I titled this post what to wear on days out with kids, but honestly this was my staple stay at home mum style for any days with the boys over summer. Shorts, tanks and kimonos. Perfection!
Despite the heat, I had to wear closed in shoes, so I went with my trusty Converse. I don't like wearing closed in shoes on hot days, but those were the rules! We surprised the boys with a trip to the local model railway club, Brisbane Bayside Steam Railway Society. It had been a tough few weeks so I thought a day out was a nice idea.
I've included the video below, the model railway society have a track set up at a park (1900 Wynnum Road) and you can ride on miniature versions of trains. For my train mad boys, it was perfect. We went around a few times, trying out the different trains. So much fun for them. There's a little model race track setup for remote control cars too so we spent some time there before heading away to get lunch.
I knew I'd need a bit of physical sunblock too for being out in the sun, so I added this white kimono over the top of my printed tank and denim shorts. With the gold in the tank, the rose gold filigree heart necklace seemed like a good accessory, as well as the 'harvest gold' / mustard micro Regan bag.
While I did take the Converse off as soon as I got home, the rest of the outfit stayed on. I wore it to film a couple YouTube videos while hubby occupied the boys.
Since I liked the outfit above so much, recreated it again with the same kimono, but different tank and shorts. And different shoes! Havaianas are much better suited to the hot Queensland weather! Swapped the micro Regan bag for my silver mini MAC bag too.
We had a few things to do on this day. I took the boys to a messy play day at playgroup in the morning, then we had the doctors in the afternoon. Not quite as much fun as the day out on the miniature railway, but the boys always enjoy playgroup, especially if it's a messy play day!
Unlike the outfit above, I expected to be holding squirming kids on my lap at least some point in the doctor's waiting room, so I went with a more kid friendly necklace! My boys are passed the teething stage but I still like these silicone teething necklaces as they are safe for them to play with and tug on and I know they won't break them!
Printed tanks and denim shorts are a comfortable stay at home mum outfit for me in the warmer weather. If you need to add a little physical sunblock, try adding a plain kimono. It's breezy fabric won't overheat you, even on a warm day. The beauty of a printed tank outfit is that just by swapping one tank for another, you change the whole outfit by just changing the print you're wearing. A good way to keep your outfits feeling fresh and new without buying anything extra.
While it's still summer here in Brisbane, a few weeks back we were hit with some very un-seasonal weather. A sudden cold snap lead to the coldest February day in over 100 years! While most of my winter things are boxed away over summer, I managed to find pieces to make my cami tops more appropriate for the cold weather. I've been wanting to wear them more, before summer ends.
I didn't include this cardigan in the box of winter knits I pack away for summer, as I keep it out to wear in the office now and then. I was so glad I kept this as it was perfect for a chilly day. With the grey cardigan, grey skinny jeans and metallic silver flats and the neutral printed cami it all looked a bit boring, so the purple accessories were the perfect way to add a little bit of colour. It met the purple style challenge theme perfectly too!
I didn't expect to be pulling out my jeans so soon into the year, but I wasn't too upset at having a chance to wear these grey skinnies. They are the most recent addition to my denim collection after I got given them last year and a pair I'm sure will get a lot more wear over winter.
It was nice how easily this outfit came together. There was a break in the rain in the morning too, so we managed to get out and have our morning walk before having a quiet Saturday at home watching the rain fall outside.
A little bit of double denim. Again, I had the style challenge theme to dress to. This time the theme was 'indigo'. I'd planned a lovely navy dress to wear, but the weather made me change that pretty quickly to the denim jacket. With the black skinny jeans, it's an easy way to do double denim, and it kept me warm enough on a cold and rainy day. As did all the running around I had to do - after a week where things seemed to go from bad to worse, Friday was me trying to keep things together and get everything done to get to the weekend.
I'd picked this cami to wear as I've been trying to wear my camis more recently, and this one is one of my least worn. It's a cropped style, but being petite it's normal length on me. While I like this cami in the photos, I didn't feel very comfortable wearing it. The cropped length becomes more apparent when you've got your hands full with a wriggly toddler, and I found myself tugging the top back down a few times. While the ruffles are beautiful and the colours mean it goes with so much, it was just too fussy to wear. The back is cropped shorter than the front too and I found myself wishing I'd worn a normal length top many times when bending down to the boys, even though my jeans are mid-rise.
Looking at it, I'm thinking I should keep it, it's so pretty! But I know it's so annoying to wear it's not worth keeping around just for me to realise in a few months it hasn't been worn, to wear it again and feel the same frustrations. I have plenty other camis I enjoy wearing more, so this one is leaving my wardrobe. 5 wears in 3 years is pretty bad cost per wear, but it's time to let it go!
Camis can easily be layered up for cooler weather! They are the perfect summer option with denim shorts, so they work just as well with jeans, with an extra layer like a jacket or cardigan to keep you cosy if it's cold.
Continuing the 30 wears challenge is one of my goals for this year, but at the same time I want to make sure I'm wearing as much of my wardrobe as possible. It's a balancing act between rewearing pieces that are close to the 30 wears number, and not neglecting the other pieces in my wardrobe that aren't. I'd noticed I hadn't worn any of my camis at all this summer, so it was time to pull them out again! Camis look great work to the office with some textured pencil skirts and a blazer.
Id' planned this outfit in advance the weekend before. Usually I plan my outfits the evening before, to help me get ready faster in the mornings. I was feeling a bit stressed on Sunday night though before a big Monday so decided to play in my wardrobe a bit to relax, and pulled this together. I've worn orange and blue together before, but this is the first time I've paired this blue lace pencil skirt with peach. I really liked this combination of colours.
Wasn't entirely sure that the cami untucked looked as good as I thought though - I preferred it without the blazer. The spaghetti straps on the cami mean a coverup was required at work, but I didn't check the blazer addition before I left the house. I think tucking in the cami would have looked better. Otherwise, I really liked this outfit. Perfect for a hot day as I took the jacket off whenever I was outside and had it to keep me warm in the aircon at my desk.
Another day in the office, another opportunity to wear a cami and textured pencil skirt. After not being too sure about the untucked top above, I tucked the cami into the skirt this time, and I preferred this look.
I continue to be impressed by how well this mesh layer skirt is holding up, coming up to having it 6 years now. It has only been worn 13 times in that period though. It's not the first time I've paired it with this white ruffle cami, I love the combination so it makes sense I'd repeat it. This time, instead of the grey cardigan I wore it with the black blazer.
Kept the blue Balenciaga bag with this, I like blue and pink together and I thought that the necklace tied it in nicely. There was a style challenge on Instagram too and I thought the colour of the day was blue, but I was a day early and it was supposed to be green. I enjoyed the blue accessories anyway.
A cami is one of those pieces that you can wear for work or weekend! If your office dress code means spaghetti straps aren't an option, you can go for one with thicker straps, or cover up with a blazer. Adding a blazer to anything is my favourite way to make it ready for a business casual office.
Continuing the feeling of being so behind with blogging, two more maxi dress outfits I wore before Christmas! I actually ended up wearing these both on the same day - one during the day for my local ABA Christmas party, and the other in the evening for my office Christmas party.
As you can tell, my office Christmas party had a theme, ha! I'd been looking forward to the party this year. Last December I was on maternity leave, and although my boss invited me to the Christmas party it was when I was in hospital with Baby Boy so I had to turn it down.
It was a bittersweet night. It was wonderful catching up with colleagues outside of work, especially those that have moved teams while was on leave and I no longer get to work closely with. I loved getting to have a good chat again! However it was so sad too as inevitably discussion turned to last year's party, which I missed because of the hospital stay. Made me really miss my boys, and I couldn't wait to get home to them.
There was one funny moment where a colleague said I should have come along to the party last year anyway, and I had to explain that as I was Baby Boy's food source (breastfeeding) I couldn't leave him. While this beautiful pink maxi dress is a nursing dress, we don't need that feature now. Worked perfectly with the floral lei to tie in with the party theme, and I even wore my frangipani necklace (and a few other ones).
This vintage Chanel bag is one of my treasured pieces, and the cross body strap came in handy to allow me to hold food and drinks. I even wore wedges for a bit of extra height (although I regretted it a little when I got home, so used to flats now!).
This was what I wore during the day - we had our local Australian Breastfeeding Association Christmas party, where we play a sneaky secret santa. Everyone brings a gift under $10, we all draw a number, then the person with number 1 unwraps a gift. The next person can pick another gift to unwrap, or steal the first one. Lots of people involved their toddlers and asked their opinion so they got in on the game too, so much fun. Toddler T had a great time! We enjoyed making the brownies with the kit we won too.
As expected though, all the time with toddlers and yummy morning tea and presents everywhere, my dress looked a little worse for wear so I was glad I'd planned a different dress to wear in the evening!
This was the perfect Christmas party outfit though, dressy but casual at the same time. Maxi dresses work for so many dress codes! Last year I went in shorts and tee, anything goes really. I did feel a little over dressed for my afternoon dentist appointment, with the embellished dress and bag strap, but my dentist ended up complimenting me on it so at least it made her smile! :)
Maxi dresses are a great option for a busy mum - they are grab and go outfits! You can accessorise them with layers of delicate necklaces, or stick with a practical teething necklace for time with toddlers. Quilted bags look great with them, and a cross body option allows you to go hands free. Maxi dresses work for many different dress codes as they can be as formal or casual as you want. Nice to wear in the summer heat too.
My blog friend Ruth does these 5x5 style challenges on Instagram. Another blog friend, Eileen and I started talking with her about it and thought it would be fun to participate. We decided to do an international style challenge a couple of weeks ago near the end of November.
The rules: 5 pieces of clothing to create 5 outfits over 5 days, with a black and burgundy colour scheme. Accessories like shoes, necklaces, scarves, handbags, outerwear, can be added as needed and don't count as one of the 5 pieces.
Who took part: Ruth @ruthyannie, Eileen @eileensed and myself, @awayfromblue. Ruth did this over autumn in the cold weather, and Eileen had to dress a growing baby bump too! I have so much admiration for them both!
This is going to be a bit of a long post as I share with you what we wore over 5 days! I hope you'll get a lot of outfit inspiration from it though, and discover some new ways you can rewear pieces you already own.
My Capsule Wardrobe
After a few last minute swaps and changes, these are the 5 pieces I came up with for the challenge.
black drawstring waist maxi skirt
black denim shorts
burgundy jersey dress
black, burgundy and cream shirt dress
burgundy slouchy tee
My choices were limited by the colour scheme which helped me make decisions about what to pick as my 5 pieces. The last time I did a capsule, it was my third trimester capsule wardrobe and the growing bump helped limit my options there too! I did have to go into the office for one day which made me pick the shirt dress, even if the print is more red than burgundy. I figured it was close enough!
The main worry I had was around structuring the pieces I wore to allow me to have them washed and ironed ready for the next wear With two messy toddlers it was highly unlikely I was going to be able to wear things twice in a row without washing them! In the end I came up with 6 outfit ideas so that if something wasn't ready in time, I'd have a fall back option.
For the first day of the challenge I went with a classic tee and maxi skirt combo. When I'd first started planning outfits and pieces for the challenge I'd went with a different burgundy tee, and changed my mind and swapped it for this tee instead. I didn't like the way this one sat with the maxi skirt though, I was a bit frustrated with it both tucked and untucked and wasn't as comfortable with this outfit as I could have been. Easy outfit for playgroup though.
This was as 'formal' as my outfits got during the challenge, the majority of them were casual outfits. I had to go into the office, so picked this shirt dress to fit in with the business casual dress code. I found myself fussing with this outfit too during the day though, the dress seemed to ride up a lot and I was constantly tugging it back down. I much prefer wearing this dress as a kimono, or layering it up with tights in winter.
I knew with the darker black and red print on the dress (it's a geometric print although it looks like polka dots in the pics!) that this Marc Jacobs bag would work perfectly with it. This bag doesn't get worn as often as it did when I first got it, but it's still a nice choice for work. It's been tagged in 62 posts on the blog and most of the time it featured in both outfits of the posts, so you can see it was worn a lot in the past! Such a unique colour too, a deep purple-y brown.
The simplest of all my challenge outfits, and also the most popular. I wore this to work from home and attend a specialist appointment with baby boy in the afternoon. With the burgundy star print dress, I added black through my accessories, with the same ankle boots I'd worn the day before and another little worn bag, my Mimco button bag.
This was actually my first expensive bag purchase, despite how little I wear it now I'm never going to let it go. I spent months thinking about it and saving for it and picking out the perfect colour combo I wanted and I still remember the excitement of going to the store to pick it up! Very treasured even if not frequently worn now. I think I bought it in 2007 at the height of the button bag trend, still looks great. Sadly it's discontinued, the closest thing is the Mimco Turnlock bag that's around $200 more expensive than the button bag was 10 or so years ago, or to go to ebay for the classic style.
An incredibly busy day called for a comfortable and casual outfit, and the first wearing of the last of my 5 pieces, my black denim shorts. Added the comfy slouchy burgundy tee and the printed dress was worn as a kimono. Converse were a practical choice for a busy day, and the mustard yellow bag was a fun touch of colour with the black and burgundy.
Baby boy had some more tests at the hospital in the morning, so I had the day off. With my mother in law available to watch the boys, as it was a day I normally work, I made the most of it and she looked after them both once the testing was done so I could gt a rare child free afternoon to go Christmas shopping. And I shopped up a storm, getting the majority of the things remaining on my Christmas present list!
For my fifth and final outfit with my 5 pieces, I wore my denim shorts again and the lovely burgundy dress as a top. I added turquoise accessories with the necklace and Rebecca Minkoff mini MAC bag for an extra touch of colour. I've won dresses as tops before, it's a nice way to wear something a little differently. The extra dress fabric wasn't too bulky although it was a bit of a pain tucking it in to the shorts every time I went to the bathroom! I had considered doubling up on the dresses and wearing the shift dress as a kimono over this again, but despite how little time I spent with the boys the day before it still got messy and had to have a wash. That was the hardest part of this challenge - making sure everything was washed and ironed in time to wear again!
This was a nice outfit to finish the challenge on, I ran around with the boys completing a few errands.
Hope you enjoyed seeing the different outfits we were able to create for the challenge. While it was a fun challenge for me, I was looking forward to getting back into my regular wardrobe at the end of it! Especially after buying lots of new pieces that month that I was eager to wear.
Thanks so much to Ruth and Eileen for inviting me to take part - if you don't already, you should follow them on Instagram!
