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

Friday, 6 September 2019

30 Ways To Wear a Classic Camel Trench Coat #30wears Challenge

For this month's 30 wears challenge I'm sharing another wardrobe classic, my camel trench coat. It's a must have piece for the cooler weather!

Each month I look through the blog archives and find something I've worn 30 times or more to create this wrap up post showing you 30 ways you can wear a similar piece from your own wardrobe. Inspired by the 30 wears challenge I heard about in The True Cost documentary. It's a challenge to slow your shopping by ensuring each piece you buy will be worn 30 times or more and to reduce the environmental impact of fashion.

30 Ways To Wear: Camel Trench Coat

30 Ways To Wear A Camel Trench Coat | #30wears | away from the blue blog

This trench coat hit 30 wears quite quickly - I don't have a lot of winter coats in my wardrobe so this is worn at least once a week to the office in winter, and on colder spring and autumn days. Unlike in the northern hemisphere where a trench is more of a spring or autumn piece, this cotton twill fully lined trench coat is thick and cosy and perfect for a Brisbane winter!

Cost Per Wear

Worn more than 60 times on the blog I really wish I could remember the price I paid for it to calculate cost per wear. I remember buying it on sale at the outlets when shopping with my mum - it was massively reduced, definitely under $50, as it was out of season and one of the buttons was falling off. I bought it and set it aside for the next winter (after my mum fixed one of the buttons!). I had it before my blog, so more than 8 years ago. Given that I've had it more than 8 years and worn it faithfully every winter, I'm sure it's less than the '$1 per wear' figure most people aim for to get value for money. I'm really pleased with this purchase and don't see me getting rid of this coat any time soon!

Everyone needs a classic camel trench in their wardrobe, and this post covers just some ways you can wear it!

30 Ways To Wear A Camel Trench: Video Style

Camel Trench Coat With Burgundy

camel trench coat worn with burgundy in 6 different ways to wear | away from blue

You'll see a few go-to colour combinations come up in this post! While camel is a great neutral and goes with every colour in my wardrobe, there are a few colour combinations I repeatedly try with this trench. Burgundy is one of them. While I love my burgundy pants with the camel coat, I do like other burgundy pieces like a scarf or dress.

Tench Coat with Monochrome Black Outfits

adding a cmael trench coat to a monochrome black outfit 6 ways to wear | awayfromblue

Black and camel is another frequently worn combination. While I have added in some other colours to these outfits with accessories, the outfits themselves are monochrome black. Classic little black dresses or a black top and pencil skirt together, a camel trench coat is a great topper with a monochromatic black outfit.

Camel Trench Coat and Jeans

While I wear my camel trench coat frequently to the office with more formal outfits, it also looks great worn more casually with jeans. You can see a couple of the outfits here are older ones as I last wore blue jeans 2 years ago! Any colour of denim looks great with this neutral camel trench coat though.

Trench Coat and Printed Outfits

Of course, being a classic neutral shade, a camel trench coat works with all kinds of printed outfits. it's the perfect neutral topper to a colourful print mixing outfit, or an easy choice with a printed dress!

Camel Trench Coat and Sheath Dresses

I love a good sheath dress for the office, but all the ones I have are short sleeved or sleeveless. This trench coat is great topper for cooler weather, it keeps me warm and works perfectly with the prints on the dresses, no matter how bold they are! Just like with the other printed outfit options above. A sheath dress and a trench coat is staple formal office style.

Trench Coat and Pencil Skirts

4 ways to wear a trench coat with pencil skirts office outfit ideas | away from the blue

Another work outfit option, a pencil skirt pairs equally as well with a trench coat as the dresses above. You can go with a classic black one, or have a little more fun with colourful printed or textured pencil skirts. It's the best neutral outfit topper no matter what skirt you wear. This trench coat really does go with everything!

Where To Buy A Camel Trench Coat Under $50:

More Outfit Ideas:

For more outfit inspiration and ideas, you can view all the 60+ ways I've worn this trench in my blog archives, or browse the complete 30 wears series.

Friday, 30 August 2019

Spring / Summer Haul! What I Bought In August

After a successful no buy July last month (5th year in a row!) I went just a little overboard this month and bought quite a lot! Most of it was pre-loved though so not too much of a hit on the budget!

August is the last month of winter here in Australia but I'm already thinking of spring and summer and so bought some light weight scarves for layering on cooler days, along with a LOT of tees and maxi skirts. Oh and a new bag too 😂 You know you've gone overboard when you can't fit all the things you bought in the video thumbnail pic!

What I Bought In August: Haul Video

In The Video:

Fashion Scarf Girl plain crinkle scarf in mustard
Fashion Scarf Girl pretty pink diamond scarf
Fashion Scarf Girl zesty stripe tassel scarf in pink
Rebecca Minkoff emerald green mini 5-zip rocker bag
Jeanswest Delilah Long Line Kimono in Green Floral

Everything I got in my opshop fill a bag for $5 haul:

thrifted pinstripe maxi skirt
thrifted SES Fashions vertical stripe maxi skirt
thrifted Kmart black and grey knitted asymmetric maxi skirt in shadow
thrifted Cotton On navy and grey striped maxi skirt
thrifted Kmart space dye cream and black longline top
thrifted Cotton on grey tunic tee
thrifted black and white space dye peplum tee
thrifted Navy Emerson slouchy tee
blue multi stand long beaded necklace

Why I Bought It:

After catching up with Jess and seeing one of the new Fashion Scarf Girl scarves in person, I had to put in an order! You might recall I was a brand rep for the company last year - but these scarves I bought myself, as I do only collaborate with companies I'd spend money on! I thought they'd be the perfect light layer for the upcoming spring (just a few days away!).

The bag was something I could not get out of my head. I'd put an offer in on it before when I had an ebay voucher but it was rejected, so I decided it wasn't meant to be. I kept it in my watch list though and after seeing it consistently relisted for a few weeks I caved, upped my offer and bought it in mid August when I had another ebay voucher. So happy with it. And still so confused as to how or why these ebay vouchers appear!

The kimono was another purchase I'd been eyeing for a while, when a 40% off sale at Jeanswest came along at the end of August I snapped it up!

The opshop haul is a big one! It was a fill a bag for $5 sale and I may have went overboard - but all these pieces are things I see myself wearing a lot in the months to come. Even if I did question my sanity a little when I realised out of the 5 maxi skirts I tried on I wanted to take 4 home with me....

How I've Worn It:

With my big opshop haul coming mid August, and filling my $5 bag with so many clothes, I was doubtful I'd hit the "wear everything twice in the month I buy it" rule that I set myself. I made a good attempt at it though, and give myself a pass there as I honestly wasn't expecting to have so much good luck at the opshop! I wasn't going to put things I loved back if I was paying the same price for the bag no matter how much was inside it!

In saying the above though, I'm also not expecting to shop much more the next few months, I have plenty of new to me things to wear and I feel stocked up for spring and summer! The pieces I bought have been perfect for our warmer end to winter too.

Linking up with Sunday Best, On Mondays We Link Up, Mutton Style.

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Friday, 2 August 2019

30 Ways To Wear: Chambray Maxi Skirt

A new month, a new 30 ways to wear post! It's been a while since I featured a maxi skirt, and I am actually surprised that it's taken me so long to hit 30 wears with this chambray one!

Each month I go through my archives in the blog to find things I've worn 30 times or more to meet the 30 wear challenge, and compile all the times I've worn something into a helpful guide like this showing you how I've remixed things.

30 Ways To Wear: Chambray Maxi Skirt

30 ways to wear a chambray maxi skirt AwayFromTheBlue blog pinable image

The first 30 wears post I ever did was with a maxi skirt, but the last time I featured one was almost a year and a half ago, definitely overdue a ways to wear post with a maxi skirt for this series! This chambray maxi skirt is a stunner too! A sale purchase over 3 years ago, it's something I found through another blogger and fell in love with. I had to wait until it went on sale to get this, as I had to budget in the fact that I'd need to have it taken up, being petite. It's from the Noisy May range for tall people so there was quite a lot to cut off! 😂

Cost Per Wear

Cost per wear is a little tricky to calculate as I can't remember how much the alterations were! The skirt alone was just $24.49 and I've worn it 31 times since then, so it's under the $1 per wear that seems to be the goal most people aim for. If you add alterations as well though I would still have more wears to get that $1 a wear figure, but I know this skirt will be worn a lot more in future.

As someone who loves denim and maxi skirts, a chambray maxi skirt was an obvious choice and I really enjoy wearing this!

30 Ways To Wear Chambray Maxi Skirt: Video Style

Chambray Skirt With a Bright Top

4 ways to wear a chambray maxi skirt with bright tops | away from the blue

The beautiful blue chambray skirt is a perfect pairing with bold block-colour tops! I love a good bright coral or pink tee or tank, or a longer sleeved teal henley for cooler weather. This is such a fun skirt to wear other colours with as blue goes with most of my wardrobe!

Chambray Maxi Skirt With Yellow

3 outfit ideas with yellow and chambray maxi skirt | away from blue

Calling out this colour option for you separately from the brights section above, as I love wearing this chambray skirt with yellow! Blue and yellow is a favourite and cheerful colour combination I love to wear, and enjoy pairing different amounts of yellow with this blue skirt - a little bit like a yellow bag, or a larger amount of yellow like a mustard cardigan or tee.

Maxi Skirt In Monochrome Outfit

monochrome maxi skirt outfit ideas 3 ways to wear | awayfromtheblue

The colour combinations above are fun to try, but you can also go the easy route and wear a monochromatic outfit with a maxi skirt. this blue chambray skirt is a great pairing for a blue tank, tee or blouse, and as you can see I'm wearing it with 3 different shades of blue here. You don't have to match the shades of the skirt and top exactly to create a monochromatic outfit!

Maxi Skirt And Graphic Tee

how to wear graphic tees and chambray maxi skirt | awayfromblue

A graphic tee looks great with denim - and not just denim shorts and jeans! You can mix it up a little and pair a graphic tee with a chambray maxi skirt for a different look. This is such a nice combination for a hot day, and creates a slightly different outfit from the ones above where I've worn the skirt with bolder block-colour tees.

Chambray Skirt and Stripes

striped top and chambray maxi skirt 4 outfit ideas | away from the blue

Just like the graphic tee set of outfits above, stripes and denim is another classic go-to outfit for me. there's something so simple about denim and stripes! I like pairing striped tees and tanks with this skirt. As it's a plain block-colour skirt, you don't have to worry about print-clashing when you pick a striped top to wear with it.

Chambray Maxi Skirt and Layers

layering ideas with a chambray denim maxi skirt outfit different seasons | awayfromtheblue

Chambray isn't just a summer fabric for me, I like to get wear out of this maxi skirt year round. that means adding layers when it gets a little cooler. It could be as simple as adding a kimono over your maxi skirt, or extra layers on a winter day like a cardigan and scarf. A leather jacket works well with a maxi skirt in winter too, particularly paired with ankle boots to keep you cosy!

Maxi Skirt and Knit

Another winter outfit idea is to wear a cosy knitted jumper with a maxi skirt! It's such a simple outfit to wear and so incredibly comfortable. I love being warm and cosy in winter so I've worn a jumper with this maxi skirt a few times. You may need to add some extra layers like scarves, ankle boots and leather jackets if it's very cold, or even a pair of leggings under your skirt!

Chambray Maxi Skirt and Summer Tanks

4 summer tank outfit ideas with chambray maxi skirt | away from blue

Saving the simplest outfit for last - for a hot summer day, just pick this light chambray maxi skirt and add a plain or colourful tank. Simple fuss-free summer dressing for the heat! The lighter fabric of this maxi skirt means it billows around nicely as you walk, creating a cool breeze on the hot days. A great summer outfit choice!