Such a simple outfit formula - pick a printed top and pair it with a plain maxi skirt! Since both the polka dot cami and logo tee have a little red in them, I thought my Rebecca Minkoff mini Avery bag was the best accessory for both outfits.
Wore this for a busy day! We had our final ABA meeting for the year, so it was Christmas themed. It was also, sadly, our last time at the Australian Breastfeeding association group meetings. The new year means a change of day for the sessions and we can't make it on the new day unfortunately! I'm still a member and will try organise some pram walks on the days we are free so I can still catch up with my friends.
After a slightly emotional morning, it was off to run errands. The post office was okay, but waiting in line at the bank with two kids who had filled up on sugary morning tea (including chocolate brownies I brought along for the group) probably wasn't the best option. 😂
Hyper kids aside, I really liked this outfit. It was comfortable for the day and the red and green necklace, which can be worn year-round, definitely didn't look out of place at the Christmas party.
I was doing a couple of Instagram style challenges in December and the theme for the day on them both was stripes. I hard a hard time picking one piece to wear, stripes are definitely my favourite print! I settled on this fun Coca-Cola thrifted tee, as I thought it went really nicely with this chambray maxi skirt. It's not the first time I've worn this chambray skirt and little red Avery bag together, they are a lovely combo. It tied in nicely with the red logo on the striped tee too.
The boys and I had a quieter day - a couple of errands to run (including picking up food for the daycare Christmas party later in the week) and then some time playing at the playground. Nice easy outfit for all of that.
A plain maxi skirt is a great outfit base, letting you pick any printed piece to wear with it - stripes or polka dots work equally well. They are also a nice option for a hot summer day as a stay at home mum as you can easily run after the kids (and break up wrestling games in the bank) in them!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
What's In My Bag: Chloe Marcie Medium Hobo Bag In Nut
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.
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!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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.
A simple bright tank and denim shorts is an easy summer staple outfit. For something a little different, I like to add some extra colour or print with accessories. A kimono, printed bag, or as I've worn here a printed scarf, is a fun extra touch to your outfit. Both of these scarves are lightweight and perfect for a milder summer day.
This was an absolutely crazy day. Usually on a crazy busy day I'd stick with a comfortable tried and true outfit, but I decided at the last minute to try something a little different and add this pale pink leaf print scarf to the hot pink tank. While it was a hot day, it was a very windy one so the scarf was a great accessory to have. Particularly when the dust picked up.
I had to drive into the city for an appointment and it was an interesting drive - some of the remnants of the dust storm had reached Brisbane and everything was very hazy. Which lead to a lot of questions from the kids in the back seat about why the city was so 'misty'. And a very dirty car - although I wore this back in November - like everyone else in Brisbane my car stayed covered in red dust for a few weeks!
With the pink on pink, the neutral Rebecca Minkoff MAB bag seemed like a good choice, and it held a few things I needed for the appointment. Perfect for running errands after too.
A very similar outfit formula to the one above, again with a pink tank and denim shorts. I added this fun chicken and egg print scarf for a little extra interest with the otherwise plain outfit. Unlike the day above, this was a much more relaxed day with the boys. We headed out to the library for rhyme time and then stopped at a few stores on the way home to run some errands. Being in aircon for most of the day, the scarf was a good extra layer to stop it feeling too chilly in the shopping centre.
A plain tank and denim shorts is such an easy summer staple outfit. If you want to change things up a little between wears, try throwing on a cute scarf for some extra interest to your outfit. If it's a cooler summer day or you're spending a lot of time in the aircon it will make you a little warmer too! Light fabrics like viscose are best for scarves you want to wear in summer.
Hope you have a very happy new year! I will be spending it as I usually do since having kids, exhausted and asleep in bed missing welcoming in the new year! 😂
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your friends or family! We hosted Christmas this year, which always makes things a little more hectic, but it's always fun.
Below I'm sharing two Christmas outfits - a casual one for Christmas eve and then a dressier one for Christmas day. Also the first time in a couple of years I've bought a new dress just for Christmas!
Christmas eve in my family is always a casual day, the purpose being to relax and spend time together. We all meet up at my parent's place, and commence our yearly traditions. Christmas cookie making, craft making, Christmas movies and a lot of laughter. Definitely the best way to begin Christmas, spending time with people you love.
We've been wearing these Christmas tees to celebrate for 6 years - we each have one, and although I have to keep buying the boys new ones as they grow, this green Santa tee has been worn regularly every year, through both my pregnancies! It's another fun tradition to have.
While Christmas eve is dressed down, on Christmas day we love to dress up! I'd seen this maxi dress at Jeanswest a few weeks before Christmas, and with some left over gift card to spend decided to treat myself to a new dress for Christmas, something I haven't done for a couple of years.
Christmas day was also a fun and family filled, with presents, putting our new Christmas crafts to good use, and marvelling over the kid's excitement with their gifts. There was a little stress as I hosted Christmas lunch, but so worth it in the end when you get to sit down and eat together! Even if I did mess up the cooking a little bit.... This maxi dress was perfect, I was so glad to finally get to wear it. It's sure to pop up a lot more often on the blog now!
I did want to curl my hair and be all 'done up' for Christmas, but by the time I finished prepping for Christmas day it was 10.30 pm on Christmas eve so I just decided to go to bed instead of staying up to curl my hair, and ran the straighteners through it in the morning. It's nice to want to do everything on Christmas, and wonderful when you achieve it, but at the end of the day (as it is every day) your sanity is the most important thing! Plus with two boys under five that extra 30 minutes in bed makes a difference when they come wake you up early Christmas morning! 😂