Now that Brisbane is having a little bit of cooler autumn weather at last, thought that this cosy black and navy striped shift dress with 3/4 sleeves was the perfect piece to feature for my latest 30 ways to wear post!
30 Ways To Wear: Atmos & Here Navy and Black Stripe Shift Dress
Cost Per Wear
I picked this navy stripe tee dress up on sale at The Iconic for $26.36, back in July 2014. So I've had it in my wardrobe almost 11 years! At 32 wears, it's down to 82 cents a wear. And it's still going strong, it will be worn in the cooler months for years to come.
It has taken over a decade to get more than 30 wears, but I credit that to it being a dress I can only really wear on cooler days, and it not being one I could wear when breastfeeding. I definitely think of it as a staple in my wardrobe though and look forward to wearing it in the colder months.
Out of the 32 outfits I've made from this dress, here are my 30 favourite ways I've worn it so far.
Navy Stripe Tee Dress With More Blue
I love wearing multiple shades of blue together in an outfit, and as you can see from these 4 outfits, the dark navy dress is perfect with blue jackets, scarves, bags and even shoes.
Striped Shift Dress With Boots
As this striped dress is quite thick with the long 3/4 length sleeves, I wear it most often on colder days. it means it's the perfect temperature to wear some boots with it too! Sometimes with bare legs and ankle boots, other ways I've worn it include with taller boots and leggings.
Navy Stripe Dress With Yellow
The neutral navy and black stripes on this dress make it the perfect backdrop for a nice bright scarf, and as you can see from each of these 4 outfits, yellow scarves are a bit of a go-to for me with this dress. And sometimes I add a little yellow bag for even more bright colour against the neutral navy.
Navy Striped Tee Dress With Red
Navy and red is not a new combination, but like the colour combinations above, it's one I reach for a lot with this dress! I love the pop of a nice bright red accessory against navy, from something small like a belt or necklace, to something larger like a bag or scarf.
Navy and Purple
Of course it's not just colourful scarves that look good with this dress, although as you can see from the last 3 of these outfits I do like wearing printed purple scarves with this dress! In the first photo though you can see even a small pop of a lighter lilac purple can look good against a navy dress.
Navy Stripe Dress With Pink
Blue and pink has to be one of my favourite combinations, and I have worn an awful lot of pink bags with this neutral dress. it's a very fun pop of colour! But again, wearing this in cooler weather, I find pink scarves brighten it up nicely, and I really liked that middle outfit with the blush pink blazer over the dress.
Navy Striped Shift Dress With Green Accessories
I think blue and green should definitely be seen together! Navy is a really nice shade of blue to wear with green, and it works well with different shades. The olive bag, green necklace and darker green bag all look good against the dress.
Another month, another #30wears achieved for a piece from my wardrobe. This time it's another maxi skirt. It's interesting that there are only a few jeans that I've hit 30 wears on but I've easily hit that on so many of my maxi skirts. I've always thought I was more of a jeans than skirt person, my style has definitely evolved over the years. It's useful having the blog to look back on and see what I've worn over the years, and it's great that I can compile my outfit pics together into posts like this.
I have started to look up pieces I'm close to 30 wears on and wearing them a little more regularly, as you've probably seen on Instagram. I do want to wear more of my wardrobe, but I'm also enjoying the challenge of thinking up more ways to wear things to hit 30 wears.
#30 Wears: Navy and White Striped Maxi Skirt
While I don't wear a lot of white, I find this maxi skirt so easy to wear. Being machine washable helps! The stretchy elastic waistband has stretched through to the third trimester of two pregnancies and still fits perfectly post-baby. Non-maternity clothes with elastic waists are wonderful in pregnancy. In fact the very first time I wore this skirt I was pregnant, it's a great pregnancy piece.
It's not just pregnancy this works well for though! Stretchy skirts are great postpartum and incredibly comfortable post-baby. It's easy to see why I've hit 30 wears on this. In fact, half of them were during pregnancy and the other 15 were when I wasn't pregnant. Really funny to see the perfect split when I counted up the 30 wears.
Stripe Maxi Skirt With Printed And Embellished Tanks
A printed skirt doesn't mean you have to wear it with plain pieces! I've enjoyed doing a little print mixing by pairing the striped skirt with printed tanks. If you're looking for something slightly different you can add something extra to the stripes with embellished tanks with beading or sequins. The benefit of the beaded and sequin embellished tanks were that they draw the eye up and away from what was an early second trimester baby bump. Of course as you can see with the brown floral tank, you can only disguise a baby bump for so long! Get more ways to hide a baby bump here.
Navy Stripe Maxi Skirt and Matching Top
Since the white maxi skirt has a navy stripe, it's good to be matchy-matchy and wear a navy tee with it. It's a quick fool-proof outfit technique you can use for any printed piece. Grab a plain piece in a similar colour to one that's in the print to wear with it for an easy outfit that is perfectly co-ordinated.
Stripe Maxi Skirt and Grey Tee
A grey tee is another one of those fail-safe outfit options with a printed maxi skirt. I have quite a few grey tees in my wardrobe, as you can see above as each time I've worn this skirt it's been with a different grey tee! I like them when I need a neutral piece to wear with a print. A grey tee and a maxi skirt is a favourite frequently worn combination of mine. A grey tee will always be a classic to me. A nice neutral grey tee lets you be a little more bold and adventurous with your accessory choices and I like to wear a bright handbag often with grey tees as the colour really pops.
Stripe Maxi Skirt and Colourful Tanks
While grey tees are a great neutral with prints, and you can easily pick a navy top for an easy coordinating outfit, I like wearing bright and colourful tanks with this stripe maxi skirt too. I love this in pregnancy, as my colourful fitted tanks really work nicely to show off a baby bump. Because this skirt is a non-maternity piece, there is a limit to how far the elastic will stretch around a growing baby belly. When it hits its limit, a maternity tank comes in helpful as the longer bump-covering length lets you wear the skirt lower with the waist band under the baby bump like in the last photo.
Maxi Skirts and Light Layers In Cooler Weather
I try to wear most of my wardrobe year-round, but with the slit up the side it gets a little too cold to wear this maxi skirt over winter. I make it work outside of summer by adding a light layer, something as simple as a scarf or denim jacket, or a little more colourful with a printed kimono or colourful knit. Just that extra layer can make it easier to wear this skirt for spring or autumn. You don't have to keep maxi skirts just for summer!
Maxi Skirt and Ruffle Camis
Sometimes i's nice to add some extra texture to your outfit. The close fit of this jersey maxi skirt means voluminous tops are a good pairing with it, and my ruffle camis are such fun pieces to wear. You can even add in some print mixing like I've done in two of those three outfits above. Stripes really do go with so much, and a strappy cami is a wonderful piece to wear in the summer heat.
Maxi Skirt and Tees
As you can see above, I love my grey tees and my navy tees with this striped maxi skirt. Any kind of tee pairs beautifully with a maxi skirt though, and as well as some brightly coloured ones it's been fun wearing graphic tees with this striped skirt. It makes a great casual outfit for places like playgroup if you're wanting to dress a maxi skirt down a little. A simple outfit formula like this can continue on in pregnancy as well!
Striped Maxi Skirts Under $50:
A striped skirt can be surprisingly versatile, and this was definitely good value for money! I bought this Atmos & Here maxi skirt back in 2013 for $17.45, so it's now down to 58 cents per wear and still going strong 4 years later.
This Target navy striped maxi skirt was definitely overdue a 30 ways to wear post. I consider maxi skirts a staple in my mum wardrobe and this one goes with, and has been worn with, everything! I had trouble narrowing it down to just 30 outfits to share today.
What Is The 30 Wears Challenge?
Something I picked up from The True Cost documentary, where to reduce the environmental impact of fashion purchases, we should endeavour to wear everything we buy at least 30 times. Each month I share the different ways I've managed to do that with an item from my wardrobe, by looking back at all the daily outfit photos I've taken and shared on the blog over the years!
30 Ways to Wear: Navy Striped Maxi Skirt
Blue is my favourite colour, I always find it so wearable! And navy is a true neutral that goes with everything, so it's not surprising that this skirt has gotten a lot of wear. While the side splits do mean I can't really wear this skirt in winter as it's a little chilly, I do heavily wear it over spring and summer, and it works in autumn too. I have even layered it up a little for winter a couple of times, before realising it should really be more of a warm weather piece!
Cost Per Wear
I struggle to calculate cost per wear on this skirt because my mum bought it for me! I don't remember the cost but similar skirts at Target are around $25 so I assume it was that price or less back in 2016 when she bought it. At 33 documented wears on the blog, assuming it was $25, that's a cost per wear of around 75 cents! Pretty good going! I've definitely worn this skirt more than it's been shared on the blog too, as I have some photos of me wearing it during baby boy's hospital stay, so it's really over 36 wears.
Here are just some of the ways I've worn it:
Simple Tank and Striped Skirt Outfits
On a summer day a plain tank and a striped maxi skirt is an easy outfit for beating the heat, especially if the maxi skirt has side slits like this one does. In each of these 3 outfits I haven't deviated much with the colours in the tanks close to the colours in the skirt, but brighter coloured tanks do work equally well.
White Tees and Navy Striped Maxi Skirt Outfits
Navy and white stripes? Try wearing it with more white! I don't have a lot of white in my wardrobe but I do love wearing the few white tees I have with this striped maxi!
Navy Striped Maxi Skirt With Purple
Blue and purple is a colour combination I really love, and despite the different shades and amounts of purple here, from the tank, tee or even the purple scarf and bag, they all work with the navy stripes.
Red Tops With Navy Striped Maxi Skirt
Red and navy is a nice and colourful combination! While this is a navy and white striped skirt with 4 different red tops, I don't think the outfit looks too American flag-like as the white stripes are smaller than the navy ones. I think with a differently striped skirt this might look a little like a 4th July outfit! But to me these 4 outfits work.
Outfits Wearing Yellow With A Navy Striped Maxi Skirt
Yellow and blue are such a cheerful combination! A bright yellow tee really pops against navy, but a little mustard yellow bag like I'm wearing there in the second and third outfits can be a smaller way to introduce such a bright colour to your outfit.
Pink and Navy Outfit Ideas With Striped Maxi Skirt
Another fun combination, pink and blue! Just like with the other colours I've shared here, again multiple shades work with the neutral navy skirt. A pink tee is a nice outfit option, but as above, a bag works just as well. I really like the blush pink bag in the first outfit with this navy maxi skirt.
Tonal Blue Outfit Ideas With A Striped Maxi Skirt
The easiest monochrome outfits for me to pull together are blue ones, as it's my favourite colour and I have a lot of it in my wardrobe! Each of the blue tops I've worn in these 3 outfits are different shades of blue but they all pair nicely with the navy. The first outfit is completely monochromatic with all the blue, but I've used accessories in the second and third outfits to add a little extra colour.
Layering Navy Striped Maxi Skirt With a Denim Jacket
When the weather cools I like to maximise how often I can wear this skirt, so throwing a simple denim jacket on top is a good way to do that. A denim jacket and maxi skirt work well for early autumn or spring days when there's a bit of chill in the air.
Grey Tees and Navy Striped Maxi Skirt Outfits
Throwing in a bonus 3 outfits there at the end that I've only shared on Instagram before. Illustrating that I've almost worn every grey tee in my wardrobe with this skirt and that it really is a staple! It was one of the pieces I packed for my younger son's hospital stay one December a few years ago. Extremely comfortable to wear for that!
Where To Buy Similar Striped Maxi Skirts Under $50:
Each month I look through my blog archives of daily outfit pics (I have over 8 years worth!) and share with you something that's reached 30 or more wears, to give you some outfit ideas and inspiration for how you can wear something similar in your wardrobe. I started doing this monthly challenge after seeing The True Cost documentary which I highly recommend watching if you haven't already!
This month, it's this beautiful Cotton On navy floral cocoon kimono!
30 Ways To Wear: Navy Floral Kimono
I've been wearing this kimono on frequent repeat recently as it was so close to 30 wears and I wanted to get it there before the cooler autumn weather set in in Brisbane. Even with isolating at home since March, I managed to hit my goal. I do wear this kimono a little in the cooler weather anyway as it's really like a giant blanket, which has made it perfect for these isolation / working from home in isolation days!
Cost Per Wear
Just like the last navy kimono I hit 30 wears with, this was another pregnancy purchase back in January 2016. It's just a floral print instead of the geometric print of my other kimono, and a cocoon style. It was originally $39.95 at Cotton On, reduced to $3 on sale at the outlet. I couldn't say no to that! At 30 wears that brings the cost per wear down to 10 cents a wear, which I'm really happy with. It's definitely been a valuable addition to my wardrobe.
Navy Floral Kimono With Yellow Tops
I really like blue and yellow together, and as you can see from the mix of yellow tops here this navy kimono works so well with any shade of yellow, from pastel to mustard!
Navy Floral Kimono With Black
Black and navy are another colour combination I like to wear. The neutral colours look lovely together, as you can see by how this kimono works well with the different amounts of black, like a maxi dress, tank or skinny jeans.
Navy Floral Kimono With Pink and Purple
Pink and purple are other colours that go so well with navy. I like wearing pink with this kimono as it matches the pink in the floral print, even if it's something as small as adding a pink bag to my outfit. With purple, just like with pink, any shade seems to work really well with this kimono - as you can see with the darker purple jeans, the brighter purple bag, and the lilac tee.
Floral Kimono With Prints
I've tried print mixing with this floral kimono a few times, with mixed results! While none of these outfits are ones I'd repeat again, I do think stripes and florals are always a fun mix, and maybe I just haven't found the perfect stripe to pair with this kimono yet!
Navy Floral Kimono With Green
This is a colour combination I wasn't too sure about a few year ago, it's only recently I've been trying navy and green together. In fact some of these outfits were my first few attempts at the navy and green combination! Olive green or a true bright forest green both work equally well with this navy kimono.
Navy Floral Kimono With Grey
A grey tee is a wardrobe staple for me and something I wear frequently. I've perviously shared 30 ways to wear a grey tee, and a kimono is a frequent go-to topper for me over a grey tee to stop an outfit looking too plain. This kimono certainly adds a lot of print and colour to a basic grey tee!
Navy Floral Kimono With A Baby Bump
This kimono was an early third trimester pregnancy purchase and I enjoyed wearing it in that final trimester! I had a third trimester capsule wardrobe I stuck to in my last pregnancy and I found kimonos like this one really helped change up my outfits a little so it didn't feel like I was wearing the same thing over and over. A kimono is a fun topper over a basic maternity tank, and it always fits no matter how big the bump gets!
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.
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.
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.
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?
Not surprised I've hit over 30 wears with this navy waterfall cardigan over this winter - it's a staple in my winter outfits and the neutral colour goes with everything! It's good timing with spring here in Brisbane to share 30 wears I've won this knit.
30 Ways To Wear: Navy Waterfall Cardigan
This navy cardigan goes with everything! I bought this to try and add more knits to my winter wardrobe, and the neutral block navy colour ensures I can wear it with any of my outfits, as I've shared below with just some of the ways I've worn it. It's the perfect piece for not looking too casual or underdressed with the gentle waterfall shape, and works well belted or worn loose. Something I'm glad I picked up on sale 4 years ago! It's just the right thickness for cool winter and spring days in Brisbane.
Cost Per Wear
I purchased this cardigan back in May 2018 for $41.99, using a gift card. So it didn't cost me anything as it was a gift card purchase, but it works out to $1.31 a wear of gift card money for the 32 times I've worn it. Pretty good for something that is still going to be a staple in my wardrobe for the years to come! When I bought it I was excited I could use the buttons to turn the cardigan into a wrap top, but I've only worn it that way once so far, so I really need to try change it up when I'm wearing it and take advantage of the button up feature!
Below are 30 of my favourite outfits with this cardigan, to give you some ideas and inspiration for how you can wear a similar piece in your wardrobe.
Waterfall Cardigan and Dresses Outfits
This long waterfall cardigan is the perfect layer over a dress! I really like it worn belted over a dress for the office, but it looks nice just worn loose and draping down too.
Navy Cardigan With Green
Green and blue is a combination I've really warmed to in recent years - and as you can see from the brighter jeans, olive jeans and even the green printed scarf, a navy cardigan like this is so good against shades of green.
Waterfall Cardigan and Pencil Skirt Office Outfit
Another staple office outfit in the cooler weather is throwing this navy cardigan on over a pencil skirt outfit. It's great for the cooler morning and afternoon office commutes, and stylish enough that it doesn't look out of place in my business casual office.
Navy Cardigan Worn With Red
Red and blue is a colour combination I really like to wear! As with the green outfits above, I find any shade of red works well with this navy cardigan. Red or burgundy jeans, even a red poppy print scarf, really pop with the navy knit.
Waterfall Cardigan With Shorts
There are some spring and autumn days where it's just not warm enough for bare arms and bare legs - so a cardigan over a shorts and tee outfit is a good option. It also packs up easily into your bag if the day warms up later too and you need to remove a layer.
Navy Cardigan Worn With Purple
I really like deep purple shades with this navy cardigan - like the purple jeans and the purple scarf. Even that little plum bag. The magenta bags look great with it too, but I think navy and purple look really good together so wanted to call that out in these sets of outfits.
Waterfall Cardigan Worn With Printed Pieces In An Outfit
The reason I added this to my wardrobe was that I wanted a nice block colour cardigan I could easily wear with printed pieces - stripes, skulls, leopard print, any print works when you have a plain block colour cardigan on top. Especially if it's a neutral navy like this.
Pink and Navy Outfit Ideas With Waterfall Cardigan
Yet another go-to colour combination for me is pink and purple. Magenta jeans, as I called out above, magenta looks great with this navy! Or lighter pink tees or printed jeans, all shades of pink are nice against this dark blue knit.
