What I Bought In January (And How I've Worn It)

Well, I have gone a little overboard with the shopping! It's not the massive haul of last January, but it's still more than I expected to have bought so far this year, after setting out my goals for 2021's fashion spending recently. It can be explained with one sentence - "I had a $10 cotton on rewards voucher...."

Here's What I Bought:

Cotton On The One fitted v tee in washed red clay

Cotton On The One fitted v tee in eddy stripe white / red terracotta

Mimco D-Vine medium wallet in balsa

Cotton On The One fitted v tee in washed summer mango

Cotton On The One fitted v tee in washed poolside blue

Why I Bought It:

Yes, with the exception of the wallet which I needed to replace my Coach wallet, all I bought was Cotton On tees this month! 

The wallet was a much needed replacement for my old Coach one which no longer zipped up, and had already been repaired once before. It had embarrassed me one time too many when I picked it up out of my bag upside down and cards and receipts flew everywhere.... This new one is a flap closure and only has a tiny zipper for coins so I'm hoping it lasts longer than 2 years! I haven't bought Mimco in a while so fingers crossed the brand still has the same quality levels it did when I bought my first expensive bag there back in my uni days. Good old button bags, that uniquely Aussie trend! The wallet was on super sale at David Jones for boxing day so I thought I'd give it a try.

I'm counting my other boxing day sale finds as January buys too as they didn't arrive until January - two clay coloured Cotton on "The One" fitted tees. I used my $10 Cotton On rewards voucher, and with them already being on sale and then having an extra 30% off, it was too good a deal to say no to! They were reduced to $7.99 each, coming down to just $2.99 each after applying the rewards voucher.

Then right at the end of January there was another sale, I had another $10 rewards voucher after my boxing day sale spending (as I bought for the kids as well as the two tees for me) and I was on the hunt for some cute pyjamas to replace a pair I had that wore out. And then I just looked at the tees, which had new colours, were on sale and had an extra 20% off, and so I bought two more 😂

If you're keeping score at home, that's now 7 of these Cotton On "The One" v-neck tees I have, 4 of which I added to my wardrobe this month. At least they are all different colours I guess? And 20% recycled cotton too! I really do love these tees but think I have ventured into crazy "gotta have them all" territory this month!

How I've Worn It:

The last two tees I bought I selected instore pickup for so while they arrived just before the end of the month for me to know they were keepers to include in this wrap up post, I didn't actually get to wear them both! So my mango tee is still unworn at the moment.

Aside from the two tees that I picked up on Friday, I have been able to wear everything at least twice in the month I bought it, my goal for all purchases to stop the "new with tags but never worn" items in my wardrobe. And I'm sure that I'll be achieving two wears on the last two tees in the next week or so!

Perhaps my goal for February should be to not buy any more tees though! If they bring out a green and purple I'll be doomed...they are the only two colours I need before I will literally have a rainbow of these tees!

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Weekday Wear Linkup: Navy Printed Culotte Shorts Again With Colourful Tees

For today's Weekday Wear Linkup I'm wearing my navy printed culotte shorts again! I have always been a shorts fan in summer but it's been nice to change it up a little from my usual go-to denim shorts. I have been feeling like I've been wearing these shorts a bit much but they are so cool and comfortable for hot summer days, definitely have been a favourite for this summer!

What I wore:

Earrings: Kmart silver leaf drop chandelier earrings
Necklace: Kmart silver long circle pendant necklace
Tee: Jeanswest Shelley garment dye tee in faded denim blue
Shorts: Jeanswest Valerie yarn dye stripe short in navy and white
Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star coast blue
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Jean MAC bag in fig 

Why I wore it:

Wore this for another visit to my parents, we headed over in the afternoon after a quiet morning at home. I wanted to wear some of the new pieces I got for Christmas - the earrings were a stocking gift from Santa, but the necklace, tee and shorts were gifts from my mum. I knew this tee would pair perfectly with the navy striped culottes when I unwrapped it, it's an awesome monochromatic combo!

With the matchy-matchy silver accessories and the monochromatic look with the blue Converse, navy shorts and blue tee, I felt this outfit needed a little something different so I added the pink Rebecca Minkoff Jean MAC for a bit of contrast. I didn't have to carry much during the day either so this was the perfect size for just the essentials I needed!

Last worn: silver circle necklace, navy printed culottes, Converse, Rebecca Minkoff Jean MAC crossbody. First time I've worn the tee and earrings as they were Christmas gifts.

Other ways to wear: navy printed culottes and white tee, Converse and floral shorts, Rebecca Minkoff Jean MAC crossbody and maxi dress. 

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My latest unboxing video:

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What I wore:

Necklace: Kmart gold and navy beaded necklace
Tee: Jeanswest essential v-neck tee in elfin yellow
Shorts: Kmart culotte short in navy lemon print
Shoes:  New Balance Coast women's running shoe in black 
Bag: Chloe periwinkle small Paraty

Why I wore it:

Again with a block colour tee and navy printed culottes, although this was a much more colourful outfit than the monochrome one above. Taking advantage of the school holidays I had a fun day out planned, letting my son pick what he wanted us to do for the day. We went on a bike ride in the morning, and then the beach afterwards. It was a really fun day.

This was definitely not the best bag choice for the beach though, an easily wipe-downable tote would have been better. I was a little worried about my new Christmas bag getting wet and sandy. I spent most of my time sitting on the sidelines watching though, aside from a little paddle now and then so the bag was salt water free thankfully.

I really liked how well all of the colours in this outfit worked together. The periwinkle blue of the Chloe Paraty bag is a nice compliment to the blue in the print of the navy culottes. Much like the pastel tee, it isn't an exact match with the colour in the print, but it's close enough that it looks so nice together. 



Last worn: pastel yellow tee, gold and navy beaded necklace, floral print navy culottes, New Balance sneakers, Chloe Paraty bag.

Other ways to wear: pastel yellow tee and olive jeans, floral print navy culottes and pink, New Balance sneakers and midi dress, Chloe Paraty bag at Christmas.

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How You Can Wear It:

A pair of navy printed culottes are so versatile! You can go monochromatic by pairing it with other shades of blue, or picking some colours out of the print like I have in the second outfit if you want something a little brighter.

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Weekday Wear Linkup #106

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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30 Ways To Wear: Navy Printed Jersey Maxi Dress

My first 30 ways to wear post for 2021, with this pretty Jeanswest "Chantelle" navy blue printed empire waist jersey maxi dress. I actually thought I hit 30 wears on this a while back but I'd miscounted the number of posts featuring it - as I included it in my pregnancy style wrap posts too, but they were just outfit reposts and not a new wear. Stretchy jersey is so comfortable, pregnant or not! And it stretches well to fit the bump!

Each month I look through the my blog archives to see what things in my wardrobe I've worn more than 30 times. It's so helpful taking a photo of the outfits I wear each day so I can look back on the ways I've worn things and put these posts together.

30 Ways To Wear: Navy Printed Jersey Maxi Dress

This dress was a Jeanswest outlet sale find back when I was pregnant with my oldest boy, in 2014! With it being in my wardrobe almost 7 years and it accommodating a baby bump nicely, it's no surprise I've exceeded 30 wears with this dress. So far, it's up to 31 wears. I really thought I'd have worn it more by now, having owned it so long!

It's just the right kind of fabric, comfortable and stretchy without being too clingy, and thick enough to stretch without being sheer but not too thick and warm for summer. My favourite way to wear it, as you'll see in these photos, is to double over the elastic empire waist and create a little blouson effect on the top. It has the benefit of making the dress a little shorter too, perfect for my petite self!

Cost Per Wear

Sadly, I can't calculate cost per wear on this dress, as I can't remember how much I bought it for and I no longer have the receipt as it was 7 years ago. I think it was around the $40 mark, which would be about $1.29 a wear as I've worn it 31 times, but I really can't be sure. It was definitely less than $60 as it was more than half price at the outlets, I remember getting an extra % off on top of the sale price, and Jeanswest maxi dresses weren't over the $100 mark 7 years ago. Even without knowing the exact cost per wear figure I know I've gotten my money's worth from this third trimester pregnancy buy, it's a wardrobe staple even without the baby bump!

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Monochrome Outfit With Blue Printed Maxi Dress

Blue is my favourite colour so it's no surprise to see I like wearing even more blue with this dress! From a little thing like a blue bracelet or earrings, or something bigger like a blue bag, any shade of blue: pastels, turquoise, or cobalt works well with this navy dress.

Navy Printed Maxi Dress With Yellow

There are of course lots of other colours you can wear with a navy dress! Yellow and blue are a cheerful combination, and as with the blue outfits above you can do it in a small way by adding a pop of yellow with a necklace, or bigger and bolder with a yellow scarf and bag.

Navy Printed Maxi Dress with Purple 

Another go-to colour combo of mine, blue and purple. As with the other colours above, you can keep it simple with a small purple bag, or wear something bigger like the purple cardigan. This waterfall one looks great belted over the dress for winter! I've done a 30 wears post with this purple cardigan too.

Navy Printed Jersey Maxi Dress With Pink

The navy print on this maxi dress is such a good backdrop for any shade of pink to pop! My favourite is magenta pink, like that Rebecca Minkoff Edie crossbody bag in the middle there, or the magenta necklace in the bottom right. But other shades of pink accessories work well with a navy dress too, with the tiny pastel belt or the bold neon pink scarf!

Ways to Layer a Jersey Maxi Dress

I don't just wear my maxi dresses in summer, even a sleeveless tank style like this one. You can make a maxi dress work in winter by layering a knit over the top, or just cover up a little more on a cooler autumn or spring day by knotting a grey tee over it! Knotting the tee helps stop it looking too overwhelming if you're petite like me, and gives a bit of shape to the outfit. And of course if it's summer you can still layer like I have in the middle with the crochet trim kimono.

Easy Throw On And Go Outfits With a Navy Maxi Dress

The best thing about a jersey printed maxi dress is that it's an instant outfit! Never over or underdressed, you just need to grab and go! With these outfits I've been dressed up for our annual family Santa photo, a night out, or dressed down for a casual BBQ with friends and family, or running errands. It just works for any occasion without any fuss.

Jersey Printed Maxi Dress In Pregnancy

That photo I have in the middle is the only one I have to show off the beautiful crochet back of this dress, which is a shame! But it turns out it's really tricky to get a good photo of the back of your outfit when you're using a tripod and camera remote 😂 With the stretchy jersey material of this maxi dress it works in all three trimesters, and even as you can see in the bottom right there, for the final days of pregnancy at 39 weeks! I like that I've been able to wear this dress through both my pregnancies with my boys, and it also works for breastfeeding after as the top is so stretchy! It was definitely a good sale buy all those years ago!

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Where To Buy Navy Printed Maxi Dresses Under $50:

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Similar Posts In The 30 Wears Series:

• 30 ways to wear navy printed shift dress
• 30 ways to wear a tie dye maxi dress
• 30 ways to wear a pink maxi dress
• 30 ways to wear a navy tank
• 30 ways to wear a navy printed kimono

For more outfit inspiration, you can see all the times I've worn this dress in my archives, or browse the 30 wears series too. What outfit was your favourite with this dress?

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