Maxi Dresses and Balenciaga Bags with Giant G21 Hardware

When you're not feeling your best, a dress is an easy outfit. Just pull it on and you're done, no need to try think about what pieces look good together. Printed dresses like these make it even simpler. Just pick a handbag that matches one of the colours in the print and you look like you spent a lot more time and effort getting dressed than you really did.

Both the maxi dresses worn below were when I wasn't feeling the best, and looking after a sick baby meant I had even less energy.

What I wore:

Necklace: Nibbly Bits Abacus teething necklace in pop
Dress: Jeanswest 'Elodie' tie dye grey jersey maxi dress
Shoes: black slim Havaianas thongs
Bag: Balenciaga part time in black 2010 with SGH

Why I wore it:

Despite being unwell, we had an appointment to get to though that morning, so I threw on this maxi dress. It's not the first time I've knotted this maxi dress, it's a good way to change it up a little. I did it on this day as I didn't want to do the 'grab the skirt when walking up the stairs' bit I usually have to do, haha! Tying it up made it easier to move around in.

Added the teething necklace so I'd have something to amuse the boys with as we waited at the appointment. It did help keep baby boy entertained for a few minutes. They might have passed the teething stage, but they still find these necklaces to be fun toys!

Picked my Balenciaga bag as it went with the Havianas and the black in the tie dye print of the dress, but also because I was feeling lazy. It had been the bag I'd used previously so I didn't have to move everything over into a new bag.


Last worn: tie dye maxi dress, Havaianas, Balenciaga Part Time bag.

Other ways to wear: tie dye maxi dress for a Christmas party, Balenciaga Part Time bag and jeans.

Perfect for pregnancy: tie dye maxi dress at 38 weeks pregnant, Balenciaga Part Time bag in second trimester.

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Tie Dye Maxi Dresses Under $50:

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What I wore:

Necklace: ZuriCollections blue polymer clay necklace
Dress: JayJays feather print maxi dress
Shoes: black slim Havaianas thongs
Bag: Balenciaga raisin purple 2009 giant silver G21 hardware work bag

Why I wore it:

Another day of feeling unwell, another maxi dress! I picked this purple Balenciaga work bag to wear as I've only worn it with office outfits since I got it, need to wear this bag casually as well. It was a good carry all tote to take to the shops with me while the boys were with their grandparents.

I'd planned just a short trip out, to pickup a few groceries and return an incorrectly sized Christmas gift. I got away from the house and realised I'd forgotten the item to return, so turned back to go pick it up. In doing so, I came up to the garage at a weird angle and managed to scrape the car on it. Not a good start. At least the outfit looked good as my day was less than great! Spent the afternoon recovering from the crazy morning, thank goodness for Netflix.


Last worn: feather print maxi dress, Havaianas (above), purple Balenciaga work bag.

Other ways to wear: feather print maxi dress at a wedding, purple Balenciaga work bag in the office.

Perfect for pregnancy: feather print maxi dress in second trimester.

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Feather Print Maxi Dresses Under $50:

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How You Can Wear It:

In summer a printed dress is a great way to beat the heat. It's an easy instant outfit too. To accessorise, keep things simple and pick pieces that match one or more of the colours in the print. If you're like me and you feel a little better when you get dressed properly, you might find a colourful printed dress a good mood booster too!



Curious about what Balenciaga Bag would be best for you?




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Louis Vuitton Neverfull and Blue Printed Dresses For The Office With Blazers

My go-to outfit for the office is a printed dress. You instantly look and feel more pulled together, and it's such a quick outfit. I try to plan my outfits out the night before, so when I've had a tough day or I'm too tired to want to stand in front of my wardrobe, I just grab a dress to wear the next day.

What I wore:

Jacket: Zara cream jersey blazer
Necklace: Starfish Project Hannah turquoise bead necklace
Dress: Jeanswest Aztec print dress
Shoes: Marc by Marc Jacobs metallic mouse flats (on sale in black!)
Bag: Louis Vuitton MM damier azur neverfull

Why I wore it:

I actually wore this a couple months ago, but just never got around to posting. I work from home one day a week, and the other two days I'm in the office. This means I can easily group together the two office outfits for a blog post, makes blogging simple.

When I wore this dress, it had been an absolutely crazy week, with the boys and I unwell, so I only made it into the office once. Because of that, this solitary office outfit had sat around for a while until another week where I only went into the office once so I'd have something to post with it.

I picked this dress to wear as I love the colour and print, and blue is always a mood booster for me when having a crazy week. I really like the simplicity of this dress for the office. Blue and green is a colour combination I've been warming to lately, and this necklace looks great with a blue dress.


Last worn: cream jersey blazer, blue Aztec print dress, gold mouse flats, Louis Vuitton neverfull tote.

Other ways to wear: cream jersey blazer and jeans, blue Aztec print dress and purple bag, gold mouse flats and wrap dress, Louis Vuitton neverfull tote at the beach.

Perfect for pregnancy: jersey blazer in second trimester, Aztec dress in third trimester, mouse flats and maternity pencil skirt, neverfull tote in third trimester.

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Where to Buy the Louis Vuitton Damier Azur Neverfull Second Hand:

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What I wore:

Jacket: Jeanswest grey jersey blazer
Necklace: gifted statement silver plate necklace
Dress: French Connection blue Paisley print dress
Shoes: Marc by Marc Jacobs silver tuxedo flats
Bag: Louis Vuitton MM damier azur neverfull

Why I wore it:

Another crazy week calling for another simple dress outfit. This blue one is one of the oldies in my wardrobe, bought near the start of my career with my current company. I've been there a long time! I love how it continues to look just as good as it did when I first bought it, and wonderful addition to my wardrobe. It would be nice to have taken more photos of it before the blog, as I'm sure it's over 30 wears. It's only the 6 years I've been blogging that I've been taking regular daily outfit pics though, so I don't have any photos of this before the blog.

Just like the dress above, a blue printed dress boosts my mood, and that was what was needed for this busy day. While I kept the bag the same, I went with silver flats instead of gold, and a different blazer. I may even like this outfit a little more than the first one.


Last worn: grey jersey blazer, paisley print dress, silver ballet flats, Louis Vuitton neverfull (above).

Other ways to wear: grey jersey blazer and fit and flare dress, paisley print dress and ankle boots, silver ballet flats and maxi dress, Louis Vuitton neverfull and purple jeans. 

Perfect for pregnancy: sheath dress in second trimester, silver flats and maternity wrap dress, Neverfull at 38 weeks pregnant.

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Blue Printed Dresses For the Office Under $50:

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How You Can Wear It:

For an instant confidence boots at work, make sure you have a cute printed dress in your favourite colour. Mine is blue of course. You can pull it on when you're feeling rushed or stressed, and feel more confident knowing you look great! If it's chilly in the office air con, it's easy to add a blazer to a short sleeved dress.


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30 Ways To Wear: Red Rebecca Minkoff Saddle Bag - #30wears Series

This months #30wears post is a bag I've been loving lately, my Rebecca Minkoff unlined saddle bag. It's been a few months since I did a 30 wears post with a handbag so thought it was a nice time to do one again.

I'm enjoying my #30wears series. The 30 wears challenge is committing to wear everything you buy at least 30 times. Since I have this blog with an archive of what I wear each day that extends over 6 years, it's been interesting counting up how many times I've worn things and fun to be able to put a post together showing how I've done so. There are other bags I've worn more than this one, I just realised this was over 30 wears as I've been wearing it frequently recently and so it was perfect timing to do a post on it.

#30Wears: Rebecca Minkoff Red Saddle Bag

I bought this saddle bag in the Shopbop sale in April 2016, so it's just under 2 years old, and I've worn it over 30 times since then. In terms of cost per wear, it was $154.88 and I've worn it 33 times so that's $4.69 a wear. Higher than the often-aimed-for 'cents per wear' but considering I'll have this bag in my wardrobe for a long time yet, it's not too bad, it's going to get a lot more wear.

Red Saddle Bag With Blue Outfits

Red and blue are such a nice combination and red and navy is one of my favourite versions of this combo. You can see in all of the pics in this post that it's a colour combination that pops up frequently. I just love the touch of colour a red bag gives against a blue outfit.

Saddle Bag With Monochrome Outfits

Sometimes you just want your bag to be a pop of colour with your outfit. This bright cherry red bag is the perfect touch with a monochromatic neutral outfit. Black really makes the red shine, any neutrals do really. While I love this red bag with other colours, like the blue outfits I featured above, I do love the simplicity of a monochrome outfit of neutrals and a tiny pop of colour with a statement bag like this.

Red Saddle Bag to Compliment Other Red Pieces In An Outfit

Sometimes I like a bit of matchy matchy, and if I'm wearing something red in my outfit I'll reach for this red saddle bag. The shades don't have to match exactly, as you can see from the red maxi skirt outfit which is slightly more yellow than the cherry red of the bag. It's still a nice combination though. This is a good way to wear a colourful bag if you're unsure how to style it as you're used to more neutral ones.

Saddle Bag With Flares

Pairing this red saddle bag with flared jeans has such a retro vibe, and it's probably the most worn accessory with these jeans since I started my blog. I expect this combination will pop up a few more times over winter when it gets cold enough to wear these jeans again.

Red Saddle Bag With Jeans

It's not just flared jeans I wear this bag with though. Skinny jeans are my favourite jeans style, and make up the majority of my denim collection. The red saddle bag pairs so nicely with any kind of denim, from the traditional blue jeans, classic black or fun printed pairs.

Saddle Bag with Maxi Skirts

Maxi skirts don't have to be tricky to accessorise. A small cross body is my usual go-to with them, but I've worn large bags with them too. This cute cross body saddle bag is the perfect pairing with any of my maxi skirts, from a plain chambray one to a printed striped skirt.

Red Saddle Bag In Winter

Red is a trending colour this winter in the northern hemisphere. There's something about any winter that makes me reach for red accessories often though. Maybe it's because of all the blacks and greys you layer with, as red is a wonderful pop against them. This spring/summer bag still gets worn frequently in winter with cosy layers. I like to wear my dresses and skirts year round as much as my bags too.

Saddle Bag in Summer

Of course, a red bag works just as well in summer as it does in winter. There's no need to keep a bag hidden away in your wardrobe for a season. I love the way this red bag looks with shorts, it's often worn with my denim shorts in summer. While it's a little small to carry all the summer pieces like hats and sunscreen, I carry the baby bag for that and just have the essentials on me like my phone, keys and wallet while I'm running around with the boys.

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Where to Buy Rebecca Minkoff Unlined Saddle Bag:

More Rebecca Minkoff Saddle Bags:

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30 Ways To Wear a Red Saddle Bag Video:

For something a little different, I thought I'd do a video version of this post too, so you can hear a bit more about why I chose the bag for each outfit and what my favourite outfits were. Would love to hear what you think of the video format - good or bad!

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Looking for more outfit inspiration?

I hope that this post inspired out and gave you some outfit ideas for ways you can wear a red bag. If you want more inspo, you can read 30 ways to wear a red Balenciaga velo bag, or all the 33+ times I've worn this saddle bag in my blog archives.

Want to know more about the bag and what fits inside?

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