What I Bought In January (And How I've Worn It)

Well, I have gone a little overboard with the shopping! It's not the massive haul of last January, but it's still more than I expected to have bought so far this year, after setting out my goals for 2021's fashion spending recently. It can be explained with one sentence - "I had a $10 cotton on rewards voucher...."

Here's What I Bought:

Cotton On The One fitted v tee in washed red clay

Cotton On The One fitted v tee in eddy stripe white / red terracotta

Mimco D-Vine medium wallet in balsa

Cotton On The One fitted v tee in washed summer mango

Cotton On The One fitted v tee in washed poolside blue

Why I Bought It:

Yes, with the exception of the wallet which I needed to replace my Coach wallet, all I bought was Cotton On tees this month! 

The wallet was a much needed replacement for my old Coach one which no longer zipped up, and had already been repaired once before. It had embarrassed me one time too many when I picked it up out of my bag upside down and cards and receipts flew everywhere.... This new one is a flap closure and only has a tiny zipper for coins so I'm hoping it lasts longer than 2 years! I haven't bought Mimco in a while so fingers crossed the brand still has the same quality levels it did when I bought my first expensive bag there back in my uni days. Good old button bags, that uniquely Aussie trend! The wallet was on super sale at David Jones for boxing day so I thought I'd give it a try.

I'm counting my other boxing day sale finds as January buys too as they didn't arrive until January - two clay coloured Cotton on "The One" fitted tees. I used my $10 Cotton On rewards voucher, and with them already being on sale and then having an extra 30% off, it was too good a deal to say no to! They were reduced to $7.99 each, coming down to just $2.99 each after applying the rewards voucher.

Then right at the end of January there was another sale, I had another $10 rewards voucher after my boxing day sale spending (as I bought for the kids as well as the two tees for me) and I was on the hunt for some cute pyjamas to replace a pair I had that wore out. And then I just looked at the tees, which had new colours, were on sale and had an extra 20% off, and so I bought two more 😂

If you're keeping score at home, that's now 7 of these Cotton On "The One" v-neck tees I have, 4 of which I added to my wardrobe this month. At least they are all different colours I guess? And 20% recycled cotton too! I really do love these tees but think I have ventured into crazy "gotta have them all" territory this month!

How I've Worn It:

The last two tees I bought I selected instore pickup for so while they arrived just before the end of the month for me to know they were keepers to include in this wrap up post, I didn't actually get to wear them both! So my mango tee is still unworn at the moment.

Aside from the two tees that I picked up on Friday, I have been able to wear everything at least twice in the month I bought it, my goal for all purchases to stop the "new with tags but never worn" items in my wardrobe. And I'm sure that I'll be achieving two wears on the last two tees in the next week or so!

Perhaps my goal for February should be to not buy any more tees though! If they bring out a green and purple I'll be doomed...they are the only two colours I need before I will literally have a rainbow of these tees!

Follow Away From the Blue on:
Bloglovin : Twitter : Instagram : Youtube : Facebook : LikeToKnow.It 

30 Ways To Wear: Navy Printed Jersey Maxi Dress

My first 30 ways to wear post for 2021, with this pretty Jeanswest "Chantelle" navy blue printed empire waist jersey maxi dress. I actually thought I hit 30 wears on this a while back but I'd miscounted the number of posts featuring it - as I included it in my pregnancy style wrap posts too, but they were just outfit reposts and not a new wear. Stretchy jersey is so comfortable, pregnant or not! And it stretches well to fit the bump!

Each month I look through the my blog archives to see what things in my wardrobe I've worn more than 30 times. It's so helpful taking a photo of the outfits I wear each day so I can look back on the ways I've worn things and put these posts together.

30 Ways To Wear: Navy Printed Jersey Maxi Dress

This dress was a Jeanswest outlet sale find back when I was pregnant with my oldest boy, in 2014! With it being in my wardrobe almost 7 years and it accommodating a baby bump nicely, it's no surprise I've exceeded 30 wears with this dress. So far, it's up to 31 wears. I really thought I'd have worn it more by now, having owned it so long!

It's just the right kind of fabric, comfortable and stretchy without being too clingy, and thick enough to stretch without being sheer but not too thick and warm for summer. My favourite way to wear it, as you'll see in these photos, is to double over the elastic empire waist and create a little blouson effect on the top. It has the benefit of making the dress a little shorter too, perfect for my petite self!

Cost Per Wear

Sadly, I can't calculate cost per wear on this dress, as I can't remember how much I bought it for and I no longer have the receipt as it was 7 years ago. I think it was around the $40 mark, which would be about $1.29 a wear as I've worn it 31 times, but I really can't be sure. It was definitely less than $60 as it was more than half price at the outlets, I remember getting an extra % off on top of the sale price, and Jeanswest maxi dresses weren't over the $100 mark 7 years ago. Even without knowing the exact cost per wear figure I know I've gotten my money's worth from this third trimester pregnancy buy, it's a wardrobe staple even without the baby bump!

---

Monochrome Outfit With Blue Printed Maxi Dress

Blue is my favourite colour so it's no surprise to see I like wearing even more blue with this dress! From a little thing like a blue bracelet or earrings, or something bigger like a blue bag, any shade of blue: pastels, turquoise, or cobalt works well with this navy dress.

Navy Printed Maxi Dress With Yellow

There are of course lots of other colours you can wear with a navy dress! Yellow and blue are a cheerful combination, and as with the blue outfits above you can do it in a small way by adding a pop of yellow with a necklace, or bigger and bolder with a yellow scarf and bag.

Navy Printed Maxi Dress with Purple 

Another go-to colour combo of mine, blue and purple. As with the other colours above, you can keep it simple with a small purple bag, or wear something bigger like the purple cardigan. This waterfall one looks great belted over the dress for winter! I've done a 30 wears post with this purple cardigan too.

Navy Printed Jersey Maxi Dress With Pink

The navy print on this maxi dress is such a good backdrop for any shade of pink to pop! My favourite is magenta pink, like that Rebecca Minkoff Edie crossbody bag in the middle there, or the magenta necklace in the bottom right. But other shades of pink accessories work well with a navy dress too, with the tiny pastel belt or the bold neon pink scarf!

Ways to Layer a Jersey Maxi Dress

I don't just wear my maxi dresses in summer, even a sleeveless tank style like this one. You can make a maxi dress work in winter by layering a knit over the top, or just cover up a little more on a cooler autumn or spring day by knotting a grey tee over it! Knotting the tee helps stop it looking too overwhelming if you're petite like me, and gives a bit of shape to the outfit. And of course if it's summer you can still layer like I have in the middle with the crochet trim kimono.

Easy Throw On And Go Outfits With a Navy Maxi Dress

The best thing about a jersey printed maxi dress is that it's an instant outfit! Never over or underdressed, you just need to grab and go! With these outfits I've been dressed up for our annual family Santa photo, a night out, or dressed down for a casual BBQ with friends and family, or running errands. It just works for any occasion without any fuss.

Jersey Printed Maxi Dress In Pregnancy

That photo I have in the middle is the only one I have to show off the beautiful crochet back of this dress, which is a shame! But it turns out it's really tricky to get a good photo of the back of your outfit when you're using a tripod and camera remote 😂 With the stretchy jersey material of this maxi dress it works in all three trimesters, and even as you can see in the bottom right there, for the final days of pregnancy at 39 weeks! I like that I've been able to wear this dress through both my pregnancies with my boys, and it also works for breastfeeding after as the top is so stretchy! It was definitely a good sale buy all those years ago!

---

Where To Buy Navy Printed Maxi Dresses Under $50:

---

Similar Posts In The 30 Wears Series:

• 30 ways to wear navy printed shift dress
• 30 ways to wear a tie dye maxi dress
• 30 ways to wear a pink maxi dress
• 30 ways to wear a navy tank
• 30 ways to wear a navy printed kimono

For more outfit inspiration, you can see all the times I've worn this dress in my archives, or browse the 30 wears series too. What outfit was your favourite with this dress?

Follow Away From the Blue on:
Bloglovin : Twitter : Instagram : Youtube : Facebook : LikeToKnow.It 

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:

Bags:

• Rebecca Minkoff Micro Bedford zip satchel in twilight
• Rebecca Minkoff Leo envelope clutch in champagne gold
• Rebecca Minkoff Jean MAC cross body bag in fig

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:

• Jeanswest Vickie button back tank in enamel blue
• Jeanswest essential v-neck tee in elfin yellow
• Jeanswest Sophie navy v-neck tee 
• Cotton On "The One" fitted v tee in Cole stripe white moonlight
• Cotton On The One Deep V tee in marle nep white body black
• thrifted Kmart black and cream stripe tee
• Kmart short sleeve textured dolman top in marigold

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? 

Follow Away From the Blue on:
Bloglovin : Twitter : Instagram : Youtube : Facebook : LikeToKnow.It