Corporate Style: Winter Printed Dresses For a Business Casual Office

First up, had to share this sale with you! Shopbop are having an extra 25% off the designer boutique sale items with the code '25EXTRA'. It's sales like these that make #noBuyJuly15 so difficult to stick to! I love the extra discounts on Shopbop on top of their already good sale prices.

If you're not on a shopping ban, check out the sale! I will be skipping this sale, I'm at the halfway point with #noBuyJuly15. I've been so good for the first half of the month, just need to continue that for the rest of the month! If you're doing the no shopping challenge with us too, ignore the sale info above (sorry!) and make sure to check out the survival plan on Beth's blog for some great tips about making it through the month without buying anything!


Just like the previous post, more dresses for the office! I thought after the June Dress Week style challenge I did I'd be over dresses, but I am enjoying the simplicity of them for work. Just throw on and go, no need to try coordinating pieces. I even kept the same coat and bag. The two dresses below are new ones from my June purchases.

What I wore:

Jacket: Temt black trench coat 

Necklace: Tai gold alphabet necklace
Cardigan: Jeanswest Peggie kimono in purple mulberry marle
Dress: Jeanswest Sadie silk printed shift dress (new purchase)
Shoes: RMK Chester black ankle boots
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff medium MAB tote in moon navy

Why I wore it:

This dress was a complete bargain for a silk dress! It was on sale at Jeanswest, and then reduced to an extra 50% off on top. A $130 dress reduced to $30, just had to get it. I know that silk (and any hand-wash only item) is not the most practical fabric to have around baby, so I'll be keeping this dress as work-only for a while.

This was great for the office, lunch with the girls and then dinner after work with friends. I was a little paranoid about baby's sticky hands on my dress at dinner though, may have been wiser to have worn this on a different day. I just kept wrapping my cardi around to cover as much of the dress as possible!

This is actually the third time I've worn these ankle boots. The second time I posted them, I forgot to do my usual purchase review!
I bought these in June to replace my heeled black ankle boots, wanting a pair that feel better suited to life with baby. I really like these. They go with everything, from jeans to maxi dresses.
They are leather, only have the tiniest of heels (about a centimetre), they are the perfect ankle boot height for me and even better, they were on sale at The Iconic so were a bargain. They will be getting a lot of wear over the rest of winter, and in Spring too!


Last worn: black trench, purple cardi, black ankle boots, Rebecca Minkoff medium MAB tote. First time I've worn this dress as it is a new purchase.

Other ways to wear: pencil skirt and black trench, purple cardi with denim, ankle boots with a maxi dress, print mixing with Rebecca Minkoff medium MAB tote.

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More printed dresses:

What I wore:

Jacket: Temt black trench coat 

Scarf: Cotton On turquoise pashmina
Dress: Target Danni Minogue Petites printed wrap dress
Shoes: Walnut Melbourne 'Ava' black lizard ballet flats
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff medium MAB tote in moon navy

Why I wore it:

This dress is almost completely hidden by the trench coat and scarf, but it was a cold day! This is the first faux-wrap dress I've ever owned. Usually I hate them, they have the look of a wrap dress but none of the flexibility to adjust them to sit just right. I've never had one look good on me before. This is from the Dannii Minogue petites range at Target (maybe an Aussie only range) and it fits perfectly! I'd seen it a few times in passing but been put off by the price, so when it was on sale I took the chance to try it on. I discovered it was a faux wrap dress in the change room but decided to try it anyway, and fell in love. It just sits perfectly! I'm pleased I tried it on, and although I haven't bought any more from the range (as my size was almost always sold out) I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye any sales on the line in future.

As it's the second time I've worn these shoes, my purchase review:
I like these! I think I'll keep an eye out for this brand going on sale again too! Marc by Marc Jacobs is my usual go-to for ballet flats, but with the Aussie dollar not doing so great even at sale time they are pushing my 'limit' for shoes, so it's nice to find another brand I like. The flats are comfortable, practical and easy to wear. The sole is thicker than a usual ballet flat so it's nicely padded, and the elasticated backs don't rub at all (which I was a little concerned about). Not sad to see my old black flats go, and really happy with these replacements.


Last worn: black trench (above), turquoise pashmina, Walnut black flats, Rebecca Minkoff navy MAB tote (above). First time I've worn the dress as it is a recent purchase.

Other ways to wear: black trench with black, white and tan, turquoise pashmina with a different printed dress, black flats with skinny jeans, Rebecca Minkoff navy MAB tote with pencil skirts.

Linking up with Pleated Poppy, Style Me Weekly, What I Wore, The Wednesday Pants, Trendy Wednesday, Oh Hey Girl, Fashion Files, Throwback Thursday, Fun Fashion Friday, Feature Friday today.

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Corporate Style: Fit and Flare Dresses ~ Winter Layering

Two simple fit and flare dresses for the office, layered up with some colour for winter. I took these photos without my trench over the top so you can see the layering better, but winter mornings are especially cold so I still needed a jacket. I do like being able to show all of the layers for photos instead of hiding them under a jacket, but it's much colder this way...probably will go back to wearing all my layers and staying cosy for pictures!

What I wore:

Scarf: Seed Heritage Paisley print snood (on sale!)

Tee: Valleygirl blue 3/4 sleeve tee
Dress: Jeanswest 'Rita' stripe jersey dress
Shoes: Wittner 'Bloomy' black heels
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff medium MAB tote in moon navy (on sale!)

Why I wore it:

Had to brave photos in the cold without my jacket so you could see the blue tee underneath! This tee was one of my May purchases, and I just managed to wear it twice in June. I took these photos in the last week of June, I'm just a bit behind in blogging. I had planned to wear it sooner, but having to stay home and look after an unwell baby meant I was just waiting for another chance to wear this outfit! I was pleased I got to wear this eventually, I much preferred this outfit over the last time I wore this dress.

So since it's the second time I've worn this tee, my purchase review:
I'm pleased I bought this. I used to have a wide range of layering tees like this and I ended up donating them as I had much more than I would ever wear. I think the last I ever wore one was back in 2013! However I noticed the gap this winter, pieces like this are great under dresses to add some colour and keep warm. Plus with the fill a bag for $2 sale at the local 'op shop' and a bag full of clothes for baby T, adding in an extra top didn't cost me any more. I'm pleased I got it and although I don't wear this style of top very often I'm glad I have it for those occasions I do want something like this. Happy with this purchase, even if it's not the kind of thing I need to wear everyday.

The difficulty with wearing this top twice in the month after buying it made me re-evaluate and return some of my June purchases too. While plain, bright coloured tops are a gap in my wardrobe, I don't need more tops, I have plenty! So I'm definitely going to be buying less tops for a while. (I won't be buying any in July while I'm doing #noBuyJuly15 of course!) I'll focus on wearing more of the tops I own and getting rid of the ones that no longer work for me to free up some space!


Last worn: plain blue top, printed snood, stripe fit and flare dress, ankle strap heels, Rebecca Minkoff navy MAB tote.

Other ways to wear: blue top with a pencil skirt, snood in spring with chambray, stripe dress in summer for baby's dedication, ankle strap heels with pencil skirts, Rebecca Minkoff navy MAB tote with printed pieces.

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What I wore:

Jacket: Jeanswest Nadine 3/4 Sleeve dusky pink blazer

Scarf: Alexander McQueen modal skull scarf in white/pink (on sale!)
Dress: Jeanswest tucked ponte black dress
Belt: Kmart thin black glitter belt
Shoes: Wittner 'Bloomy' black heels
Bracelets: the usual
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff medium MAB tote in moon navy

Why I wore it:

Although I wasn't too happy with the full outfit last time I wore this blazer (it would have been better with a different scarf) I really liked it belted so I was eager to try it again. I really liked this outfit! It's taken me a while to figure out how to make this blazer work for me but I think belting is the way to go! It looks much better belted with a LBD for the office than worn loose.


Last worn: pink Alexander McQueen skull scarf, pink boyfriend blazer, black glitter belt, black dress, black heels (above), Rebecca Minkoff MAB tote (above).

Other ways to wear: Alexander McQueen skull scarf with a maxi skirt in spring, pink boyfriend blazer with denim shorts, printed dress with a glitter belt, belted LBD for the office in summer.

Linking up with Modest Monday, Style To Inspire, Mix It Monday, On the daily Express, More Pieces of Me, Turning Heads Tuesday, Style Sessions, Real Mom Style, Confident Twosday, Trend Spin Linkup, Wardrobe Wednesday today.

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SAHM Style: Jeanswest Prima Denim Skinny Jeans Casual Winter Outfits

I've been wearing my skinny jeans a fair bit to get through Winter! My newest prima denim ones are definitely my favourites, stretchy and comfortable and cosy. They are a nice easy option for being a stay-at-home mum.

First, the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is on now! I'm doing #noBuyJuly15 so I'm not shopping this time around, but thought I'd share the sale with you - in case you haven't already read about it on every other blog ;)

Starting now and until July 9th, early access has started for Nordstrom cardholders. It then opens up to the public from July l7th, but it only lasts until 2nd August! If you are not a card holder, you can still browse the sale and get your wishlist together, although you can't buy anything until it's open to the public on the 17th. I'll be sure to post about it again then so you can buy something.

What I wore:

Scarf: Marc by Marc Jacobs Stargazer scarf in aquamarine (on sale in black and white!!)
Top: Atmos&Here 3/4 sleeve stripe tee in berry white
Jeans: Jeanswest Bindi skinny 7/8 jeans in indigo luxe
Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star low in black
Bracelets: the usual plus Roie Designs waxed leather cream howlite beaded wrap bracelet
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Love cross body bag in grey

Why I wore it:

Wore this out to playgroup some time ago - this was actually when I left my scarf behind! The photos got accidentally hidden away on my computer, so I'm quickly posting them now before I lose them again. Having posts scheduled in advance means I don't have to copy the outfit photos from my camera as much as I did pre-baby, when I was blogging what I wore that day and the day before. It means I can accidentally miss pictures when I'm trying to pull a blog post together though, as they can sit there for a few days and get hidden in all the baby and puppy pictures I take as well!

Had been wanting to wear this red striped top for a while, and I thought the printed scarf was nice against it for a slight bit of print mixing. Converse were comfortable and practical for running around the playground with baby too.


Last worn: galaxy print scarf, striped top, skinny jeans, Converse, Rebecca Minkoff Love bag.

Other ways to wear: colourful galaxy print scarf with a monochrome outfit, striped tee in the third trimester, skinny jeans in autumn for a day at home, Converse and denim shorts, Rebecca Minkoff Love bag with maxi dresses.

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What I wore:

Scarf: Alexander McQueen red skull-print modal and cashmere-blend scarf
Knit: Warehouse grey bead front jumper
Jeans: Jeanswest prima denim super skinny jeans in absolute black
Shoes: Walnut Melbourne 'Ava' black lizard ballet flats (new purchase)
Bag:  Rebecca Minkoff metallic silver mini MAC (on sale here!)

Why I wore it:

This felt like a slightly more dressed up than usual day care drop off/pick up / work from home outfit. I think it's the red scarf with the neutral outfit. I tend to view scarves as accessories that help make something look more pulled together. A cosy and comfortable outfit too.

As I was sitting at the computer working most of the day with just a little bit of driving around with baby T, I thought it would be a great time to break in my new shoes. I mentioned when I got them that I'd bought them as replacements for an old pair of black ballet flats I had. The old ones just didn't seem to be as comfortable post-pregnancy as they were before it. Maybe I stretched them out too much in pregnancy with my swollen feet, haha. I'm getting much tougher on my shoes and I only want to keep ones that are comfortable for an entire day with baby and all the running around that requires. I think these new ones will be perfect.

The only thing that wasn't ideal about this outfit was the black jeans - we had a tradie round to do some work in the morning and it was a bit dusty, black pants were not the best pick. Probably just not the best day to have the tradie over at all actually, he seemed to have a fondness for using power tools whenever I was trying to speak on a conference call!


Last worn: beaded jumper, skinny jeans, red skull scarf, silver mini MAC bag. First time I've worn the shoes as they are a new purchase.

Other ways to wear: embellished jumper with a jacquard skirt, skinny jeans and a sleeveless top, Alexander McQueen skull scarf in summer, mini MAC with a maxi dress.

Linking up with Passion for Fashion, Flashback Fashion, Casual Friday, Fab Favourites, Favourite Fashion Friday, The Ultimate Rabbit Hole, Shoe and Tell, Let It Shine today.

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