New Weekday Wear Linkup! Blue Dresses and Pink Balenciaga City Bag: Summer Office Outfits

Two simple summer office outfits, with two pretty printed dresses and a pink Balenciaga city bag. All pieces I love and have worn before, but I do have something new to share with you - a new outfit linkup!

What I wore:

Necklace: Jeanswest Taryn turquoise tassel bead necklace
Dress: French Connection blue Paisley print dress
Shoes: Marc by Marc Jacobs metallic mouse flats
Bag: Balenciaga RH classic city in 2010 sorbet (more affordable preloved)

Why I wore it:

Sometimes I find the square neckline of this sheath dress a little tricky to accessorise, I often debate for a while each morning about what necklace to wear. This long pendant necklace has been a frequently worn one lately though, so I decided to give it a go and I really liked the combination!

The paisley print dress and pink Balenciaga city bag are frequently worn together, I really like pink and blue! And as I had a gold necklace, these gold mouse flats were an obvious shoe choice. Really easy summer office style. I did have a blazer too for the cold aircon in the office, but it was much too hot to wear it for photos in the morning.


Last worn: long tassel necklace, paisley print sheath dress, gold mouse flats, Balenciaga sorbet city bag.

Other ways to wear: paisley print sheath dress and blazer, gold mouse flats and pencil skirt, Balenciaga sorbet city bag in winter.

Perfect for pregnancy: paisley print sheath dress in second trimester, gold mouse flats in second trimester, Balenciaga sorbet city bag in second trimester.

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What's In My Bag: Balenciaga Sorbet City Bag

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What I wore:

Jacket: thrifted Zara black blazer
Necklace: Kmart gold and navy beaded necklace
Dress: Jeanswest Aztec print dress
Belt: Rebecca Minkoff Liv double wrap velvet belt
Shoes: Walnut Melbourne 'Ava' black lizard ballet flats (also available in silver)
Bag: Balenciaga RH classic city in 2010 sorbet (more affordable preloved)

Why I wore it:

It was a little cooler this morning (although not by much) so I wore my blazer for the pics. Again I picked a gold necklace to wear with the blue printed dress, this Kmart one is another frequently worn one, and so cheap too! For the blazer, shoes and belt I went with black, due to the darker colours in the Ikat print of the dress.

While the blue print in this dress is darker than the one above, I still think the pink Balenciaga city bag is a fun accessory with it - it really pops with the darker background.

A little bit of a quieter day at work meant the opportunity to get some training in too which was wonderful - we have an online training site but I so rarely get the opportunity to use it and there were some courses I've been wanting to do for a while!


Last worn: black jersey blazer, blue and gold necklace, Ikat print dress, velvet belt, black ballet flats, Balenciaga sorbet city bag (above).

Other ways to wear: jersey blazer and jeans, Ikat print dress with green, velvet belt over a blazer, black ballet flats and skinny jeans, Balenciaga sorbet city bag and shorts.

Perfect for pregnancy: black jersey blazer in third trimester, Ikat print dress in third trimester, black ballet flats in second trimester, Balenciaga sorbet city bag in second trimester.

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Blue Printed Dresses Under $50:

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How You Can Wear It:

A printed dress is such an easy office option as you can just pull-on and go. You can always accessorise with a nice neutral like all the black pieces I wore in the second outfit, or make a brightly coloured dress even brighter with a bold bag like the pink Balenciaga city.

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Weekday Wear Linkup #01

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!





Linking up with Turning Heads, Confident Twosday, Trend Spin, Oh Hey Girl, Fashion Files, Thursday Moda, Fabulous Friday, Weekend Wear, Fabulous Friday, Weekend Wear, Friday Faves.

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30 Ways To Wear: Chloe Marcie Hobo Bag & 2018 Shopping Review & 2019 Budget

A new 30 ways to wear post, as well as a review of what I bought last year and my fashion budget for 2019!


I love handbags, and I have a lot of them! But I frequently sell some to have funds towards something else I want more. This Chloe Marcie hobo bag was a bag I loved, but rationalised I didn't wear as much as my Balenciaga day hobo bag, so I decided to let it go. I did hit 30 wears before I sold it, so I've dug through the blog archives for some older photos of my wearing it. I wonder if I'll cringe as much looking back at outfit pics now in a few years as much as I am looking back on these pics now? 😂

30 Ways To Wear: Chloe Marcie Hobo Bag In Nut

Like many of my bags that I've now sold, I find this tricky to calculate cost per wear on! I bought it at a Reebonz offline sale, after wanting it for a while. I got a really good deal on it, so much so that I managed to sell it for almost what I paid for it. So you could calculate cost per wear based on the price I paid, or take that price minus the amount I got when I sold it and calculate it on around the $100 difference. I'm never sure what to do in these cases.

Inability to calculate cost per wear aside, I'm happy with the use I got from this bag. It held up really well, still looking like new when it eventually left my wardrobe, and I was pleased to look back at these old pics and see that I had hit 30 wears with it. I do sometimes regret selling it, but I know it wouldn't have gotten much more wear if it stayed in my wardrobe longer!

Chloe Marcie Hobo Bag In Summer

The handle drop on this bag is quite large, especially as the leather of the bag sags down a bit when the bag is full. It makes it an easy bag to throw over your shoulder in summer as it doesn't feel too tight or irritating to wear. The neutral colour works with all kinds of summer brights too!

Chloe Marcie Hobo Bag With Winter Layers

Being a neutral brown, this 'nut' shade is perfect for adding to winter outfits. I've picked similarly coloured scarves to wear with the bag in each of these layered outfits, but you can see it would work well without any matching as it looks great with black winter layers!

Chloe Marcie Hobo In The Office

Printed dresses or pencil skirts, I found this Chloe Marcie bag worked so well for the office. Again making the most of the neutral shade I could wear it with brightly coloured or printed pieces, or just let it compliment a neutral outfit. It's a rather structured hobo shape so doesn't feel too casual for work.

Chloe Marcie Hobo Bag With Jeans

As you can see in these photos, before I gave up my blue jeans I used to wear them a lot! The Chloe Marcie bag just works so well with denim, it's an easy choice when wearing jeans. I wore it a lot with skirts and dresses as you've seen in the earlier photos, but it was still a go-to with jeans too. Really versatile bag.

Chloe Marcie Hobo With Printed Outfits

Because this 'nut' shade is a nice neutral colour, it made the bag my default neutral piece to wear with prints. Something like a printed dress, or just a little print like a skirt or top, the hobo bag works nicely with all different prints and colours.

Chloe Marcie Hobo Bag In Pregnancy

Despite only having this bag during my pregnancy with my eldest boy, it was worn enough times for me to be able to include it as a category here in my wrap up. You know I love looking back at my bump pics when doing these posts! I wore the bag a few times in the second and third trimester as you can see. It isn't a heavy bag so was nice to wear during pregnancy, the braided strap is really comfortable on the shoulder.

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What's In My Bag: Chloe Marcie Medium Hobo Bag In Nut

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Where To Buy:

This hobo style of Marcie has been discontinued, but there are still some places you can buy second hand! All the bags above come with authenticity guarantees even though they are preloved.

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More Posts in The #30 Wears Handbag Series:

If you're looking for more outfit inspiration with this bag, you can see all 30+ ways I've worn it in my blog archives. I've included some links to other handbag related 30 wears posts below too. You can find the full post series by clicking here.

• 30 ways to wear red Balenciaga velo bag
• 30 ways to wear a grey Rebecca Minkoff MAM bag
• 30 ways to wear mustard yellow Rebecca Minkoff bag
• 30 ways to wear a red Rebecca Minkoff saddle bag
• 30 ways to wear Louis Vuitton Neverfull tote
• 30 ways to wear Rebecca Minkoff Love bag
• 30 ways to wear Balenciaga black Part Time bag
• 30 ways to wear Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAB Tote in plum purple

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2018 Spend And Goals For 2019

My last shopping haul for the year!

My Total Spend in 2018

I totalled it up, I bought 30 fashion items (clothing and accessories) in 2018. In 2017 I spent $1,696.53, my goal in 2018 was to spend less than that. I achieved that as I spent $1,014.44 if you include gift cards, which works out to $84.54 a month. If you don't include gift card spend, I only spent $664.44. I'm really pleased with the figures and that I met my goal!

How Do I Do It?

I'm a fashion blogger with a love for expensive things (handbags 😂) without a big budget and slight shopaholic tendencies! I did a 6 months without shopping in 2017 which I ended up stretching out to 7 months, and really made me evaluate what I was buying and why.

I also continued to work on this 30 wears challenge! Every month I have to find something in my wardrobe I've worn 30 times or more to make these posts. This makes me focus more on ways I can rewear things I already own and makes me less likely to turn to a store for inspiration when looking or something to wear. Looking through my blog archives for ways I've worn things before often gives me ideas of things to try from past outfits!

My Goals For 2019

Same as last year, my goal for this year will be to spend less than I did last year. To make things easy on myself, I'll include the gift card spend. So 2019 will be the year of spending less (again), rewearing more, and hoping I don't go over my $1,014.44 budget! Wish me luck!


Linking up with Style Sessions, Lizzie In Lace, Fancy Friday, Sunday Reflections, Weekday Wear, On Mondays We Link Up.

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Summer Style: Shorts And Kimonos With Rebecca Minkoff MAM Bag

A pair of soft, loose shorts like the ones I'm wearing below and a nice lightweight kimono along with a simple tank is such a staple summer outfit for me! I find the kimonos provide sun protection, add a little extra colour and print, and are a great way to layer without overheating. These outfits were perfect for our December heat.

One of the kimonos I'm wearing isn't actually a kimono at all though!

What I wore:

Kimono: Fashion Scarf Girl pretty pink floral scarf (c/o) worn as kimono
Necklace: Jeanswest Taryn turquoise tassel bead necklace
Tank: French Connection feather foil singlet
Shorts: Jeanswest Tessa olive embroidered shorts
Shoes: black slim Havaianas thongs
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff MAB mini in soft grey

Why I wore it:

I got this beautiful big scarf as part of my brand rep role for fashion scarf girl. Being a massive scarf (100 cm by 180 cm!) I instantly thought of wearing it as a sarong for the beach. With no beach trips in the immediate future, I decided to double it over and knot the ends together to create a kimono. Not the first time I've worn a scarf as a kimono, it's a good way to change up the way you wear something!

I picked the olive shorts as they kind of met the #DAREcember style challenge prompt of 'in the jungle', being an olive colour. And also because it was a hot day with a lot of running around to do and these are so light to wear. I ran a few errands with the boys, including buying a secret Santa gift for a Christmas dinner with friends.

With the olive shorts and all the colours in the scarf, I thought the neutral Rebecca Minkoff MAM was a good bag to compliment it. Holds a lot of things too!


Last worn: black shimmer tank, tassel necklace, olive embroidered shorts, Havaianas, Rebecca Minkoff MAM bag. First time I've worn the scarf as it is a recent addition to my wardrobe.

Other ways to wear: black shimmer tank and printed jeans, olive embroidered shorts in autumn, Rebecca Minkoff MAM bag in the office. 

Perfect for pregnancy: black shimmer tank in first trimester, Rebecca Minkoff MAM bag in third trimester. 

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Wear And Tear: What The Rebecca Minkoff MAM Bag Looks Like After 5 Years

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What I wore:

Jacket: Somedays Lovin' Yakuza print kimono
Necklace: Ruby Olive Art series long striped pod necklace (gift from my bestie)
Tank: Jeanswest Maji metallic tank in soft green and silver (on sale!)
Shorts: Jeanswest Parker printed shirred short
Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star low in white
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff MAB mini in soft grey

Why I wore it:

This was such a hot day! We planned to put up out Christmas tree in the afternoon (I wore this back at the start of December). There was a new walking trail I wanted to try out first, so we set off early in the morning before the heat got to be too much. Since it was a sunny day, I added the kimono for a little sun protection as I wasn't sure how shaded the track would be. While the walk was short, it was worth it, beautiful views!
While it was a bit warm for closed in shoes, and I kicked them off as soon as I got home, the Converse were good for walking. I was glad the walk was short as it was so hot! Will definitely attempt it again later when it's a little cooler.

It's not the first time I've tried this floral kimono with another print, it's great for print mixing with. With the black shorts, grey kimono and silver tank I felt the outfit needed a little colour - this pretty Ruby Olive necklace that my bestie got me from Christmas was the perfect addition. Met the 'dotty' style challenge prompt nicely for that day too.


Last worn: grey floral kimono, silver tank, black printed shorts, Converse, Rebecca Minkoff MAM bag (above).

Other ways to wear: grey floral kimono worn 30 ways, silver tank worn two ways, black printed shorts in monochrome outfit, Converse and printed dress, Rebecca Minkoff MAM bag worn 30 ways.

Perfect for pregnancy: grey floral kimono in third trimester, Converse in second trimester, Rebecca Minkoff MAM bag in third trimester.

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Soft Shorts Under $50:

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How You Can Wear It:

Soft shorts are ideal for a hot summer day, and a colourful kimono is a lovely extra layer that will add further interest to your outfit without over heating you. Neutral accessories like basic tanks and grey bags are good pieces to pair with a loud printed kimono too.

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