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

Monday, 1 October 2018

30 Ways To Wear: Balenciaga Part Time Bag In Black #30wears

This black Balenciaga part time bag will always be a classic to me. Even with the giant silver hardware being discontinued and replaced with smaller, lighter hardware, I think the bag is timeless. It's easily been worn over 100 times, over 70 on the blog. It's definitely due to be celebrated with a post showing 30 different ways to wear it.

Note: No haul video or post as I managed to complete #noSpenderSeptember with no fashion purchases for the month!

30 Ways To Wear: Balenciaga Black Part Time Bag

30 ways to wear Balenciaga Part Time Bag in black #30wears | awayfromblue blog

Cost Per Wear

Once again, another item I find tricky to calculate cost per wear of. I know how much I paid for it all the way back in December 2010, as I still have the emails from the London Balenciaga boutique. It's all in pounds though, and almost 8 years later I don't remember what it converted to! It was over 1,000 pounds at the time, so I have a lot more wears left to go to hit the magical '$1 per wear' figure most people seem to aim for when calculating cost per wear. I fully expect to have this bag for a lifetime though so I might hit that 1,000 wears one day!

I know expensive bags aren't for everyone. Some people splurge more on clothes, or shoes, or holidays, or cars, or jewelry, and some people are just saving up so they have some money to splurge! But hopefully this post still gives you some outfit ideas for how you could wear a similar black bag of your own.

30 Ways To Wear A Balenciaga Part Time Bag: Video Style

Balenciaga Part Time Bag and Dresses

5 ways to wear Balenciaga part time bag with dresses | awayfromtheblue

You can really see the versatility of the part time bag in these 5 outfits! It's a very large, slouchy bag so not the usual piece you think of when wearing a dress (I usually go for smaller bags) but it works so well with so many dresses. You can see it in a mix of seasons, and a mix of dress styles, looking fab with each one.

Part Time Bag and Jeans

4 outfit ideas balenciaga part time bag with skinny jeans denim style | awayfromblue

Skinny jeans are my go-to style, and while I have worn this bag with other kinds of denim, my favourite 4 were these outfits with my trusty skinny jeans. There's something about the slouchy Balenciaga leather paired with denim that I just love, and so this part time bag is frequently worn with jeans.

Balenciaga Black Part Time Bag and Monochrome Outfits

how to wear Balenciaga part time bag with monochrome outfits | away from blue

You might know from reading my blog that I am a big an of bright handbags! I love a pop of colour with a handbag against a monochrome outfit, but with this black part time bag you can use it to let other parts of your outfit shine. From the bold and colourful scarves in the first and third outfit, or just letting the cheerful print be the statement part of the outfit with the dress in the middle there. It's good to have a neutral black bag to tie in with a monochrome back or grey outfit.

Balenciaga Bag and Printed Pieces

4 ways to wear Balenciaga part time bag with prints casual and corporate outfits | away from the blue

This bag is such an easy piece to grab when you're wearing something printed. You don't have to worry about matching it to colours in the print, or that it won't go with the print. A black bag just goes with whatever you have on and you don't need to worry about coordinating it with printed pieces in your outfit.

Part Time Bag and Print Mixing

part time bag and pattern mixing outfit ideas for balenciaga part time bag | awayfromblue

Of course with a neutral black bag, you can go all out with your outfit, mixing different colours and prints together. While my favourite thing to do is to add a printed scarf to an outfit for a bit of mixing, you can achieve this by wearing two different printed items of clothing together too like in the first outfit.

Balenciaga Part Time In Summer

black balenciaga part time bag in summer 3 outfit ideas | awayfromtheblue

You will see me wearing all of my bags year-round on this blog! I don't keep things set aside for different seasons, preferring to wear and enjoy the handbags all year. That means a big black bag works perfectly in summer for me. I don't think you have to stick to lighter coloured handbags just because it's summer.

Black Part Time Bag in Winter

Black balenciaga part time bag in winter | awayfromtheblue

Of course, despite working year round, a black bag is undeniably a winter staple. It works with any kind of layers you put together, being a classic neutral shade. With all of the darker layers that tend to get worn around winter, a black bag is a great piece to have in your wardrobe.

Balenciaga Part Time Bag in Pregnancy

A frequent feature in these posts, pregnancy outfits! I like including them in these wrap-ups as it shows you why I invest in my handbags. Clothes quickly stop fitting in pregnancy, somes shoes follow suit, but handbags and accessories always work and I'm glad I get to have these photos with my baby bumps to look back on.

Where To Buy The Balenciaga Part Time Bag:

Monday, 3 September 2018

30 Ways to Wear A Tie Dye Maxi Dress (#30wears Challenge)

If you look at all the 30 wears posts I've done so far you'll see a lot of maxis! I love my maxi skirts and dresses, and I definitely think you can still wear them if you're petite like me. I've already shared 30 ways to wear a pink maxi dress before, now it's another much-loved maxi dress, this beautiful jersey tie dye one from Jeanswest.

30 Ways To Wear: Grey Jersey Tie Dye Maxi Dress

30 ways to wear a grey jersey tie dye maxi dress #30wears challenge | away from the blue blog

Cost Per Wear

Unfortunately, this is another one of those pieces I can't calculate cost per wear on, as it was a present! With 30 wears and lots of life left in it though, I'm definitely getting value from it, so it was a great gift from my mum. I first wore it back in 2012, for Christmas day. Almost 6 years, 2 pregnancies and 30 wears later, it's still a firm favourite in my wardrobe.

30 Ways To Wear a Tie Dye Maxi Dress: Video Style

Jersey Maxi Dress Worn Knotted

petite hack for wearing a maxi dress knotting the hem worn 3 ways | awayfromblue

A go-to petite hack, if a maxi is too long, just knot it. You can secure over the knot with a hair tie to keep it in place too! As I've never had this dress shortened, wearing the elastic lower down where it should sit makes the dress too long, so tying a quick knot in it is an easy solution. It's a good way to make a maxi dress seem more casual, and it also works if you're at the beach and need to keep the hem out of the way as you walk on wet sand!

Grey Tie Dye Maxi Dress Worn With Yellow

grey and yellow: 4 outfit ideas for accessorising a grey tie dye maxi dress | awayfromtheblue

Part of the reason behind me wearing this maxi dress so often is that it's a beautiful neutral grey colour. The tie dye print isn't too bold, so I love to pair it with bright accessories. I like grey and yellow together, and when I was organising the photos for this post I realised it was a definite trend with this dress. Yellow bag, yellow necklace (or even both!) this grey dress works so well with yellow accessories.

Tie Dye Maxi Dress and Statement Necklaces

accessorizing a maxi dress with statement necklaces outfit ideas | awayfromblue

The beautiful of a maxi dress is that it's an instant, easy outfit, You don't need to accessorise or try too hard with it, you can just throw it on and go. If you do want to change it up a little though, a statement necklace is a great choice. I love bold and beaded ones like the first and third outfits, or you can just layer them up like in the other two outfits.

Jersey Maxi Dress In Summer

ways to wear a tie dye maxi dress in summer | awayfromtheblue

Taking full advantage of the 'throw on and go' benefits of a maxi dress that I mentioned above! I love a maxi dress for summer, you have an instantly pulled together looking outfit you don't need to spend any time planning. The jersey material of this dress is perfect - not too thick, not too thin, so it's a perfect choice on a hot day.

Tie Dye Maxi Dress and Light Layers

layering a tie dye maxi dress 5 outfit ideas with light layers | awayfromtheblue

Of course I wear my tie dye maxi dress outside of summer too! For spring or autum, or even just a cooler day, it's easy to add a light layer on top. Something like a cardigan, kimono, denim jacket, or even just a cosy scarf helps keep the chill off.

Jersey Maxi Dress Layered Under A Tee

layering a maxi dress with a tee 3 outfit ideas for spring | awayfromblue

Admittedly, layering a tee over a maxi dress is a fairly new combination for me. It's something I've seen other bloggers doing and decided to really embrace this past year, I love it! If you want to change up the look of a maxi dress you wear frequently, just pull on a tee and turn it into an instant skirt.

Tie Dye Maxi Dress In Winter

3 ways to wear tie dye maxi dress layered in winter leather jackets scarves | awayfromblue

Without snow in winter, maxi dresses can be worn year round in Brisbane. When it gets really chilly, I add a leather jacket on top, a big but colourful scarf and some boots underneath. If it's even colder where you are, you could layer tights or leggings underneath too. I like to get wear from my wardrobe most of the time, and layering a summer maxi dress to wear in winter is a good way to achieve that.

Jersey Tie Dye Maxi Dress In Pregnancy

5 outfit ideas non maternity maxi dress in pregnancy | awayfromtheblue

As I mentioned above, I've had two pregnancies in the time I've had this maxi dress. While it's not a maternity dress, the stretchy jersey and elastic that sits above a baby bump made this an easy option for pregnancy wear. Especially on a hot day! It's fun being able to look back on a dress I've worn while pregnant with both my boys that I'm still able to wear it now.

Tie Dye Maxi Dresses Under $50:

Friday, 31 August 2018

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

After completing no Buy July last month, I was felt like I bought a lot this month to make up for it! Everything was on sale or an opshop find though.

There's a little for everyone here, with new purchases from Jeanswest, opshop (thrift) finds, and awesome accessories. Nothing was over $17, even though I bought a bag too!

What I Bought:

Jeanswest Emma woven trim tee in terracotta
Jeanswest Emma woven trim tee in dark green
thrifted ASOS petite green skinny jeans
thrifted French Connection olive skinny cargo pants
thrifted cobalt blue long sleeve tee
thrifted Maison Scotch black paint splatter print long sleeved tee
Kmart sparkly silver glitter sneakers
Kmart blue fringe crescent statement earrings
Rebecca Minkoff red micro Avery cross body bag (used ebay discount voucher)

Not Mentioned In The Video:

I will always be upfront on the blog about additions to my wardrobe. I didn't include these in my haul video as I didn't buy them, but I became a brand rep for Fashion Scarf Girl in July and received 4 scarves as a result to wear over the next few months.

Shopping-wise, this month felt like a month of impulse buys! I wandered into the Jeanswest store just for a browse, and these tees were on sale with an extra 50% off sale prices. I got both for less than the full retail cost of one of them, I'm pretty happy with that! A nice slouchy, basic tee will get a lot of wear in my wardrobe so I couldn't resist getting both colours.

I'm an emotional shopper, so after a bit of a stressful start to the day, I went into Kmart for the containers I planned to buy, and decided to browse. While I didn't buy anything extra that day, I couldn't get these sparkly shoes out of my head (the messages on my Instagram stories telling me to go back for them may have helped there!) and so went back to Kmart again to pick up the shoes and some statement earrings.

After some luck with the green pants at various opshops, I really was hoping to get more for myself in the 'fill a bag with clothes for $2' sale at my favourite opshop (especially as all the proceeds were going to drought-stricken farmers), but as you can see I only ended up with two items of clothing for myself, that pile for the boys you saw in the video and some homewares after I'd been looking out for similar pieces for a while.

The bag was explained a bit further in the video too, but I wanted to try a new style and could not believe that I scored this for under $20! Still not sure how I ended up with that ebay voucher but it came at a perfect time! Its second wear is today so I haven't got the photo for this post unfortunately.

How I've Worn It All:

August purchases and how I've worn them: Away From The Blue

After buying those long sleeved tops at the opshop, the weather started to warm up and I wasn't sure I'd be able to squeeze in two wears of them! Thankfully they work for my business casual office, and it's really cold for my early morning commute so they got some wear that way! Was really pleased to wear everything at least twice, with some surprise pieces like the green skinny jeans being worn a lot more over the month!

Linking up with Flashback Fashion, Lizzie In Lace, Shoe & Tell, On Mondays We Link Up.

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