Thursday, 30 March 2023

What I Bought In March & How I've Worn It: Target Sale and Opshop Finds

First haul of the year. Nearly made it 3 months without shopping, without even trying! After my December opshop haul I hadn't seen anything I had to have as I was enjoying wearing all my thrifted pieces from December, as well as the new things I got for Christmas. But then I stumbled across the Target end of summer clearance sale, and had some time at the opshops, so I bought quite a few things this month!

What I Bought In March:

thrifted wood and marble bead thrifted necklace with white string
thrifted gold and pastel blue beaded necklace with grey string
thrifted multi strand multi colour disc bead necklace with tassels
thrifted wooden geometric bead necklace
thrifted yellow beaded statement pendant long necklace
thrifted wooden yellow tassel necklace
thrifted silver and turquoise multi strand necklace

thrifted no label black and white leopard print cardigan
thrifted Kmart blue and pink palm print cover up
thrifted no label tropical print tassel cover up

Quite a large haul for my first haul of the year! With the exception of the white denim skirt, which I've been thinking about getting for a while, everything was an impulse buy. That explains all the necklaces!

I had fun browsing the Target end of summer sale with my mum and sister at the start of March. I only picked up two things to try on, both of them skirts, and I decided to buy them both. I thrifted a black denim version of the white skirt from the opshop a of couple years ago and love it, so thought it was worth the splurge on the white one in the Target sale. The leopard print skirt looked really cute and when I tried it on I just had to have it! Perfect for autumn here in Brisbane, I'm also looking forward to when it will eventually cool down and I will get to layer it.

The opshop finds were lucky finds! I'd been browsing their $1 book sale for books for the kids, and while I had a little extra time I checked out the clothes and accessories for myself too. Found one of the kimonos on the scarf rail! I loved the colours and the tassels and I pulled it out to take a closer look when I realised it was a kimono. Whenever I see a kimono in an opshop I add it straight to the basket! The cardigan I couldn't pass up either, although I know it will be a while before it's cool enough to wear it.

The necklaces were a little bit of a crazy buy! To be honest I actually put quite a few back, and just ended up taking these 7 home. Still so many to buy at once.

How I've Worn It:

I have a personal goal of wearing everything I buy at least twice in the month I buy it. It didn't work to curb my purchases this time, but my inability to wear everything twice this month has made me realise that yes, maybe 7 necklaces is too many to buy in one go. At just $2 each though, I couldn't resist!

The cardigan I have not worn, as I expected, as it's just not been cool enough, it's been a hot autumn here in Brisbane. I know it will get more wear when the weather cools though, and I've been looking for a printed cardigan for a while.

The kimonos I was sure I'd get two wears from - I do love a good kimono! I have been in the office much more than expected though, and had a few special events this month I'd pre-planned outfits for I wanted to wear, so I didn't meet my wear twice goal with both kimonos, although I do have plans to hit 2 wears with them this weekend.

The white denim skirt, being worn 3 times this month, was definitely the most worn buy of March!

Yearly Fashion Spend for 2023 So Far:

Since I hadn't bought anything in January or February, the March spend is the only amount added to my yearly spend so far in 2023. The skirts from target were 50% off, and the necklaces were $2 each, so my total comes to $52 spent on fashion so far this year.

And in keeping with my fashion goals for 2023, the majority of my purchases this year have been pre-loved, thanks to that awesomely productive opshopping time!

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Thursday, 2 March 2023

30 Ways To Wear a Navy Floral Print Duster

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll recognise this floral duster as one I frequently wear. Unsurprisingly I've reached over 30 wears with it, so I thought it would be a good time to finally feature it in its own 30 ways to wear post.

30 Ways to Wear: Navy Floral Print Duster

30 ways to wear a navy tropical floral print duster from jeanswest | awayfromblue

This duster goes with everything! There are so many bright colours in the tropical floral print that I'm never really struggling with what to wear with it. It was hard narrowing it down to just 30 outfits to share in this post! I love cover ups in summer, for sun protection and also to help with the adjustment that happens when you go outside from bright warm sun into cooler airconditioned indoor environments. I've worn this one a lot in the other seasons too, it's so versatile with jeans as well as shorts.

Cost Per Wear

I bought this Melanie duster in the Jeanswest buy one, get one free sale back in January 2020. Originally $80, it was reduced to $39.99 and I got a $30 tee for free as well. So I struggle a little with knowing how to price it! I bought it with a gift card also.

If I should split the cost across the tee I got, it comes down to just $20. And at 32 wears so far, that works out to 62 cents a wear. (On the other hand, it's $1.24 per wear if you count the purchase price and exclude the tee I got free in the deal). And with owning it for 3 years, it's averaging around 10 wears a year, or almost once a month, which fits in with how often I feel I reach for this duster, which is a lot!

I'll wear it with anything, dresses, skirts, jeans, shorts...so I'm focusing on some different colour combinations in the outfits I've worn it in. Here are the 30 of my favourite ways I've worn it so far. It's definitely a keeper in my wardrobe.

Navy Printed Duster With Blue

The most obvious pairing for me, as blue is my favourite colour, is to wear this navy printed duster with more blue pieces! As you can see in each of these outfits, anything from turquoise to chambray or even baby blue works well with the navy background of this duster.

Floral Print Duster Over Neutral Outfits

With the bright tropical floral print, this duster has so many colour combinations you could wear to match with it. You can also keep it simple and stick with a neutral outfit underneath, to let the colours and print really shine. Sometimes I'll add a bright accessory too, like a necklace or bag, as you can never have too much colour!

Navy Floral Duster With Orange

There isn't any orange in this floral print duster, but I do really like navy and orange together, so I gave the combination a go with an orange top I love. As you can see, I liked it so much I repeated it with other orange pieces in my wardrobe!

Floral Print Duster With Yellow

Another citrus bright with this duster! Although mustard is my favourite shade of yellow, other shades pair so nicely with it, even when not an exact match to the shades of yellow in the floral print. Not everything has to match exactly.

Navy Printed Duster With Red

With a few red flowers in the print, wearing some red with this duster is a nice bit of matchy-matchy. As with the other colours above, I like different shades of red with this, from a bright almost coral red tee, or a burgundy tee or jeans.

Floral Print Duster With Pink

If you look closely, there are a few pink flowers in this print, so as with the red above, it's a good excuse to try all the different shades of pink with this duster. I have a fondness for magenta pink, but I like the non-matching lighter pink shades too.

Navy Floral Duster With Purple

Purple and blue is a colour combination I like. Although there are a lot of other colours in this duster, like red, that I wouldn't pair with purple normally, I have enjoyed wearing different shades of purple with this duster. From the deep purple jeans, to the deep wine purple or even the lilac tee, it's an unexpected combination I enjoy wearing.

Navy Duster With Green

Just like with the purple above, there isn't any green in this floral print. But I like navy and green together, and I've found with the navy background of this duster it works so nicely with any shades of green. Those olive shorts I really like wearing together with this duster!

Shop Similar Dusters Under $50:

Wednesday, 25 January 2023

30 Ways To Wear: Magenta Balenciaga Day Hobo Bag | Magnificent Magenta

This quarter's Magnificent 8 collaboration post theme is magnificent magenta! And with it being so close to the end of the month when I usually do my 30 ways to wear posts, what better time to share 30 ways you can wear this marvellous magenta Balenciaga day bag?

30 Ways To Wear: Magenta Balenciaga Day Hobo Bag

I'm surprised I haven't done a 30 ways to wear post with this bag yet, it's one of my favourites! It's definitely my favourite Balenciaga pink too. I have owned a few bags in this colour, which came out in 2005 over the years, but this style made it a keeper in my wardrobe. It's no secret I like bright and colourful bags, and this isn't even my only magenta bag.... But a magenta bag goes with so many more outfits than you'd think!

Cost Per Wear

I got lucky and picked this Balenciaga day bag up preloved at the end of 2015, for just $607. Despite being a 10 year old bag at the time, it had such a vibrant vivid magenta colour, and hardly any signs of wear. 7 years of me owning it later, and it still looks just as good as it does when I got it - Balenciaga bags slouch so beautifully as they age! Being a bit of a splurge, although I've worn it a lot (50 times so far), it works out to $12.14 per wear at the moment. Much higher than the $1 per wear most people aim for for value for money, but pretty good for a spendy buy, and one that will be in my wardrobe permanently, getting the cost per wear down even lower!

It took me quite a while to go through all the 50 times I've worn this magenta bag and come up with just 30 of my favourite outfits! I picked a few outfit and colour formulas to share with you, to give you an idea of how versatile a magenta bag could be in your wardrobe. Here are some of my favourite ways to wear it.

30 Ways To Wear: Magenta Hobo Bag | Video Style

Magenta Bag In Office Outfits

black outfit ideas with magenta balenciaga day hobo bag awayfromtheblue

I love wearing my bright and colourful bags into the office! It's nice to have a bit of colour on your desk through the day while spending hours sitting at a computer. And of course, these 4 outfits show the easiest way to wear any bright colour - pair it with black! With all the black and the other neutrals in these outfits, it makes the magenta bag really pop.

Magenta Bag with Blue Outfits

5 ways to wear blue and magenta outfits with magenta balenciaga day hobo bag awayfromblue

It's no secret I love blue and pink together. Having so much blue in my wardrobe, I've worn this magenta bag with every shade I own, and it always looks good! From the pastel baby blue skull scarf, denim dresses and skirt, even a cobalt scarf, magenta just works with any shade of blue.

Magenta Bag With Purple

magenta hobo bag with purple outfits awayfromblue

Magenta being the perfect blend of pink and purple together means it looks so good worn with other purple pieces. You don't have to go big and bold like I have with the purple printed dress in the third outfit, you can try the colour combination on a smaller scale with a purple scarf. A bright scarf and bag are a fun way to add colour to a neutral layered outfit in winter too.

Magenta Bag With Tee and Denim

magenta hobo bag and denim and tee outfits awayfromtheblue

Forever a staple outfit, a classic tee and denim formula is a go to the world over. To make it just a little different from a standard basic formula though, you can add a bright bag. And this fun magenta bag is definitely bright enough to add more interest to any version of denim and tee you wear!

Magenta Bag With Matching Magenta Accessories

magenta balenciaga day bag in 5 outfits with matching magenta awayfromtheblue

Since magenta pairs so perfectly with blue, and I have a lot of blue in my wardrobe, I also have quite a few other magenta pieces. It's fun to make a matchy-matchy outfit and wear more than one magenta piece at a time. From a pink skull scarf to a magenta cami peeking out from under a dress, or a larger matchy-matchy with the magenta cardigan and bag together! Even if the pink in that last skull scarf isn't quite magenta...it's close enough to make my matchy-matchy self happy!

Magenta Bag and Printed Dress Outfits

magenta balenciaga day hobo bag and printed dress awayfromblue

A big bold block colour hobo bag like this Balenciaga day bag is so easy to wear with statement printed dresses. You can try coordinating like I have with the pink and purple dress in the third outfit there, or just have the bag be a bright pop of colour and contrast against the print like I have in the other three outfits.

Magenta Balenciaga Day Bag In Pregnancy

4 pregnancy outfit ideas with magenta hobo bag awayfromblue

I always love putting pregnancy photos in these 30 ways to wear posts. Because not every item of clothing will be wearable through all 3 trimesters of pregnancy and beyond, but a handbag sure will! A big practical hobo bag like this, it got a lot of wear over my last pregnancy.