I bought a few things in January but as I mentioned not everything arrived in time for me to make a video, so I decided to compile my January and February purchases together. Some January sale finds and a few opshop bargains!
What I Bought In January / February:
Kmart culotte short in navy lemon print
Kmart black sleeveless frill hem peplum tank Rebecca Minkoff Edie small crossbody bag in magenta
Thrifted Kmart abstract blob print tee
Thrifted Crossroads black ruffle hem maxi skirt
Thrifted Target colourful printed tank
Thrifted red statement bead necklace
Thrifted Spirit grey marle jumper Jeanswest Emily cotton v-neck tee in coral
Why I Bought It:
Despite getting a lot of lovely clothes and accessories for Christmas, I just had to check out the Kmart clearance sale in the new year and came away with some new clothes and even PJs, using a gift card I got for Christmas.
My search for a good local opshop continued in January and February, trying to find an alternative one after my favourite closed. I picked up quite a few bargains when I was browsing the opshops in the surrounding areas, most of the clothes only being $1 each. All completely impulse buys though, and nothing I absolutely needed, just things I wanted.
How I've Worn It:
I noticed I'd perhaps gone a little overboard with the buying (although certainly not the spending!) when I struggled with meeting my 'wear twice in the month I buy it' goals with some of my pieces. A good reminder that even if those clothes are only $1 each, I need to be more thoughtful with what I buy. With the grey jumper being an autumn / winter piece, I'm giving that a pass for not meeting the 'wear twice in the month I buy it' rule as I know I'll love it later!
I anticipate that the next few months will be a little slower with the purchases, while I enjoy what I own for a while.
The end of another month, and a new 30 ways to wear post! This month I'm featuring another bag, my Balenciaga truffle brown day bag.
With this monthly series, I pick a piece from my wardrobe I've worn over 30 times and go back through my blog archives to show you some of the ways I've worn it.
30 Ways To Wear Balenciaga Truffle Brown Day Bag
Cost Per Wear
I bought this bag back in August 2015 from Designer Archives consignment store in Brisbane, so of course I've worn it more than 30 times in the 3 and a half years I've had it. Still looks just as good as the day I bought it too!
This was a complete impulse buy, I'd taken some other handbags in to consign and seen this bag and just had to get it - it's the same as the day bag my bestie has, so it reminds me of her! I paid $900 for it so it works out at $25 per wear so far. Not as low as some items of clothing I've calculated cost per wear on but pretty good for such an expensive bag! It's not been worn as much as my other Balenciaga day bags, but it is one of the most recently purchased ones.
30 Ways To Wear Balenciaga Day Bag: Video Style
Balenciaga Brown Day Bag With Colourful Outfit
Unsurprisingly, this neutral brown bag works great with colourful outfits! From a colourblocking blue and green outfit to a more subtle burst of colour like a pink blazer or cobalt jacket, this brown bag is such a good neutral to add to any colourful outfit. It's a good go-to bag when I'm not sure what colour would work!
Balenciaga Day Bag With Flares
While I do love my skinny jeans, I do have a single solitary pair of flared jeans. And I bought this bag around the time I aggravated my old knee injury in a bus accident. The flared jeans were the only ones I could fit my compression bandage underneath, so they and the bag were frequently worn. This bag does look great with other styles of jeans, but I wanted to call out how well the slouchy hobo style works with flared jeans and make it it's own category.
Balenciaga Brown Day Bag With Green
I was surprised to see when I looked back on the pictures that this brown bag has been worn so much with green! An olive tank, emerald green pants or even olive pants, this brown bag compliments the shades of green so nicely. I'm trying to get outside my comfort zone and wear green more often, so I'm mainly wearing it with neutrals. A no-fuss neutral bag like this is heavily relied on to go with anything green in my outfit.
Balenciaga Day Bag With Matching Boots
The old 'match your shoes to your bag' fashion rule is one that is rarely followed now, and one I certainly don't wear a lot. Partly because my handbag collection is a lot more colourful than my shoe collection! While not a perfect match, the truffle brown Balenciaga day bag is such a similar shade to these Chelsea boots that I can't resist a little matchy-matchy by pairing them together.
Balenciaga Brown Day Bag In The Office
A slouchy hobo style bag might not be your first choice for office wear, but a big bag like this is just what I need to take everything into the office. It's comfortable even when full and a neutral shade means it stands out less than a similar style in a brighter colour, making it a good casual bag to try in a formal office environment. It helps that my office is a business casual one too so it fits in nicely with my dress code.
Balenciaga Day Bag In Pregnancy
If you've seen this 30 wears series before, you'll know I can never resist including my baby bump pics in the wrap up! When I had a little girls weekend away in Melbourne during my second trimester, I picked this bag to bring with me. The neutral colour worked with all of my outfits and it held everything I needed (scarf and water bottle) to tackle the varying Melbourne temperatures. Plus these pregnancy photos illustrate so well that if you invest in accessories you can wear them no matter what changes your body has!
Balenciaga Day Bag in Summer
I've worn a lot of layered and cold weather outfits above as this brown bag is a perfect choice in autumn and winter, but I wanted to include these pics too to show you that it works year-round. I'm not one of those people who thinks you need to restrict handbags to particular seasons, and a brown bag works in spring and summer as well as it does in autumn and winter
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.
While these are great outfits to beat the heat, a cover-up in the office was definitely needed. Throwing a blazer over these outfits makes it look instantly more professional and stops you from shivering in the freezing meeting rooms. Why are they always so cold?!
While the peach and blush leaves in the print don't really show up on the camera, I thought the blush was a perfect match for this pink tassel necklace and Rebecca Minkoff Darren messenger bag.
I was a little upset the necklace seemed kind of lost in the print of the tank in the photo, but photo aside, I loved wearing this. I thought the gold earrings and shoes were cute accessories, even if the hardware on the Darren bag is silver.
The silver tassel earrings might be a bit much with the layered necklaces, but I wanted to wear them all and figured the neutral colours would tone it all down. Felt like it had been a while since I'd last worn this tank so got it out again to wear to the office. Like the tank above, it's one of those pieces that works casually or in a formal environment.
I packed a black blazer to wear over this and it created a very formal suit-like outfit, even with the fun tassel earrings and the casual hairstyle. Such a hot and humid day, and despite the heat I had to rush across the city with some files in a gap between meetings - a really hectic day!
A fun printed tank isn't just for casual wear! Add a pencil skirt to make it office appropriate for a business causal environment, and a blazer on top if your office is more formal.
Weekday Wear Linkup #07
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!
