had a 30% off sale on knitwear, so as I usually do, I checked the site 'just to browse' and saw this beautiful waterfall drape cardigan. I ended up buying two!

The cardigan comes in three colours, so I went to the store to try them on, and ended up loving both colours I tried on and bought both. After donating 3 of the cardigans I'd just unboxed from my boxes of winter clothes I pulled out of storage though I felt justified in doing so!


As you can see from the photos below of how I wore the cardigans, you can wear them two ways which instantly appealed to me.

What I Bought:

• Jeanswest waterfall drape cardigan in navy night sky marle
• Jeanswest waterfall drape cardigan in scarlett marle
• <third item not yet arrived>

There are two buttons, one on each shoulder of the cardigan, and a button hole at the bottom of each hem. That means you can button up one or both sides of the cardigan when you wear it (like I did here). It's ideal for breastfeeding, as it turns your cardigan into a breastfeeding cover, and is something I wish I had when I was breastfeeding. I used to have to hold baby and the cardigan over the top of him when using my cardigans as breastfeeding covers. While my breastfeeding days are behind me, I'm still tagging breastfeeding friendly outfits on the blog. I'll just be making use of the feature when I want to wear these cardigans differently!


When I buy things, I think of two ways to wear them. With the buttons making these cardigans adaptable, it was an easy purchase to make as I have so many more ways to wear them. I'm thinking that the new thicker red cardigan will get worn more than the light one it replaced too.

How I Wore It:

I'm pleased I was able to wear these cardigans so soon after I bought them, unlike the last knit I bought back at the start of autumn when it took weeks for the weather to cool.

Special mention also to these two lovely kimonos the boys got me for Mother's Day that were added to my wardrobe in May!

For the third thing I bought, I will share a reveal video as soon as it arrives. I ordered something from the Rebecca Minkoff online sample sale. There will be a delay in shipping as the sale was so popular, and it takes a while to reach Australia from the US too. Can't wait for it to arrive. Make sure you're subscribed to my YouTube channel to see it before it reaches the blog!


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