Bold Printed Dresses For The Office & Weekday Wear Linkup

Another Weekday Wear Linkup for you to join, and some office style. As much as a work wardrobe needs classic, neutral basic pieces you can turn to again and again, it's fun to introduce some bolder prints and colours too!

My work wardrobe has certainly changed a lot in the 10 years I've been at my current company, from neutrals and button up shirts to bright colours, statement necklaces and fun prints. The dresses I'm wearing below might be a bit too bold for a more formal, conservative office dress code, but work perfectly in a business causal office like mine.

What I wore:

Scarf: Fashion Scarf Girl Navy and Gold hair scarf (c/o) tied on bag
Necklace: Ruby Olive Art series long striped pod necklace
Dress: French Connection 'Woodblock wonder' panache dress in white/geranium rose
Shoes: Marc by Marc Jacobs silver tuxedo flats
Bag: Marc By Marc Jacobs Classic Q Fran bag with gold hardware in carob brown

Why I wore it:

This orange dress is such a bold print and colour but it's perfect for our summer heat as it's linen, and the print disguises creases so it's perfect for a busy day of sitting at my desk in the office!

I added the colourful Ruby Olive necklace for a little extra colour, not that the dress needed much! I had another necklace in mind but I thought it was too much, this necklace seemed to work nicer with the orange print and it was a lovely way to remember my friend though the day, as she lost her cat the day before.

The Marc Jacobs Fran bag has been worn a few times with this dress, so I tried to change it up a little this time and wore the hair scarf tied in a bow on the handle, just a little point of difference from the last time I wore the dress and bag together.


Last worn: Ruby Olive necklace, hair scarf, orange printed dress, silver ballet flats, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag.

Other ways to wear: hair scarf tied on wrist, orange printed dress and blazer, silver ballet flats and little black dress, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag and wrap dress.

Perfect for pregnancy: orange printed dress hiding an early baby bump, silver ballet flats in third trimester, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag in second trimester.

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What's In My Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran Bag

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What I wore:

Necklace: Starfish Project Veronica short yellow multi strand necklace
Dress: Jeanswest ruffle neckline animal print dress
Shoes: Marc by Marc Jacobs logo plaque flats in camel
Bag: Marc By Marc Jacobs Classic Q Fran bag with gold hardware in carob brown

Why I wore it:

This dress has been in my wardrobe for years, although it's not been as frequently worn as others. You can see the first time I wore on on the blog back in 2012, in one of my early posts! It just goes to show that animal print will always be a classic you can pull out year after year.

It's not the first time I've worn this dress with the Marc Jacobs Fran bag, they have been a frequent combination over time, as I think the carob brown of the bag works well with the neutral colours in the print. With the camel flats too, I thought the outfit needed a little touch of colour with all of the neutrals, and this yellow statement necklace was the perfect touch.


Last worn: yellow beaded necklace, leopard print dress, camel flats, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag (above).

Other ways to wear: leopard print dress and blush blazer, camel flats and wrap dress, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag and burgundy pants.

Perfect for pregnancy: leopard print dress hiding second trimester bump, camel flats in third trimester, Marc by Marc Jacobs Fran bag in second trimester.

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Printed Dresses For The Office Under $50:

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How You Can Wear It:

A printed dress is such a fun office piece. You can pair it with neutral shoes and a bag to tone the print down, or cover it up a little more with a blazer if you are worried it might be too bold for your office environment. Alternatively, you can maximise the print with colourful statement necklaces and bolder handbag and shoe choices.

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Weekday Wear Linkup #06

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!

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Shorts, Tees and Printed Kimonos With Purple Mini MAB Tote Bag

Two outfits following the same outfit formula but with different colour schemes! The first outfit is pink and purple and the second is purple again, but with blue instead. These simple shorts, tee and kimono outfits are a summer staple for me and perfect for mum life.

What I wore:

Jacket: Target Karolina summer kimono in purple black floral
Necklace: Kmart rose gold and pink beaded necklace
Tee: Spectrum basic v-neck tee in grey marl
Shorts: thrifted pastel pink cotton shorts
Shoes: Balenciaga studded sandals in sorbet RGGH
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff mini MAB tote in plum (on sale!)

Why I wore it:

I really liked this outfit. I like grey and pink together but this outfit felt it was lacking something until I added the kimono - the perfect touch! With the purple floral kimono, a purple mini MAB tote bag was the obvious choice to accessorise with.

It was a busy day! We went to a local opshop I'd heard good things about but never visited. It's a little out of the way, but with clothes just $1 each was definitely worth checking out! As usual, I left with more things for the boys than me, but it was still a good trip and we will have to try go more regularly. I still haven't found the perfect alternative to my favourite opshop after it closed.

Of course after spending time doing something for me in the morning, we had to go do something for the boys later. We visited a travelling petting zoo at a shopping centre, and it was so much fun. We all had a great time. I did regret my shoe choice as these studded Balenciaga sandals are maybe a little too delicate for straw and animals everywhere, and when I got a cup of animal feed spilled over me and into the cuffs of my shorts I regretted them a little too! But it was so much fun overall I didn't dwell on it for long!


Last worn: floral kimono, pink and gold beaded necklace, grey v-neck tee, pastel pink shorts, Balenciaga studded sandals, Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAB tote bag.

Other ways to wear: floral kimono and bermuda shorts, grey v-neck tee with green pants, pastel pink shorts and polka dots, Balenciaga studded sandals and tee dress, Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAB tote bag and maxi skirt.

Perfect for pregnancy: grey v-neck tee in second trimester, Balenciaga studded sandals in second trimester, Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAB tote bag in third trimester.

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30 Ways to Wear: Rebecca Minkoff Purple Mini MAB Tote

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What I wore:

Jacket: Jeanswest Jamie printed kimono (on sale!)
Necklace: navy and silver circle pendant tassel necklace
Tee: Atmos & Here white essential v-neck tee
Shorts: thrifted Jeanswest distressed denim shorts
Shoes: black slim Havaianas thongs
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff mini MAB tote in plum (on sale!)

Why I wore it:

This day was not as exciting as the one above! Took the boys out to the library, the playground and then picked up some groceries on the way home. I really liked the outfit formula above though, so much that I repeated it again here, just changing the colour scheme a little. Blue and purple is another of those combinations that I love, so I kept the purple Rebecca Minkoff mini MAB tote bag and switched the purple kimono out for this pretty blue one and the grey tee for a white one. Blue denim shorts and just simple Havaianas made this a great outfit that follows the outfit formula above but created its own unique outfit I loved just as much.

It's taken me a few years to face my fears and buy a white tee, but I'm glad I did, I really like this one from Atmos&Here and it works so nicely with blue!


Last worn: blue kimono, white v-neck tee, navy tassel necklace, distressed denim shorts, Havaianas, Rebecca Minkoff mini MAB tote bag (above).

Other ways to wear: blue kimono with stripes, white v-neck tee and pencil skirt, boyfriend denim shorts and scarf, Rebecca Minkoff mini MAB tote bag worn 30 ways.

Perfect for pregnancy: Rebecca Minkoff mini MAB tote bag in thrid trimester.

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Kimonos Under $50:

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How You Can Wear It:

A plain shorts and tee combo is great in the summer heat. For a little more interest to your outfit, you can add a kimono. It's a nice, lightweight layer that makes your outfit a little more special without any extra effort.


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Printed Maxi Dresses & Pink Balenciaga Bags

The simplest outfit of all has to be a printed dress, and you'll know if you've read my blog a while that maxi dresses are my favourite! I wore both of these recently for different occasions - a maxi dress works for so many events.

What I wore:

Necklace: Kmart navy and gold beaded tassel necklace
Dress: Jeanswest Sophia high-low maxi dress
Shoes: Rebecca Minkoff Georgina studded gladiator sandals in blush
Bag: Balenciaga Day bag in 2005 magenta

Why I wore it:

Second wearing of my Christmas dress! I bought this dress back in October. I usually stick to my 'wear twice in the month I buy it' rule for fashion purchases, but decided to treat myself to a new dress for Christmas and put this aside until the day.

This time around, I wore it to head over to my parents for dinner. Nothing formal, just another excuse for me to wear this pretty dress! These studded Rebecca Minkoff gladiator sandals are a staple for me over summer - the neutral shade just goes with everything - and were an obvious choice with the dress.

I thought the magenta Balenciaga day bag would work nicely with the pink and the purple in the print. While not an exact match to the shade of pink in the dress, I still really liked this combination together. I thought the navy and gold tassel necklace was a good pairing with the dress too.

Unfortunately I managed to break (and kinda repair) this necklace part way through the evening. It's not quite as symmetrical now, although it is back in one piece! Despite breaking the necklace, we had such a nice time at my parents.


Last worn: high-low maxi dress, navy tassel necklace, gladiator sandals, Balenciaga magenta day bag.

Other ways to wear: high-low maxi dress for Christmas day, gladiator sandals worn 30 ways, Balenciaga magenta day bag for travelling.

Perfect for pregnancy: Balenciaga magenta day bag in third trimester.

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My Balenciaga Handbag Collection:

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What I wore:

Necklace: Kmart pink multi-colour beaded necklace
Dress: Jeanswest 'Chantelle' crochet detail blue printed maxi dress
Shoes: Balenciaga studded sandals in sorbet RGGH
Bag: Balenciaga RH classic city in 2010 sorbet (more affordable preloved)

Why I wore it:

This outfit was for a much more casual occasion, although I again opted for the ease of a maxi dress. We had an early morning start to surprise hubby at the airport as he arrived after a week away in America. An even earlier start than expected as his plane arrived 20 minutes ahead of time, so instead of leisurely getting ready I had to hurry up and get us all fed and dressed and drive to the airport. In the end I probably didn't need to get there as early as I did, his plane was only actually 10 minutes early in the end, but as we were surprising him and he wasn't expecting to see us, I wanted to be there ready with our signs so he'd see us as soon as he stepped through customs.

Since I wanted to put in a little bit of effort into my outfit, I went with my trusty blue maxi dress. It's just as comfortable as pyjamas when you're sitting around at the airport waiting for someone to arrive! I've worn it with pink before in the past, I really like blue and pink together. I was surprised to see I hadn't worn this pink Balenciaga sorbet city bag with it before though! I really liked the combination.

I picked a pink necklace which kind of matched, and my sorbet Balenciaga studded sandals which matched the bag exactly. Simple accessorising for the morning rush!


Last worn: pink beaded necklace, blue printed maxi dress, Balenciaga studded sandals, Balenciaga sorbet city bag.

Other ways to wear: blue printed maxi dress layered for a rainy day, Balenciaga studded sandals and shorts, Balenciaga sorbet city bag and pencil skirt.

Perfect for pregnancy: blue printed maxi dress at 39 weeks, Balenciaga studded sandals in second trimester, Balenciaga sorbet city bag in second trimester.

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Printed Maxi Dresses Under $50:

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How You Can Wear It:

A printed maxi dress is such a time saver, it's an instant outfit. They are easy to accessorise too! You can pick similar colours out of the print to wear in your accessories and add some neutral pieces like in the first outfit, or just pick a contrasting colour and wear that in all your accessories like I have in the second outfit.



Linking up with Fashion Files, Thursday Moda, Weekend Wear, Fabulous Friday, Fancy Friday, Flashback Fashion.

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