Printed Sheath Dresses With Mulberry Bayswater Bag and Winter Layers

Layering up some some dresses for winter office wear. Something I do frequently (I love extending the opportunities in the year I can wear pies in my wardrobe), but something that perhaps was a little poorly thought through this time, considering it was the coldest winter week we'd had for a while. The weekend before it had been the coldest day in 4 years, so very chilly temperatures. Being stubborn and having nothing else planned to wear though, I persisted with wearing my dresses!

What I wore:

Jacket: Jeanswest Monica Mac coat in Indigo
Scarf: Louis Vuitton monogram shawl in bleu
Cardigan: Paper Scissors grey wrap cardigan
Dress: French Connection blue Paisley print dress
Shoes: RMK Chester black ankle boots
Bag: Mulberry Bayswater in Oak NVT leather

Why I wore it:

Could not resist going a bit monochrome here with the blue macintosh, blue sheath dress and blue Louis Vuitton shawl. Do I look cold though? I was freezing! I thought the scarf, ankle boots, and cardigan I wore under my coat would keep me warm, but I was shivering on the way to work. Such a chilly day. I ended up needing my coat when we went out for lunch too. I did regret not picking something warmer to wear.

Cold weather aside, I did like this outfit. I loved all the blue together, and this Mulberry Bayswater bag holds everything I need for the office. While this sheath dress is definitely worn the most in the warmer weather, it's nice to do something different and layer it up a little for winter. Just maybe will pick a less chilly day next time I try!


Last worn: navy macintosh, grey cardigan, Louis Vuitton shawl, Paisley print sheath dress, RMK ankle boots, Mulberry Bayswater.

Other ways to wear: navy macintosh and pencil skirt, grey cardigan and maxi dress, Louis Vuitton shawl and floral dress, Paisley print sheath dress and heels, 30 ways to wear black ankle boots, Mulberry Bayswater.

Perfect for pregnancy: Paisley print sheath dress in second trimester, RMK ankle boots in second trimester, Mulberry Bayswater in second trimester.

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Wear and Tear: Mulberry Bayswater

What my Mulberry bayswater bag looks like up close after 7 years of wear

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What I wore:

Jacket: Barkins beige trench coat 
Scarf: Love Quotes knotted tassel linen scarf in sunshine yellow
Cardigan: Paper Scissors grey wrap cardigan
Dress: French Connection 'Woodblock wonder' panache dress in white/geranium rose
Belt: Rebecca Minkoff Liv double wrap velvet belt
Shoes: RMK Chester black ankle boots
Bag: Mulberry Bayswater in Oak NVT leather

Why I wore it:

Following exactly the same outfit formula as the one above, with a pretty printed sheath dress, the same ankle boots, cardigan, and Mulberry Bayswater bag. I did make a change and instead of wearing the blue macintosh I wore this cosy trench coat - it's warm and lined and I didn't feel the cold as much in this outfit. I was also able to leave my coat behind when I went out for lunch, it was a warmer day overall.

I've always found this sheath dress tricky to wear outside of summer. Fleecy tights is my default winter wear with dresses and skirts, but black and orange? Makes me think of Halloween. I added the black belt to try tie in the black tights with the dress, and I did consider swapping out the grey cardigan for a black one. But my black cardigan is a lot thicker than this and I wasn't sure it would fit under the coat! I still quite liked this outfit, even with the grey cardigan.

While the bold orange dress is enough of a statement on its own, I felt like adding more colour and wearing this yellow scarf. It's such a big scarf, perfect for wrapping around a few times and keeping me cosy. Thought it would be a good colour to wear with this dress after I loved my yellow statement necklace with the orange print when I wore it previously. I really liked this outfit!


Last worn: camel trench, grey cardigan (above), yellow Love Quotes scarf, orange sheath dress, velvet belt, RMK ankle boots (above), Mulberry Bayswater (above).

Other ways to wear: camel trench and burgundy pants, grey cardigan and jeans, yellow Love Quotes scarf and grey maxi dress, orange sheath dress and blazer, velvet belt over a blazer, ankle boots and shorts, Mulberry Bayswater and chambray dress.

Perfect for pregnancy: camel trench coat in second trimester, yellow Love Quotes scarf in second trimester, orange sheath dress in second trimester, ankle boots in second trimester, Mulberry Bayswater in third trimester.

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Sheath Dresses Under $50:

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How You Can Wear It:

Printed sheath dresses, or any summer workwear staple, can easily be layered up for cooler weather. A business casual office environment like mine makes ankle boots a practical and suitable choice. You can also add extra layers for your commute like a cardigan under a thicker coat, and a warm and cosy scarf. The cardigan comes in helpful when you reach your desk if your office aircon is too cold as well!


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30 Ways To Wear: Rebecca Minkoff Love Crossbody Bag (#30wears)

This month's 30 ways to wear is another handbag, my Rebecca Minkoff quilted Love bag. As well as showing you 30 ways to wear the Love bag, I've added some FAQ at the end around the 30 wears challenge.

You can see last month's 30 ways to wear a blazer here or the previous handbag edition with 30 ways to wear a Louis Vuitton Neverfull tote.

30 Ways To Wear: Rebecca Minkoff Quilted Love Cross Body Bag in Grey

Cost Per Wear

This is one of the handbags I have difficulty calculating cost per wear of - as it was a gift from my mum! I've had it for 3 and a half years now, and I've worn it over 60 times since then, so it's pretty good cost per wear considering I didn't spend anything on it! The love crossbody bag is on the Rebecca Minkoff site for $148 US / $212 AU (reduced from US $295) so I'm pretty happy with over 60 wears so far. Especially as I am planning to continue wearing it for many more years.

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30 Ways To Wear Rebecca Minkoff Love Bag In Video Form:

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Love Bag With Studded Guitar Strap

I thought this guitar strap would be a nice addition to my bags, but had no idea how much I'd love wearing it with the Love bag! It's quickly become my favourite way to wear this bag, I love the embellishment of the strap to add a little more interest to a neutral, classically shaped bag. You can see a full review on the guitar strap here.

Rebecca Minkoff Love Bag Worn Cross Body

I do like occasionally wearing the chain strap at its fullest length and wearing it cross body as it was designed to be worn. This is a really good option for kid wrangling as it lets you be completely hands-free and you don't have to worry about the bag falling off your shoulder. I do wear the strap doubled over most of the time though to work with my petite frame, as you'll see from the rest of my outfit photos below!

Rebecca Minkoff Love Bag With Denim

This bag works so nicely with denim! Not just your standard blue either, I've worn it with printed jeans as well as metallic ones. It's a good way to dress up denim a little more.

Love Bag with Maxi Dresses

Maxi dresses are a wardrobe staple for me, and this Love bag is something I frequently wear with them. When you have a big bold printed dress, a classic neutral bag like the Love crossbody is an easy accessory.

Rebecca Minkoff Love Bag With Dresses

It's not just maxi dresses that this bag works with! I like pairing it with all kinds of dresses - and as you can see from the middle one it still works with a simple summer dress even in winter, with the right layers of course.

Love Bag With Skirts

Just as the love bag works with dresses, it works well with skirts too. I like the feminine quilting detail paired with skirts, and I love all three of these outfits although they are so different.

Rebecca Minkoff Love Bag With Shorts

You can see from the previous ways I've worn this bag, but the neutral grey is really a good all-round colour that works in any season. I do really like wearing the quilted love bag with shorts in summer though, it works with all the different kinds of shorts I have in my wardrobe.

Love Bag With Prints

Because it's a neutral grey, I like to wear this Love bag with prints. From something as simple as a printed dress, to a print mixing outfit or something like bright red pants and a printed tank, it's a good neutral accessory to add that won't clash with a print.

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Where To Buy The Rebecca Minkoff Love Bag:

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Looking For More Outfit Inspiration?

I hope you enjoyed this wrap up post with some of the ways I've worn this cute charcoal grey Rebecca Minkoff quilted Love bag. For more ways to wear it, check out my blog archives and see all 60+ outfits: more ways to wear Rebecca Minkoff Love bag.

Frequently Asked Questions About 30 Wears:

What Is 30 Wears?

It's a challenge I decided to start doing monthly after watching 'The True Cost' documentary on Netflix. One of the points raised to reduce the environmental impact of fashion was to commit to buying everything you wear at least 30 times.
Seems simple, until you do the maths. It's wearing it around 3 times a month for a year if it's something you can wear year round, or 5 times a month for a year if it's something seasonal you can only wear for 6 months of the year. Of course the longer you own things, the more time you have to hit 30 wears over the years.

How Do You Come Up With 30 Ways To Wear Things?

I don't think up 30 ways to wear things I buy! I just look in my blog archives for things I've worn more than 30 times and compile these posts. As I've been taking a photo of my outfits each day for most of the past 6 years, I've got plenty of past outfits to look back on, and I can see the different ways I've worn things over time.


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Colourful Winter Outfits: Navy Dresses and Pink Skull Scarves

Sometimes on my work from home days I like to throw on a dress. It's a quick outfit to pull together to get the boys out the on time door for daycare drop off, and it's comfortable for sitting all day at home working.

I stuck to my usual easy dress outfit formula for two recent work from home days, and added in some colourful cardigans and Alexander McQueen skull scarves. Even though it's winter, it's nice to wear a bit of colour.

What I wore:

Jacket: thrifted SES Fashions mustard yellow cardigan

Scarf: Alexander McQueen pink pashmina in skull and floral print
Dress: Atmos&Here navy stripe tee dress
Shoes: RMK Chester black ankle boots
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan satchel in Harvest Gold

Why I wore it:

Every time I wear this dress I seem to notice it's been a long time between wears! With the thick fabric and longer sleeves, it's usually packed away with my winter things which doesn't give me many opportunities in the year to wear it. It's such a comfortable tee dress though, with a slightly longer hem in the back so that I feel comfortable sitting on the floor with the boys when I'm wearing it.

You might have seen I've just posted blue and yellow outfits, and I'm wearing the colour combination again! I like yellow and blue together, and really like this mustard cardigan with the navy striped dress. Of course with the yellow cardigan, it made sense to pick out this Alexander McQueen skull scarf. It's yellow skulls on a pink background so a nice combination with this outfit. The mustard yellow Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan bag was another further bit of matchy-matchy.

The only thing I didn't like about this outfit was the tights. Having no luck finding fleece lined leggings, I tried a pair of these footless tights - you can see the little slivers of exposed ankle. They got some pulls in them on this first wear. With the boys in daycare while I worked it wasn't like I spent a long day with the kids being rough and tumble - I'm sad that they didn't have the quality behind them (and that I didn't keep the receipt!). Otherwise, this was such a great outfit.


Last worn: mustard cardigan, pink skull scarf, navy stripe tee dress, RMK ankle boots, Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan bag.

Other ways to wear: mustard cardigan and little black dress, pink skull scarf and chambray dress, navy stripe tee dress and Converse, black ankle boots worn 30 ways, Rebecca Minkoff micro Regan bag and maxi skirt.

Perfect for pregnancy: pink skull scarf in third trimester, navy stripe tee dress in second trimester, ankle boots in second trimester.

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Rebecca Minkoff Micro Regan and Mini MAC Comparison:

A little comparison video of the two handbags I'm wearing in this post, the micro Regan and mini MAC.

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What I wore:

Jacket: Jeanswest Peggie kimono cardigan in purple mulberry marle
Scarf: Alexander McQueen modal skull scarf in white/pink
Dress: Zara printed bib front tunic dress
Shoes: Asos Cleo leather boots in tan
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff metallic silver mini MAC

Why I wore it:

Unlike the outfit above, I wasn't quite as pleased with this outfit. It seemed like a great idea, a navy shift dress layered up with fleece lined tights and tall boots to keep me cosy, with a purple cardigan and pink scarf for some extra colour, topped off with the neutral silver Rebecca Minkoff mini MAC bag.

As I mentioned on Instagram, I think the white print on the dress and the mostly cream scarf didn't go that well together. I really like pink and blue together, but I think the first outfit works better as the scarf is more of a block colour. With the cream background and the hot pink skulls on this scarf, it doesn't sit as nicely with the print of the dress. Still a great colour combination and scarf, and just maybe not the right piece with this outfit.

The cardigan also was not as thick as I needed on such a cold day. The dress is long sleeved, but it's a thin viscose material and a thin cardigan on top wasn't as warm as I needed for a colder than expected winter day. Luckily I spent most of it working from home, but having to do the daycare runs and taking my son to his specialist appointment in the afternoon made me wish I'd worn something a bit warmer.


Last worn: purple cardigan, pink and cream skull scarf, navy printed shirt dress, tall brown boots, Rebecca Minkoff metallic silver mini MAC.

Other ways to wear: purple cardigan and maxi dress, pink and cream skull scarf and stripes, navy printed shirt dress worn as a top, tall brown boots and skinny jeans, Rebecca Minkoff metallic silver mini MAC and shorts.

Perfect for pregnancy: purple cardigan in second trimester, pink and cream skull scarf in third trimester, navy printed shirt dress in third trimester, Rebecca Minkoff metallic silver mini MAC in third trimester.

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Skull Scarves Under $50:

They might not be Alexander McQueen, but they are still as fun to wear!

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How You Can Wear It:

It's easy to add colour to a winter outfit with bright cardigans and fun scarves. A cheerful scarf with more than one colour in the print (like the pink and yellow skull scarf in the first outfit) makes it easy to pick other pieces like a cardigan that coordinates with it. Or you can go all out and pick different complementary colours like I did in the second outfit. Sticking with a neutral outfit base like a navy dress makes adding colourful accessories even simpler.



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