I bought some new cardigans recently to celebrate the cooler weather in Brisbane! You might have seen in Monday's office wear post how to wear them in the office, but today I'm picking the navy one and showing you two different ways to wear it.
This is the new season Jeanswest waterfall drape cardigan, which has two buttons on the top and button holes in the hem. It means you can button up one side as an impromptu breastfeeding cover, or you can button up both hems and wear it like a cowl neck knit.
While it's winter now, it was still a mild autumn when I wore this cardigan for the first time, so I'm wearing it with shorts in both outfits.
I was so eager to squeeze in another wear of these shorts, in my effort to hit 30 wears on them before the summer weather really ended. With the ankle boots and long cardigan, they were just warm enough for the last of our summer heat before autumn truly set in. The blue shorts were an obvious choice to wear with the navy cardigan as I love wearing these shorts with navy pieces to create monochrome outfits.
The mustard cardigan is something I've worn frequently with these shorts too, I really like yellow and blue together. A nice cheerful and colourful outfit, yet still practical for working from home and doing the daycare drop off / pick up.
There was a little more rushing around when I wore this outfit. We had some errands to run and a doctor's appointment in the morning. I thought the cardigan buttoned up and worn like a tank would be perfect with shorts, as it was quite a sunny day. It was also rather windy though, so I did regret choosing shorts when walking between stores and giving Cooper his afternoon walk when the wind picked up.
The magenta Balenciaga Day bag is my favourite part of this outfit - it really pops with the navy cardigan. If it had been a less windy day, I would have liked this outfit more I'm sure. It was still warm in the sun, so jeans would have been too much with the cardigan buttoned up like this though. Not a bad outfit, just not the best for the weather that day!
During those in-between seasons where it's not too hot or not too cold, a cardigan can be a good option with some shorts! A neutral navy cardigan like this will go with so much too. While this has buttons to take the hems up, you could easily replicate the second outfit with a waterfall drape cardigan you own and a brooch or pin.
This 30 wears post has been a while coming, after I hit 30 wears on this cardigan in spring last year. It just didn't feel right to post about it over summer though. Now the weather is cooler and it's officially winter here in Brisbane, I'm happy to share some of the 30 ways I've worn this cardigan in the past. I even managed to find some of the ways I'd worn it before I had the blog so I could share that with you for something different.
30 Ways To Wear: Purple Cardigan
The past few times I've done a 30 wears post I've managed to calculate the cost per wear. Unfortunately, I bought this cardigan so long ago, I can't remember what I paid for it. I've only photographed my outfits consistently every day since I started this blog in 2012 so I'm not sure exactly how many times I've worn this. There have been over 33 times I've photographed it and I'm pleased with that. The earliest pic I could find was winter 2011, so it's at least 7 years old and still going strong.
How To Wear a Purple Cardigan Video:
Belting A Cardigan
One of my early blog pics there in the middle! It's fun seeing how things have changed. I used to have to balance my camera on the BBQ and use the self timer, so often it wasn't aligned properly. I much prefer the other pics, taken with my camera remote and tripod.
No matter what the photos look like, I love each of these outfit ideas though. I really like the way this cardigan looks belted. It's something a bit different, and good in the middle of winter as it keeps you warm as the cardigan stays closed in place. It makes the draped pieces sit really flatteringly too and almost creates a peplum effect as you can see in the last photo.
Colourful Cardigan and Matching Bag
Each season, Balenciaga come out with new colours for their bags. I always take a liking to the pinks, but the 2005 magenta is my favourite pink. As you can see in the photos above, my current magenta Balenciaga Day bag isn't the only magenta bag I've had, the old selfie in the middle is back when I had the same colour in the city style too.
With the touch of pink in this purple cardigan, and the touch of purple in the pink bag, the cardigan and bags are a nice combination. They aren't a perfect match, but the shade is close enough together that I like the almost matchy-matchyness.
Purple Cardigan With Blue Tops
It's not just similar colours I like wearing this purple cardigan with. Blue and purple is a combination I frequently wear, so I really like navy tops with this cardigan.
Of course that last outfit there is my favourite, it was Baby T's first outing after we got home from the hospital. Even though I'm exhausted, my postpartum tum is on display, and we were going to a clinic for breastfeeding help, it was still a comfortable outfit and my favourite photo of the post!
Purple Cardigan With Pink
Another frequently worn colour combination of mine is pink and purple. With the bright purple colour of this cardigan, it's easy to introduce just a little touch of colour through a small bag like this neon pink mini MAC I'm wearing in the last two photos. If you're feeling bolder or particularly colourful, you could wear it with a pink top too, like I've done with the ombre tank in the first outfit.
Purple Cardigan With Purple Accessories
You'll know from reading my blog (or looking at some of the outfits I've already shared!) that I like my colourful handbags. They are fun accessories with an outfit. And while the deep plum purple of these Rebecca Minkoff bags in the outfits above doesn't match the pinky-purple shade of the cardigan, I think they compliment each other quite nicely!
Even if your accessories aren't a perfect match to a colourful cardigan, it's good to give the combination a try - as you can see I loved the little purple MAB tote bag with this cardigan so much I've worn it quite a few times!
Colourful Cardigan With Neutral Outfits
If you're completely stumped about what to wear with a colourful cardigan, throw it on over a neutral outfit. It can be something as simple as a grey tee like in the first picture, or a monochrome black outfit like the last photo. It also works well with cream and neutrals as you can see in the middle there. I'm also employing my previous tip above of wearing a purple bag with the cardigan in these last two photos, but you could easily stick with a neutral brown like the Chloe paddington bag in the first outfit.
Colourful Cardigan and Printed Tops
The fun thing with a bright, single colour cardigan like this purple one is that it's so easy to wear with printed pieces in your outfit. The lack of print on it means it will go with anything. Stripes is my favourite combo, as you can see here! But a plain cardigan will go with any print you want to wear.
Draped Cardigan and Maxi Skirts
With a loose, drapey waterfall cardigan you'd usually follow the 'one fitted, one flowy' rule to balance your outfit. But I like the casual outfit created with a long maxi skirt and this long cardigan. It's a nice way to wear a maxi skirt outside of summer! And as you can see from the last picture, a cardigan is the perfect piece to wear when babywearing, soft for baby to cuddle up to when he's in the carrier.
Purple Cardigan and Dresses
The last way that you can wear a purple cardigan is with dresses! I smiled when I put this picture together as it shows off some of the other things I'd mentioned above! A purple cardigan with purple accessories, a neutral black dress, with blue, and with prints. Just like it does with with maxi skirts, a cosy and colourful cardigan is a nice way to make a spring or summer dress work into autumn, especially when paired with ankle boots!
I really like the beautiful purple shade of this cardigan, and I find it so easy to wear. One of those purchases that's proved it's worth in my wardrobe. I have had to spend a little more than what I originally paid on it after I accidentally snagged it and got a hole in it. Thankfully my tailor repaired it very affordably, and this cardigan will continue to be worn and loved in my wardrobe for a long time still.
Hopefully these outfit ideas gave you some ways to wear a purple cardigan, or even just a colourful cardigan, that you own. If you don't have one, it is very versatile as you can see from the outfits above, so I've included some similar pieces below you can shop.
I love the dresses I have in my wardrobe, but sometimes I like to try different things with them. This dress below is the perfect casual dress, I've worn it to Bondi beach and I love it as a beach cover-up. It's so easy to make the dress work in other ways too though. Below I'm wearing it as a top in two different ways, one for the office and the other for a day of errands.
After a few days signed off sick from work, my voice still wasn't fully back, but I could kind of hold a conversation, so I headed into the office. This was a mistake and I should have stayed home. I ended up getting told to go home by two different bosses. By lunch time I took their advice, called it quits and went home.
While I felt horrible, my outfit was designed to make me feel better, with the colourful and cheerful magenta Balenciaga day bag as a pop of colour with all of the black. The jersey blazer and skirt look a bit 'suit-like' in an attempt to project an air of professionalism with all my coughs and wheezes! Despite having a horrible day and feeling too exhausted to do anything other than order takeaway for dinner, I did like this outfit. It's a shame I wasn't well enough to enjoy it, ha!
Feeling much better, I wore the dress again as a top a few days afterwards. Instead of layering a pencil skirt over the top, I just bundled it up and partially tucked it into my denim shorts, which have been on heavy repeat lately. As the weather is getting cooler here in Brisbane, the longer sleeves from the dress worked nicely with the slightly longer length of the bermuda shorts.
Added the Converse as it was a bit of a showery day and as much as I love my trusty Havaianas that you'll see in most of my outfit photos, I don't like them in the rain much! The Converse were much easier for running around chasing after the boys as we attempted to achieve multiple things in one morning.
Try rewear your favourite dress differently by layering and wearing it as a top. For shorter dresses, you can add a pencil skirt over the top to instantly make them a work-appropriate length. If the dress is a light soft fabric like this viscose one, scrunch it up and tuck it into a pair of shorts for a different casual summer look.
In October we took the boys on their first flight down to Sydney for a few days. I'm sharing what we did and things to see in Sydney if you're travelling with toddlers. If you want to skip that, I've included my regular outfits too.
Toddler T is 3, and Baby Boy is 19 months. Both are good walkers. We took a travel stroller and I had my Ergobaby carrier. The stroller was great for carrying the baby bag, layers to wear and food and snacks for the boys but we didn't think Sydney was very stroller friendly. Sydney had daylight savings time but it was only an hour different from Brisbane so we stuck to Brisbane time as normal.
I was looking forward to this day the most! I didn't have a lot of space as we packed light, mostly taking extra clothes for the boys. I still prioritised so while I wore the same Converse every day, I had room for a change of bag and instead of my Louis Vuitton speedy bandouliere I swapped out to this magenta Balenciaga day bag for our morning at the aquarium and spending the afternoon with my bestie. She has a magenta Balenciaga bag too so I had to wear this for the occasion!
Did wish I'd packed another jacket, as it was an overcast and colder day and this purple cardigan was the warmest piece I'd packed.
We landed in Sydney in the afternoon, and it was off to where we were staying for nap time. I will not be sharing the name of the place we stayed as it was the worst place I have ever stayed and if there had been other options available I would have demanded a refund and moved out.
After failed nap time for Toddler T, I took him with me on my bloggy date with Rachel from a Nesting Nomad. It was great to catch up with her again, after meeting her in Brisbane a while back. I followed Google Maps but failed to realise the route resulted in walking up a very long hill to get to the meeting point. Only slightly late. Sorry again Rachel!
We walked through Hyde Park to let Toddler T run around a bit, then met up with Hubby and Baby Boy once he'd woken up. We went for a walk around Paddy's markets and through Chinatown before going to Darling Harbour.
Tip: Darling Harbour playground is perfect for toddlers.
The boys had the chance to run around and play to expend some energy after sitting still on the flight. Lots of lovely restaurants nearby for dinner options too, although we went back to where we were staying and ordered takeout!
Day Two
A cold and dull day, it was supposed to rain so we headed to the aquarium as we suspected we might. We hadn't bought our tickets in advance, not wanting to tie ourselves down to anything much with two toddlers.
Tip: Buy your aquarium ticket in advance. The line to purchase was extremely slow.
The aquarium was worth the wait though, the boys loved it. Despite it being perfect indoors weather and a weekend, there was plenty of space for the boys to run around from exhibit to exhibit as it wasn't too crowded. There were roving staff members in a few rooms presenting and talking about things to see, as well as lots of helpful educational information near each tank. Made it easy to explain to the boys what they were seeing, even though they were a little young to read for themselves.
Tip: Take toddlers to the bathroom before you enter. The bathrooms are at the end of the aquarium which is not what you want to discover halfway round.
After the aquarium, we attempted to head over the Pyrmont bridge to get to the shopping centre for lunch. I have fond memories of walking along the bridge on holiday as a kid, back when the monorail was still there! So difficult to do with a stroller though. We'd walked past the lift a few times before we found it, and then getting the lift down into the shopping centre on the other side of the harbour involved getting out on the top floor, walking through the shopping centre, getting another lift down then walking back to go to where we wanted to eat for lunch. On our way back we just walked around the harbour in the cold rather than attempt the silly lift system again.
As the boys napped, my bestie arrived and I snuck out leaving hubby and the boys to rest as we went to the Lindt Cafe for some chocolate and a catch up. It might have just been the company, but it was easily one of my favourite meals in Sydney, as we shared the 'dome of decadence' between 3 of us.
Tip: Lindt Cafe might be a little too chocolate filled to be a good option with a toddler, but they do takeaway!
After an amazing afternoon catching up, it was dinner time and we just headed to the nearest McDonalds for a fuss-free meal, perfect for toddlers!
Day Three
The day Toddler T was looking forward to most - a trip to the zoo and a ride on a Sydney Ferry!
After a slight detour into the Rocks, we eventually made our way to Circular Quay and had the chance to take photos with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
Tip: The Rocks is NOT stroller friendly, don't even try it. Or you'll end up stuck looking down on the harbour realising the only way down is a very long flight of stairs with a stroller. Thanks again Google Maps!
I expected some excitement from the toddlers about the landmarks we'd been pointing out in books for weeks, but it was of course all about the boats! There was a big cruise liner docked while we were there which was exciting to see.
After buying our tickets we hopped on the ferry to go to Taronga Zoo. It's a short trip, just enough time for the toddlers to enjoy being on a boat and you to point out and take photos of all the landmarks before you arrive at the zoo.
Tip: You don't need to travel round all of Circular Quay to get landmark photos with toddlers - just hop on the Manly ferry and take photos from the boat!
When we arrived at the zoo, as we had bought our tickets in advance we were able to take the gondola up over the animals to the very top, with amazing views of the harbour. Of course it was the animals you fly over that the boys enjoyed more than the view! Tip: buy your zoo ticket in advance, even if just at the ferry terminal. It gives you the ability to take a gondola up to the top of the hill and work your way down.
Starting at the top of the zoo made getting around with the stroller very easy, no need to push up any hills. While we didn't see all the animals (we skipped the aquatic section after the aquarium the day before, and the line for the tiger experience was too long for a toddler's attention span) the boys had a great time running around and getting up close with the animals we did see.
We had lunch at 'The Fish Stop' which does have non-seafood options, and was less busy than the central 'Food Market' although it does have less choices. It was so easy to get food and then sit in one of the many picnic areas right next to it, with incredible views of the Sydney city and the harbour.
Tip: Grab a bite to eat at 'The Fish Stop' or bring a picnic and sit back on the lawns for an amazing view out over the harbour!
While the monkeys were the favourite animal of the day (and it was incredible watching one of them mesmerised by my teething necklace!) there were so many to choose from. There was a lovely playground in the farm animal section. Although it was geared towards older kids the boys really enjoyed playing there for a break from animal-watching.
The walk back to the ferry was a really nice downhill stretch, and while you do have to go through a gift shop as you exit the big shark tank and presentation that was on around the sharks meant the boys were nicely distracted as we left, souvenir free. If only that had been the case at the aquarium, ha!
Once we got back to Sydney, we headed to Helm Bar for dinner. I'd looked up a few places online for food and Helm bar was highly recommended, but seemed like a noisy party bar every time we passed it before. Having no luck finding anywhere else open on a Sunday night in our price range, we went there as it was listed as wheelchair accessible. While there's no easy way to get a stroller up the stairs to the bar, there is a lovely beer garden you can sit in and order food and drinks. It was perfect for families.
Food was so well priced, especially for Sydney, and the boys loved their kids meal. I'm still sad we tried it on the last night so I couldn't go back for another schnitzel burger - definitely will be next time I'm in Sydney!
Day Four
This was our travel day, we didn't do much other than pack up, prepare another lunchbox full of snacks for the plane trip home, and make our way to the airport.
Top Tips for Travelling With Toddlers
Have transport options
The toddlers can walk, and we had the stroller and Ergo Baby carrier for babywearing so there were options when the boys didn't want to walk any more.
Be flexible
We had a general list of the sights we wanted to see but didn't buy any tickets in advance so that our days could change if necessary, and we weren't feeling rushed as we didn't try to do too much each day. One activity or outing is fine, and just wing it for the rest of the day.
Pack snacks
This works for the plane flight too, but when you're in a new place you might not know how far away the next kid-friendly place to eat is, so having snacks with you for the toddlers and yourself comes in helpful.
Take lots of photos
The only regret I had in Sydney was that I didn't take a lot of photos (a few hundred over the 4 days instead of my usual couple of hundred I take a day when something exciting is going on!).
Would we do it again?
Not until the boys are bigger and the stroller isn't needed - it was a real pain trying to fit the stroller in places - even though we packed a small umbrella travel stroller instead of our usual big one. Sydney definitely felt a lot more cramped and less stroller friendly than Brisbane.
Unlike the outfit above, I actually found it too warm to wear the cardigan on this day and wished I hadn't brought it! We took the boys to see the Harbour Bridge and Opera House at last (our third day in Sydney...) and hopped on the Manly Ferry over to Taronga Zoo.
The benefit of wearing the Ergo Baby carrier in the back carry position (you can just see Baby Boy's little foot peeking out in the pic!) is that it's easy to wear a cross body bag, and my Louis Vuitton speedy bandouliere was perfect for keeping my camera close by for walking around the zoo.
I unpacked all my winter stuff months ago, but even with my #6MonthsWithoutShopping and #noBuyJuly17 and no new things in my wardrobe, I still have winter pieces unworn. Part of this is due to not having a lot of space in my wardrobe and some of my winter things having to go into one of the boy's rooms where I forget to look when picking out things to wear. I've been making more of an effort lately to wear some of my long sleeved winter tops.
The same outfit formula was used to wear each of the striped henley tops below, but I think the outfits look quite different! Striped henley, monochrome jeans and cardigan and colourful scarf and bag is easy winter stay at home mum style.
You can tell that this scarf has been sitting unworn in a storage box for a while as it's so crumpled! I probably should have ironed it, but I barely have time to iron my clothes (#mumLife!) so accessories are probably never going to get ironed! 😂
I liked the addition of the magenta Balenciaga bag and skull scarf together with the black and white - really made the outfit more colourful and cheerful.
Wore this for a little bit of a busy day - had my local ABA group meeting in the morning, then lunch, a quick shopping trip and a doctors appointment. The shopping trip was very special! It was back when I was still doing my #6MonthsWithoutShopping, but as I've shared previously, I was treated to a pair of jeans! Thanks to a special someone doing the $5 challenge and deciding to surprise people with the money they saved. I went into Jeanswest 'just for a look' and found the perfect grey jeans to replace my old pair.
The $5 challenge is where you save all the $5 notes you get as change for the year. Even as someone who doesn't use cash often, they saved a lot! I think I'll give it a go next year!
These are the wonderful jeans I was treated to as part of the $5 challenge - I was surprised to see them in store as I'd been wanting a pair of grey jeans to replace my old ones, and actually had just finished a phone call with my sister asking if she had any grey jeans from her massive wardrobe clearout!
The purple Converse-like high tops I'm wearing are from my sister's wardrobe clearout. I've always wondered if I should add a colourful pair of Converse to my shoe collection, given how much my black and white Chucks are worn, but never been sure what colour to add. This made the decision for me, perfect! I like the purple shoes with the pink skull scarf and magenta bag. Just the right amount of colour for a grey outfit, and perfect for a morning at playgroup.
Bright accessories aren't just for summer! Don't be afraid to add a little (or a lot!) of colour to a winter outfit with a bright scarf, bag or even shoes. Neutral outfits are so easy to wear in winter as you know all the pieces look good together. Adding a bright accessory or two really pops against the neutrals and is a quick and simple way to add a little colour to all your grey or black layers.
