Thursday, 7 January 2021

Colourful V-Neck Tees, Striped Maxi Skirts and Louis Vuitton Neverfull

Two similar outfits for some very different days the week before Christmas! Colourful v-neck tees with striped maxi skirts, sneakers, statement necklaces and my Louis Vuitton damier azur Neverfull tote.


What I wore:

vertical stripe maxi skirt with purple tee Adidas superstar, Louis vuitton neverfull | away from blue

vertical stripe maxi skirt and Louis Vuitton MM damier azur neverfull | away from blue



Necklace: Nibbly Bits Abacus teething necklace in pop
Tee: Spectrum basic v-neck tee in washed lilac
Skirt: thrifted SES Fashions vertical stripe maxi skirt
Shoes: thrifted Adidas Superstar sneakers
Bag: Louis Vuitton MM damier azur neverfull


Why I wore it:

This was not a fun and relaxing December day. Baby Boy had to go into hospital for more surgery, so I loaded up this big Louis Vuitton neverfull tote bag with things to keep him comfortable and entertained (as well as a big Woolies green bag with more essentials for a hospital stay) and we headed into the city.

I wore a similar outfit last time he had surgery, it was a little easier this time knowing a bit more of what to expect, and not having as long of a stay as we did back in December 4 years ago. I wore comfortable pieces, with this vertical striped maxi skirt not having been worn in a while and very easy to wash. The purple tee is one that's starting to show its age, although still wearable, so I knew it would be comfortable and I wouldn't be too distraught if it got blood on it that didn't wash off. Even the necklace is fully washable! Thankfully this time around the recovery was a bit easier and less messy. I think knowing what to expect and him being a little older really helped.

A massive thank you to all the staff at the Mater too, from the surgeon to the anaesthetist to all the nurses, they made our stay as nice as possible and being able to call with questions even on a December weekend once we were back home as he recovered more was much appreciated. And I don't take for granted the blessing of being able to be home for Christmas.





What I wore:

orange tee with navy stripe maxi skirt statement necklace LV neverfull tote damier azur | away from the blue

orange and navy tee and maxi skirt outfit with Louis Vuitton MM damier azur neverfull | away from the blue



Necklace: thrifted blue statement beaded necklace
Tee: Jeanswest essential v-neck tee in marigold
Skirt: Target navy side split maxi skirt
Shoes: New Balance Coast women's running shoe in black 
Bag: Louis Vuitton MM damier azur neverfull


Why I wore it:

This was a happier day! I took the kids out around our favourite trail that morning, trying to beat the rain and the humidity, just to get them out of the house. After a very stormy and wet week they hadn't been able to play much in the back yard so scooting and biking around a short little trail was a nice break, and thankfully Baby Boy was well enough. Even if the humidity was crazy by the time we got out of the door and we did get a little wet in the car park when it started to rain as we left!

Afterwards we went to check out the Christmas window displays at a local shopping centre, as well as pick up a little treat for morning tea and then back home. Just a short time out as Baby Boy wasn't up to too much, but it was good to get out the house.

Surprisingly I hadn't worn this marigold tee with the navy striped maxi skirt before! I have worn a mustard tee with this skirt before and liked the combination, the orange looks good with it too. Kept it comfortable for the little walk with my New Balance sneakers and tried to dress the outfit up a little with this thrifted statement necklace. The Louis Vuitton Neverfull was probably not the best choice with the impending storm and rain, but it was easy to throw everything into like snacks and water bottles and we didn't get too wet.


Last worn: marigold tee, blue statement necklace, navy stripe maxi skirt, New Balance sneakers, Louis Vuitton damier azur neverfull (above).


How You Can Wear It:

A striped maxi skirt is a great basic piece to have in your wardrobe and pairs so well with another staple basic, a colourful v-neck tee. It makes for an easy outfit for mum life, whatever the day has in store!
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Monday, 4 January 2021

White Printed Tees and Soft Shorts With Cross Body Bags: Weekday Wear Link Up

White printed tees and soft pull on shorts made easy summer outfits for the weeks before Christmas, as I wore these back in December.  Feeling the humidity shorts and a tee was the simplest choice!


What I wore:

white graphic city skyline tee with Kmart navy lemon print culotte shorts and pink bag | away from blue

Rebecca Minkoff Jean MAC crossbody bag in fig | awayfromblue

awayfromblue Instagram | graphic tee and navy printed kmart shorts summer outfit with pink jean mac bag


Tee: Primark Edinburgh white graphic tee
Shorts: Kmart culotte short in navy lemon print
Shoes: slim navy and pink Havaianas
Bracelets: the usual plus Roie Designs pearl, howlite and hematite beaded bracelets
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Jean MAC bag in fig 


Why I wore it:

This was a bit of a mixed day! Spent the morning working from home but had to log off early in the afternoon to take my son to an emergency appointment. Sadly it was decided during the appointment that we had no choice other than to book him in for surgery the week before Christmas. He's had a December hospital stay before as a baby and thankfully this was a shorter stay than that, but still not the best news so close to Christmas.  Luckily he recovered well and we were able to do a lot of festive activities at home, and our plan was for a quieter December anyway this year.

I really liked this outfit despite the mixed bag of the day.  The graphic print tee is one I picked up in Primark on our Europe trip back in 2019 and I thought it would go well with the floral print shorts. I've worn it with prints before, it's a good tee for that as the graphic isn't too big.

The pink Rebecca Minkoff Jean MAC crossbody bag has been worn with these shorts before too, despite being a different shade of pink from the pastel in the print of the Kmart shorts I think they work well together.






What I wore:

thrifted abstract print tee with olive embroidered soft shorts mini mac crossbody bag | away from the blue

olive shorts and Rebecca Minkoff 2012 sky grey mini MAC bag | awayfromtheblue

awayfromtheblue Instagram | abstract print tee with olive soft shorts summer mum style


Necklace: Kmart gold and navy beaded necklace
Tee: thrifted Kmart abstract blob print tee
Shorts: Jeanswest Tessa olive embroidered shorts
Shoes: Novo Tawny rose gold sandals
Bracelets: the usual
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff 2012 sky grey mini MAC bag


Why I wore it:

Wanted to try these olive shorts with a little bit of pink and the abstract blush shapes on this printed tee was the perfect small way to wear the combination. With the lighter blue shapes in the print too I decided to try matching that with the sky grey Rebecca Minkoff mini MAC crossbody bag. I didn't need to carry much as we just had the school run, a walk around our favourite trail and then a couple of quick errands to run, a really easy day. It was pretty hot and humid though - there was no-one else on the trail, wisely avoiding the heat, and I'd wished I'd brought my water bottle with me! My son had his of course.


How You Can Wear It:

Shorts and tee is a classic, failsafe, mum-friendly outfit for a hot summer day. You can mix it up a little by trying a printed tee, it's just as easy to wear. And you can match other pieces in your outfit to the colours in the print for simple accessory selection too, like I have done with the bags in these outfits.

Weekday Wear Linkup #102


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!


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Friday, 1 January 2021

2020 Fashion Spend Wrap Up and Yearly Budget For 2021

Happy new year! Keeping with the spirit of 2020, my fashion spend for the year was unexpected! I was proud of how little I spent last in 2019 but also thought I wouldn't spend so little again. Then of course the pandemic happened and we learned 2020 was the year for surprises! Today I'm sharing what I bought last year, how I tracked against my budget, and what my spending goals are for 2021.


Here's What I Bought In 2020:


waht i bought in 2020 fashion spend and budget and goals for 2021 | away from the blue blog


Bags:


Other Accessories:

  • Fashion Scarf Girl colourful print scarf in green
  • Fashion Scarf Girl lush forest scarf
  • thrifted blue statement beaded necklace
  • thrifted gold and cream multi strand pearl necklace
  • thrifted gold and marble statement necklace
  • Thrifted Adidas Superstar sneakers

Tops:


Kimonos/Jackets:

  • Jeanswest Melanie floral kimono
  • Jeanswest Kensley tie dye summer poncho kimono
  • thrifted black Emerson anorak
  • thrifted digital print no label kimono
  • thrifted Supre black sheer floral kimono

Dresses:

  • Kmart short sleeve tiered jersey dress in amber
  • Kmart short sleeve tiered jersey dress in Fuchsia
  • thrifted Kmart white and navy long sleeve stripe tee dress

Bottoms:

  • Jeanswest harper skinny pant in Russet
  • thrifted navy viscose no label maxi skirt
  • thrifted Tree of Life ochre maxi skirt



Most Worn: the Jeanswest Melanie floral kimono (last worn here) was worn 8 times in 2020, but I did buy it in the January sales right at the start of the year.

Least Worn: Cotton On The One Deep V tee in marle nep white body black has only been worn once, because I bought this right before Christmas so haven't had much opportunity to wear it yet.

Best Deal: The $3 Adidas Superstar sneakers, a lucky opshop find, are probably the biggest bargain of the year!




Fashion Spend For 2020 - Under Budget!


This was the lowest spend year since I've been tracking my fashion spending! I spent a total of $483.59 this year, on 27 fashion items. That works out to an average of $17.91 per item, or slightly more than buying a new item every two weeks. The $483.59 total includes a $134.99 gift card spend, so $328.60 without including the gift card spend.

In contrast I spent $633.18 in 2019, including gift card spend, on 43 items. Despite being sure I wouldn't spend less than that, I managed to this year! I'm pleased to see I spent less than intended this year as one good thing to come from 2020. I also bought fewer items as well that helped keep the cost down.

Even when I did 7 months with no fashion purchases back in 2017 I spent over $1,000 that year so I'm really pleased to have spent less than $500 this year.

One thing to note is that I didn't include the $88 New Balance sneakers in my spend for this year. I class them more as a medical choice than a fashion choice as if I didn't have my knee injury I wouldn't need or want to buy these, and from the Instagram poll most people agreed. I am still under budget even if you include these but just wanted to disclose why they weren't part of the total or in the list above.




How I Stuck To My Budget:


I think that reduced fashion spending isn't anything ground-breaking for most people this year. It hasn't been a year that has called for a lot of new outfits or necessitated buying new things. Hubby and I were luckily able to keep our jobs and work from home in 2020, although I know others weren't as lucky and restrictions and lifestyle changes are still in place in other countries and even in other parts of Australia. Here's how I spent less this year despite being lucky to still have an income:

  • Staying home more and working from home means more pyjamas and loungewear (and I certainly didn't need to buy any more of those!) and less wearing of actual clothes, so while I have bought new things now and then it hasn't been the big hauls of the past. 
  • There has been less window shopping as we have been shopping in person a lot less. I did notice an uptick in spending in the later half of the year when we were out of Iso and I started going to shops again though. 
  • I've spent less time browsing opshops (thrifting) too which has resulted in less clothes for myself, due to a lot of my favourite stores permanently closing after Iso or changing opening hours so they are harder for me to get to. I've also gotten back into reading this year thanks to my neighbour starting up a virtual Iso book club so I focus on the book section instead of clothes or accessories when I do venture into an opshop.
  • Most of my online ordering through the year was essentials, treats for the boys or Christmas presents and while I occasionally added an item or two to an order for myself I rarely did that. 
  • When I did buy, I made the most of sales and rewards. When I was buying things for the kids if I got a rewards voucher I would sometimes use that towards something for myself. Cotton On is good for this where you get a $10 voucher after spending $100. It brought things like my $20 tee on sale for $13 down to just $3 after applying the $10 voucher. I also got quite a few rewards vouchers as bonuses from David Jones this year which made the already massively reduced Rebecca Minkoff bags I bought even more affordable. (For example, the Rebecca Minkoff Leo envelope clutch in champagne gold was on final sale, reduced from $140 to $34 and that was without rewards vouchers.)

All that combined lead to a year with less spending without a lot of conscious effort on my part, just a reduction in shopping opportunities, and less interest in shopping in general with so much going on in the world. I know from my previous 6 months without shopping challenge that browsing less and occupying my time with other things is the most effective way to help me shop less, as I don't suddenly see things I "need". I'm also willing to wait until the final reduction days of sales before I buy, as if things sell out it just wasn't meant to be!



Goals And Fashion Budget For 2021:


I'm not feeling confident about setting a goal for 2021 as we all know nothing is guaranteed! I'd like to have another under $1,000 fashion spend this year though. To help achieve this I'm going to continue browsing fashion stores less. While there have been no cases here for over 104 days in Queensland I am still preferring online shopping as we don't have a vaccine available in Australia yet. I have been visiting shops a little more regularly the past few months with life returning to normal, but nowhere near as much as I used to.

I'm mostly hoping that I can buy fewer clothes this year to help keep the spend down, focusing on achieving my 30 wears posts by rewearing more of what I already have until I achieve 30 wears with more things in my wardrobe. If I can buy less than the 27 items that I bought this year in 2021 I'll be really happy, this is my main goal.

I got some new clothes for Christmas that helps with my "buy less goal" too, I have lots of new outfits I want to wear heading into the new year without much January sale shopping. I have spent some Christmas money and gift cards in a couple of boxing day sales though, but nothing has arrived yet to know if it's a keeper to include in the budget.



Did you spend less on fashion in 2020 too? Have you set any fashion spend goals this year? 




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