You gave me some positive feedback for my monthly purchase wrap up for January/February so I thought I'd do one again showing what I bought in April and how I've worn it. (I didn't buy anything in March as I was in my final month of pregnancy). While I haven't had a chance to put blog posts together, I've been sharing my outfit pics on instagram so I can still show the ways I've been wearing what I bought.
This tank was a last minute add on at the Iconic. I picked up a couple undies in their sale and was 50 cents away from free shipping. Instead of paying $7.95 just for shipping...I paid $9.98 and got the tank and free shipping! You can never have too many stripes.
I didn't do too badly wearing everything. I have a goal of wearing things I buy at least twice in the month after I've bought it, so that I'm making sure I'm buying things I'll actually wear. The only thing I haven't worn is the necklace which is to be expected as I'm breastfeeding and try to avoid necklaces while baby's in the uncoordinated newborn phase. I know I'll be wearing it soon.
Despite not getting out the house every day with a newborn, and figuring out postpartum dressing the second time around, I managed to wear everything else twice or more. I'm sure people who follow me on instagram are getting really bored of seeing that Rebecca Minkoff bag now...but it's the perfect size and goes with everything! Being crossbody, it's perfect for looking after two boys under 2 as well!
Bright and colourful denim is a nice way to step away from the blue jeans rut while still being just as easy and practical to wear. Stripes go with everything, and in winter it's fun to add a similarly colourful scarf with your bright jeans for easy accessorising.
Picking a scarf that matched the skinny jeans is the way I've worn both the outfits below, and while I liked both outfits I had very different days when I wore them.
Having a couple of hours kid free to run some errands and go to appointments gave me the chance to get this lovely Balenciaga part time bag out again. I just love the slouch on this bag!
I tried a little double denim to meet an instagram style challenge when I wore this earlier in June, but even then it was a little cold and despite the big blanket scarf I wished I'd worn something a little cosier. This was such a nice outfit though, even with the less than ideal denim jacket not keeping me as warm as I'd like. Comfortable, easy to wear, and I had a very productive day when I wore it so it was a winner.
I enjoyed the outfit combination above so much that when I was feeling uninspired and not sure what to wear a few weeks later I decided to wear a similar outfit with my red skinny jeans - but with a warmer cardigan this time instead of the denim jacket like in the outfit above.
This day started out perfectly with a little lie-in of 10 minutes. It doesn't sound like much, but when you have kids getting an extra 10 minutes to lie in bed before they wake up is amazing! We had a busy morning with a doctor's appointment for Baby Boy and a trip to the pharmacy. When we got home I wasn't feeling the best, and tried to take it easy for the rest of the day.
Taking it easy was a good idea as that evening Baby Boy got extremely unwell and we had to call an ambulance. Thankfully we were out of hospital in the early hours of the morning after a few tests, but it's hard to like this outfit as much as the one above when it was such a horrible day when I wore it! I often find I'm harsher on my outfits if I'm not having a good day, even if it would otherwise be something I like wearing.
If you're worried that a colourful pair of jeans would be too difficult to style, follow the easy outfit formula of pairing them with neutrals and then a similarly bright accessory. While in winter a scarf that's the same colour as your bright jeans is a good idea, you could make this work in other seasons with a necklace for a similar, more season-appropriate look. And when in doubt, stripes really do go with everything!
The upside to having a backlog of outfit pictures is that I can get on top of blogging and schedule posts in advance. The downside is that the outfits don't always make sense afterwards!
As I'm typing up this post, I'm enjoying the beautiful 35+ degree weather (95 fahrenheit) and I'm contemplating turning on the air con... while I look at these photos taken earlier in spring just a couple weeks ago with jeans and cardigans!
Currently sweltering weather aside, these outfits are a great spring outfit formula for a colder day. I've shared similar ones before, it's such easy SAHM style.
I wore this to attend my local ABA mum's group meeting and run a few errands. It was a slightly cooler morning so I added the cardigan, although I took it off when it warmed up in the afternoon. The group topic was babywearing, which was perfect for me as I wanted to see if there were different ways to wear my Ergo baby carrier. I learned how to back carry which is awesome, as when you back carry it's easier to sling a cross body bag over. I find when I front carry the thick shoulder straps make it tricky to get any bag to stay put for long.
I really like this navy polka dot tee with the black skinny jeans - in the past I was alway unsure about wearing black and blue together. It was actually an ASOS sale purchase that convinced me, a colourblock dress I no longer have but you can see waaay back at the start of my blog! Since seeing the dress and subsequently buying it, I realised navy and black looked pretty good together, and I've been wearing it since. Sometimes just shopping opens your eyes to new combinations!
Wore this to work from home, with a cold morning making me reach for my favourite cosy cardigan for daycare drop off. By lunch time I'd taken the cardigan off, although I did need to wear it again for the daycare pick up in the afternoon.
I don't usually carry such a big bag on my work from home days as even when I run errands before daycare pickup I don't need to carry much. I was pretty tired that morning though so grabbed the bag I'd used for work the previous day. The Balenciaga part time is a cross body bag, but I prefer smaller cross body bags that are closer to my body when I'm wearing a bag around my boys, even just for daycare drop off and pickups.
If you're unsure about colourful cardigans, a monochromatic outfit like this is a good time to wear them. It lets the purple be the only pop of colour in your outfit and you know everything will go together nicely. Easy, fool-proof mum style when you're too tired to function in the morning and put a lot of thought into your outfit!
Need a way to switch up that mum staple of skinny jeans? Try a printed top like I have in the outfits above. You can go one step further and add colourful accessories - a bright cardigan is a good option for a spring day and the fluctuating temperatures that occur. If you're worried about matching colours, just throw on your colourful cardigan with a monochromatic outfit full of neutrals. Easy!
When summer temperatures continue into autumn in Brisbane, you make the most of it and take the opportunity to wear some more shorts! The two soft, relaxed fit shorts below were purchased at the start of summer last year and they've been a great addition to my wardrobe. It's been nice to wear them into autumn as well. Add a classic striped tank, and you have an easy outfit for a stay at home mum.
This tank is the piece I thought of wearing with these shorts when I first bought them. I loved this outfit, it was just as perfect as I imagined with the floral embroidery on the shorts and the striped tank. Stripes go with everything!
Just like stripes, this metallic silver mini MAC bag goes with everything too. Definitely one of my frequently worn pieces.
No extra layers needed with this - it was a really warm day and we even put the aircon on in the afternoon. More like summer than autumn!
A little extra layer here with the denim jacket. It was quite a wet day, so the jacket as an extra layer came in helpful as I stood outside the car struggling with car seat buckles and getting drenched every time I took the boys in or out, ha!
Just like the outfit above, I'd had this outfit combination in my head for a while. I thought the striped tank would work nicely with the black printed shorts, and just like the outfit above, I really enjoyed this combination.
Even with the blue denim jacket, I did feel the black tank and shorts together was a little too monochromatic, so I went with purple accessories. I hadn't worn this silicone teething necklace in a while and I saw it pop up on the Nibbly Bits instagram, so knew it was overdue a wear. The plum mini MAB tote is always the perfect pairing with it too, they match so well!
Unlike the day and outfit above, this was a bit of a hectic day, with daycare drop off and pick up, working from home, a specialist appointment and then a broken freezer adding to the broken fridge worries so we had to rush out at dinner time to find something for the boys to eat. I was glad when the day was over in the end!
Stripes go with anything and make dressing easy. With a neutral pair of shorts, you can add some extra interest to your outfit with a striped tank. If your shorts are printed, adding a striped tank allows you to print mix. A good rule for this is to pick stripes that compliment the colours in the printed shorts, which lead to the last black and white outfit.
A little bit of print mixing for this week's Weekday Wear Linkup! Showing you two different ways to wear striped tanks, in the office and casually, and doing a little print mixing by having spotty accessories with the stripes in each outfit too!
Starting to realise you can't see my earrings with my new shorter haircut! 😂 I was so thrilled to wear jeans for once! I wore these a couple weeks ago, excited about the weather cooling down. Green is one of the colours I find tricky to wear and as a result these olive jeans are frequently worn with black - this striped tank seemed like an obvious choice. Added the white kimono as I wasn't sure which of my printed ones would look best with this and wanted to keep it simple!
Couldn't resist adding a little bit of leopard print to this outfit with the printed shoes too - I felt they worked nicely with the striped tank as they are the same colour scheme.
Hubby and I had an appointment to attend that unfortunately was in the middle of the day. We decided to make the most of it and take the day off. It was nice to have some quiet time at home to get caught up with a few must do tasks which are easier without the boys around!
I felt this outfit was lacking a little something - this cute blue polka dot scarf that I got as a Christmas present from my mum was the perfect finishing piece to add to the striped tank and pencil skirt and blazer outfit. It was a nice bit of print mixing and extra touch of colour with the grey.
A striped tank is a great wardrobe basic that you can easily dress up or down. Stripes are so fun to print mix with too! Why not try introducing a small accessory with a different print for a subtle take on pattern mixing in your outfit.
Weekday Wear Linkup #16
Welcome to the Weekday Wear linkup! A linkup for you to share your weekday outfits - whether that is office wear or stay at home mum wear - if you wore it on a weekday, you can link it up!
Guidelines:
1. Please link to a specific outfit post, not your blog homepage.
2. Link back to this post so others can find the link up.
3. Follow your host Away From The Blue on Bloglovin, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.
4. Add up to two posts and be sure to visit and comment on as many other posts as possible to get some weekday outfit inspiration!
Optional: tweet the post you linked up with the hashtag #weekdayWearLinkUp so I can retweet!
Wearing some new-to-me shorts for today's Weekday Wear link up! I wore these after Christmas in two different ways, bright and colourful with some new Christmas presents I got, and sticking to a monochrome black and white outfit for the second time I wore them.
I was hunting in the opshops in December for a Christmas tree skirt, and having no luck I browsed some of the other racks. I was so surprised to see these white Bermuda denim shorts in my size for just $6, so of course I got them! It's rare to find denim in my size, and I'd been thinking about white shorts for a while. With two dogs at home and two toddler boys I'm still not sure white shorts are the wisest choice, but for $6 I was willing to give it a try.
After a relaxing boxing day at home, we needed to get a few more groceries. We always go through bread so quickly after Christmas, making sandwiches with all the leftover ham and chicken! I convinced hubby that we should head to our local Westfield to maybe checkout the sales as well as getting more groceries.
It was a good excuse to wear some of my new Christmas presents too! I love the way this raspberry tee works with the blue kimono, and the necklace was the perfect accessory. I stuck with the neutral white Bermuda shorts and tan Rebecca Minkoff MAB camera bag to balance out all the colour.
Earrings: Colette statement tortoise shell acrylic oval drop earrings Necklace: Colette tortoise shell acrylic disc tassel necklace Tank: Atmos & Here Oregon stripe tank Shorts: thrifted Emerson white Bermuda denim shorts Shoes: black slim Havaianas thongs Bag: Amerii medium sling rattan bag in black (c/o)
Why I wore it:
The next time I wore these white shorts I kept it simple and monochromatic with the black striped tank. Even picked a little black bag as well, this Amerii straw circle bag was perfect. The fun tortoise shell necklace has matching earrings too and I thought the print would be a cute touch with the striped tank. It's a shame that the earrings don't show up so well against my hair in the pictures though! I liked the matchy-matchy with them and the necklace.
Did a little bit of shopping (and checked out the Kmart clearance sale) while hubby was running errands. We also finally managed to watch Love Actually while the kids were at kindy! We'd been watching a lot of Christmas movies and family movies over the break so I never felt like staying up late to watch a grown up movie once the kids were in bed. It's my favourite movie though and so perfect for Christmas time, even if we did watch it a little late!
White shorts are a great outfit base for anything - they work well with prints and you can also go all out wearing bright colours on top as they are a wonderful neutral to accompany lots of colour.
Weekday Wear Linkup #53
Welcome to the Weekday Wear linkup! A linkup for you to share your weekday outfits - whether that is office wear or stay at home mum wear - if you wore it on a weekday, you can link it up!
Guidelines:
1. Please link to a specific outfit post, not your blog homepage.
2. Link back to this post so others can find the link up.
3. Follow your host Away From The Blue on Bloglovin, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.
4. Add up to two posts and be sure to visit and comment on as many other posts as possible to get some weekday outfit inspiration!
Optional: tweet the post you linked up with the hashtag #weekdayWearLinkUp so I can retweet!
To try change things up a little when my shorts are on heavy repeat, I like to add a kimono. This gives me a chance to do some print mixing too, and of course it means I pull out some of my striped tops to pair with the printed kimonos. I feel this has been the summer of shorts, but adding an extra layer makes things just a little different. Which is good as the heat has meant my shorts have been worn into Autumn too!
Was such a fun day when I wore this. We spent the day with my mum, a little shopping in the morning and then the afternoon at an indoor play place for the boys. They had a wonderful time running around and playing on everything. They are so fearless! There was a 2 storey high inflatable slide and they kept wanting me to take them up over and over again. Hilarious to see their reactions as we slid down. It was also a lovely break from the humidity that had taken hold for most of the week, as it was air conditioned inside. We did a little baking in the evening before dinner too, using a couple of the Caramilk bars I found to make delicious cupcakes.
Accessorising this outfit was easy, I picked the kimono as it was a piece mum got me for Christmas, and the necklace was a gift from her too. The little cross body micro Regan bag meant I could have my phone with me ready to take cute pics of the boys at the playcentre, yet still run around after them when needed.
I kept forgetting to share this outfit on Instagram. Not because I didn't like it, just because I wore this on a Wednesday. With the daycare drop off and pickups, a specialist appointment and working from home, I often don't get to look at my phone all day unless it rings. At least on my days in the office I have the commute to spend time on Instagram.
I really like stripes and florals together, although it's not a combination I wear frequently as I don't have that many floral pieces. I do have this awesome floral cocoon kimono through, which I liked with the black striped tank. Made such a comfortable outfit too. This kimono is a slightly thicker fabric than my others (cotton and viscose) so it's really soft, and like being cocooned up in a big lightweight blanket all day!
Stripes are a great print to use for pattern mixing - you can pair them with florals, geometric prints, anything really! When I want a little more interest in an outfit, I'll add stripes as they just seem to go with everything. If you're unsure, pick complimenting colours, like I did in the second outfit where the white stripes in the tank tie in with the white in the floral print. Linking up with Fun Fashion, Flashback Fashion, Weekend Wear, Fabulous Friday, Friday Faves.
