Sharing a rather large spring shopping haul with you today! Apart from my big January spend in the post-Christmas sales I haven't been doing a lot of shopping this year (for obvious reasons). As well as a couple Kmart impulse buys, I got extremely lucky that my fave opshop was open on a different day in September as a once off and I was able to go browse.
When the opshop (thrift store) reopened after COVID restrictions lifted they changed their opening days and hours and are now only open for a few hours in the middle of the week, when I'm working, so I haven't visited this store since January! Being able to visit on a day off was wonderful. It did mean that I bought a LOT of things though.
While I did carefully consider each purchase and didn't buy everything I saw, I didn't manage to meet my goal of wearing everything I buy twice in the month I buy it as I shopped so late in the month. I'm giving myself another pass on not meeting my goal though, as I honestly don't know when the next time I'll be able to visit this opshop would be and I wanted to grab some deals! I just ran out of days in September to wear everything twice 😂
I share a little more about the prices and why I bought each piece in the video, as well as a try on session with everything.
thrifted Kmart white and navy long sleeve stripe tee dress $1
thrifted blue statement beaded necklace $2
thrifted gold and cream multi strand pearl necklace $2
thrifted gold and marble statement necklace $2 (not pictured or in video as I just bought it this week!)
How I've Worn It:
As you can see I did hit my "wear twice in the month I buy it" goal with most of the pieces, except the white striped dress and the necklace I bought the last few days of September. I set myself this goal a few years ago after too many wardrobe clear outs where I would come across things I hadn't even worn. If I can think of two ways to wear something immediately it's got a good chance of staying in my wardrobe and being a versatile piece that will work for my lifestyle. Over time it's changed from wearing things twice in a month after buying them to wearing things twice in the month I buy it. It ensures I'm not buying things anticipating the weather or the things I'll be doing too far in advance. As we all know nothing goes according to plan, especially in 2020! Still haven't worn that blazer I bought for the office back in February that arrived just before Iso....
I'm pleased with what I got this month, great additions to my spring / summer wardrobe and all at very budget friendly prices that makes me happy.
Each month I search through my blog archives to find something I've worn 30 ways or more over the years I've owned it, to put this post together and give you some ideas and inspiration for how you can wear something similar in your own wardrobe. The Weekday Wear Linkup is at the end of the post for you to link up your latest style post!
30 Ways to Wear: Balenciaga Sorbet Pink City Bag
Despite being a very vibrant pink, this bag is so versatile and goes with a lot of my wardrobe. I really like blue and pink together, and have a lot of blue in my wardrobe, so you can see why this bag has fit in so well!
Cost Per Wear
I ordered this bag from the Balenciaga London boutique back in 2010, at over 10 years old it's held up really well! Definitely showing its age more now, but still a bag I adore and I like the broken in slouch it has. It's been worn over 60 times in those 10 years so it's held up well! Sometimes I wore the bag in two outfits on those posts that I found in my blog search, but those are harder to count without going through every pic so we will say 60 wears.
Unfortunately the only record I have of the sale is in pounds, as I ordered from the UK store and I don't remember the exchange rate. It was £799.15, including the £80(!!!) shipping. That works out at £13.32 a wear so far. Still pretty high but for a splurge-worthy bag like this I see myself using for a long time still I know I'll get the cost per wear down much further.
30 Ways To Wear: Video Style
Pink Balenciaga City Bag With A Little Black Dress
Probably the simplest way to wear a pink bag - against a black outfit! I have a few little black dresses (a couple which were my go-tos during my pregnancies too) so it's no surprise I've worn this pink bag with a black dress so often.
Pink Bag As A Pop Of Colour
Of course it's not just black that this pink bag pops with! It goes really nicely with other neutrals like grey or white, and it's so simple to add it to an outfit as a bright pop of colour. It stands out so well on it's own it is a great pop of colour.
Pink Balenciaga City Bag Matching Other Pink Pieces In An Outfit
Matchy-matchy is one of my favourite ways to wear a bright bag though and I find a lot of pink things in my outfit go with this bag, even if the shades are different. Something like the Balenciaga studded sandals which were a lucky sale find on a Melbourne trip and match the bag exactly, or a pink belt, necklace, scarf, even pink in the print of a top or a more subtle match with pink sunglasses! I really like finding different pieces to match with this bag.
Pink Bag With Purple Pieces In An Outfit
There are some colour combinations I consistently wear with this pink Balenciaga city bag. I think pink and purple go so well together and while I have worn this pink bag with the purple leopard print scarf a few times I think it goes nicely with other shades of purple like the cardigan in the middle.
Pink Balenciaga City Bag With Blue Outfits
This is easily one of my most worn colour combinations with this bag, and I definitely had an overabundance of blue outfits with this pink bag to chose from for this post when I searched through my blog archives! It just compliments it so well, the sorbet pink goes with any shade of blue from navy to a lighter blue, and it works with prints, tops, skirts, dresses...
Pink Bag In Office Outfits
The Balenciaga city is a very relaxed style of bag, and a very bold pink! I still think it can work in an office environment though - and back when we still worked in offices, this got a lot of wear. It was nice to have a fun, cheerful and colourful item on my desk to make me smile! And despite the relaxed slouchy style the city bag works well with a pencil skirt or sheath dress.
Pink Balenciaga City Bag In Pregnancy
Having had this sorbet pink Balenciaga city bag over 10 years, I've had it before I had both my boys and so I've been able to wear and enjoy it in my pregnancies with them, so it's fun to look back on. And no matter how big the baby bump gets, a handbag will always fit!
Just for fun, here's a comparison of the first time I wore the bag 10 years ago and the most recent time I've worn it. I love the broken in slouch of this bag!
Where To Buy Pink Balenciaga City Bag:
Weekday Wear Linkup #85
Welcome to the Weekday Wear linkup! A linkup for you to share your weekday outfits - whether that is office wear or stay at home mum wear - if you wore it on a weekday, you can link it up!
Guidelines: 1. Please link to a specific outfit post, not your blog homepage. 2. Link back to this post so others can find the link up. 3. Follow your host Away From The Blue on Bloglovin, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube. 4. Add up to two posts and be sure to visit and comment on as many other posts as possible to get some weekday outfit inspiration! Optional: tweet the post you linked up with the hashtag #weekdayWearLinkUp so I can retweet!
For this month's post I'm sharing a surprisingly versatile pair of red skinny jeans.
Each month I put together a post showing 30 ways I've worn something from my wardrobe (inspired by the True Cost documentary) to give you some ideas and inspiration for your own wardrobe.
30 Ways To Wear: Red Skinny Jeans
I had been wearing these red skinny jeans on repeat recently as they wear so close to 30 wears, and I really wanted to get them over that number this winter. I don't really wear jeans in Brisbane's summer heat, so these are a cold weather outfit option for me. I'm glad to have hit my goal with them now and put together this post to look back on the ways I've worn them.
Cost Per Wear
These jeans have a pretty good cost per wear as I thrifted them (back in 2015) for just $5. It's taken me 5 years to get them up to 30 wears which is not a lot of wear considering I've had them so long, but it is a great cost per wear of just 17 cents. From worrying that they sagged too much when I first bought them (I just had to ease up on the fabric softener!), they have turned out to be a really versatile piece in my wardrobe. Even sticking with fairly safe colour pairings: blues and greys and white and black, I've manged to create a lot of different outfits with these pants. They show beautifully why a bright pair of jeans can be just as wearable as traditional blue denim.
Red Skinny Jeans With Blue
Red and blue is a colour combination I wear a lot and these red jeans work so well with any shade of blue - cobalt blue of the knit, a navy tee or even a brighter blue like in the scarf, it just works. You'll see this colour combo pop up a lot in the rest of the post too!
Black Tops With Red Skinny Jeans
Probably the easiest way to wear any pair of brightly coloured jeans - just add a black top! This again is something I do a lot with these jeans - a black tank, tee or shirt works so well with the red.
Red Skinny Jeans With Neutrals
Similar to the set above, more neutrals. As black isn't the only neutral that goes with these jeans! Tan and grey work well too and you can even add a neutral printed piece like the leopard scarf or grey mixed print shirt to add even more interest with your neutral piece.
Denim Jackets And Red Jeans
I don't wear double denim very often. But a brightly coloured pair of jeans like this red pair makes it really easy to double up! A classic blue denim jacket is a nice contrast against the red and makes double denim really easy as the colours are so different.
Printed Tanks With Red Skinny Jeans
Prints are fun to wear with these red jeans to balance out your outfit a little, so your top makes just as much of a statement as the red pants. If you don't want your outfit to be too loud you can go with neutral printed tanks like I have in the first and third outfits.
Red Jeans With Stripes
Stripes are a print worth calling out on their own! I like the slight nautical vibe of a navy striped top with the red jeans, but black and white stripes look good too. Striped and denim is such a classic combo it works no matter what colour your jeans!
Red Skinny Jeans With Print Mixing
While it's fun to add a print to red jeans you don't have to stop at one print! As you can see here I've paired printed pieces like the striped tank or a printed cardi with more print mixing, with the scarves and bag and even in the middle the printed tank and cardigan together. I feel an outfit with bright jeans is a fun way to try out a new print mix as the jeans take most of the focus anyway!
Matching Red Jeans With Other Red Pieces In Your Outfit
Last but by no means least this is another favourite way to wear these jeans, with a little matchy-matchy! It can be something as small as the red floral print on the kimono, or the red on the rainbow knit. Or a bit bigger and bolder with the red bag or a red scarf. Matchy-matchy is always a fun outfit idea and one I wear often!
