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

Just a couple of unexpected purchases in February! Even though I hadn't planned to buy anything this month I scored some shoes in the Kmart clearance and I also couldn't resist scooping up a lucky opshop find. An authentic designer bag!

What I Bought:

• thrifted Marc by Marc Jacobs Dr Q Convertible clutch in electric violet
• Kmart white chunky platform sneakers

Why I Bought It:

I'd seen some clearance shoes in Kmart earlier in the week but didn't have time to stop as we were on the hunt for things for my son's upcoming birthday party. Next time I was in Kmart I had a proper look, and although there was a much smaller selection, the shoes were reduced to $2! I wouldn't normally go for chunky platform sneakers - but since ballet flats and pretty sandals are out at the moment as my knee continues to heal, I have been wearing a lot of sneakers and for just $2 these looked like fun to try!

The bag was a bit of a splurge! It was actually out on display in the opshop and so the first thing I saw when I walked in the door before I headed off to the book section. I was sure it wouldn't be authentic but realised when I picked it up that it was. $65 is a lot of money to spend in an opshop but I wasn't going to let the chance pass me by to snag this! 

As mentioned in the video, I've once got a gift with purchase cotton Balenciaga clutch in an opshop for $2 which I was pretty pleased with, but this is the first time I've ever seen an authentic designer handbag. Once I picked it up and verified it was real (I used to have a few MbMJ bags back in the day) I wasn't going to put it back down again! I walked around the opshop with it for about 10 minutes before I decided just to get it, and I'm glad I did. If I'd left it behind it would have been long gone by the time I couldn't get it out of my head and decided to go back to grab it, and I do love a good magenta bag 😉

How I've Worn It:

Being a platform sneaker, these chunky shoes not only give my petite self an extra little height boost but are also quite comfortable on my knee! I've enjoyed wearing them so far. 

I didn't wear the bag right away as I wanted to clean and restore it first, it had a little bit of wear and needed some TLC, but I've enjoyed wearing it after giving it a bit of a clean and condition. Shoulder bags aren't my thing at the moment, being a mum I prefer crossbody bags, but my Rebecca Minkoff guitar strap is the perfect length to allow me to wear this cross body and it's super comfortable to wear. An amazing colour too, it looks great with pink!

Again, I'm not planning to buy anything next month, but as I have this month I'm not going to leave anything behind if I stumble across any more bargains or lucky finds 😂 I've only bought 7 items so far this year, these two included. It means that despite consistently buying things each month I have both spent less and bought fewer things than I did at this time last year, so still on track with my budget goals!

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Blue Printed Dresses and Chloe Small Paraty Bag: Weekday Wear Link Up

Today's Weekday Wear Link Up features two monochromatic blue dress and bag outfits I wore recently. I've been wearing a lot of tees so thought I should switch it up a bit and get out some pretty dresses, both of these are nice and light for the summer heat in Brisbane. Even if it's officially autumn today, I wore these back in February when it was still very much summer!

What I wore:

Earrings: Piper recycled metal turquoise tassel earring

Necklace: Colette marble and gold pendant drop long necklace
Dress: Kmart strappy tiered sundress in watercolour blue and blush print
Shoes: thrifted Adidas Superstar sneakers
Bag: Chloe periwinkle small Paraty

Why I wore it:

This was a bit of a busy day! After the school drop off we had a couple of errands to run and then I took my son to the playground, before taking him home to have lunch with hubby while I went out to meet up with a friend. I ended up having to put my old knee bandage on as all the running and driving around was making my knee hurt a lot, even with the super comfortable flat Adidas Superstar shoes!

With it being such a hot and humid day, this little Kmart tiered floral print sundress was the perfect piece. I did worry a little about having my shoulders uncovered in the sun at the playground, but I sunscreened up a little more than usual and it was nice to wear something so light and simple on such a hot day!

I added a lot of blue to this with the periwinkle blue small Chloe Paraty bag and the turquoise tassel earrings. Felt like the right kind of outfit that was nice enough to wear when catching up with my friend but not too overdressed for running errands and playing in the playground.


Last worn: tassel earrings, marble necklace, tiered sundress, Adidas Superstar, Chloe periwinkle small Paraty bag.

Other ways to wear: tiered sundress and blush bag, Adidas Superstar and midi dress, Chloe periwinkle small Paraty bag and shorts.

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Revealing My Latest Opshop Buy:

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What I wore:

Necklace: Tiffany diamonds by the yard necklace
Dress: Jeanswest 'Chelsea' printed dress
Shoes: Wittner 'Jasmarie' studded sandals
Bag: Chloe periwinkle small Paraty

Why I wore it:

What a day! After the school drop off I had a dentist appointment. I don't particularly enjoy the dentist, but I thought I'd wear a pretty dress anyway to try cheer myself up. I liked how the navy dress looked with the pastel periwinkle of the Chloe small Paraty bag, it was a nice combination, especially with the studded sandals.

Later the little one and I went to the opshop to drop off a few bag of books, clothes and toys that we had cleaned out just before Christmas, they'd been sitting in the garage for a while with most of the shops closed over Christmas! We went to Vinnies which I don't often visit as it's a bit further away but I was so glad that I stopped there to donate. I wandered in to browse after dropping off the donations and found an authentic designer bag on sale, as you can see from the video above! Once I picked it up and realised it was real I wasn't going to put it back, even if it was a very expensive buy for an opshop! So thrilled with my new bag though.

My son was happy with his new to him books from the opshop, and the play in the playground afterwards before school pick up, while I was just excited about my handbag find. Made up for the less than happy morning appointment at the dentist quite nicely!

Last worn: diamond necklace, Jeanswest boho navy print dress, studded sandals, Chloe Paraty bag (above).

Other ways to wear: Jeanswest boho navy print dress and blazer, studded sandals and maxi dress, Chloe Paraty bag and maxi dress.

Perfect for pregnancy: boho navy print dress in second trimester, studded sandals in second trimester.

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How You Can Wear It:

On a hot summer day a nice light viscose dress is an easy fuss-free all in one outfit. You can even match your handbag to the colours in the dress for a simple monochrome outfit without a lot of effort! Easy mum style for the school run.

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Weekday Wear Linkup #110

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 & White Striped Tank

A striped tank is such a staple wardrobe basic, so it's no surprise I've worn this white and navy striped tank 30 times already! Such a good piece to feature for a 30 wears post as I wear stripes with everything, there are a lot of different outfit ideas here.

Each month I look through my blog archives for pieces I've worn 30 times or more over the years I've owned them, to put this post together. Inspired by The True Cost documentary, which I recommend watching as it highlights that we need to commit to wearing all the clothing we buy at least 30 times to minimise the environmental impact of our shopping.

30 Ways To Wear: Navy and White Striped Tank

This tank is called the 'Josie' striped back strap tank as it has a cut out on the back with some fabric straps over it. It's a nice feature but it's something I've never gotten a photo of in any of the 30 times I've worn it sadly! I like that it makes it a little different from a standard striped tank in that way though, even if you don't see it in the pics.

Cost Per Wear:

I bought this tank from Jeanswest at the end of March 2014, while in my third trimester with my now 6 year old! I didn't track my fashion spending back then as I do now, but I did order online so I still had the email showing me I paid $11.99 for this tank during the sale. At 30 wears so far that's 40 cents a wear, pretty good value for money! 

As I bought it almost 7 years ago it's gone through 2 pregnancies and is a piece I've worn to the office as well as on days off with the kinds. It's the perfect wardrobe staple for a mum wardrobe and still has a lot of life left in it! Thankfully the first time I wore it over a third trimester bump didn't stretch it out! It's fun to look back on the different ways I've worn it, and hopefully it gives you some outfit inspiration for how you can wear a similar piece in your own wardrobe.

Stripe Tank and Skirts

As I said above, you can really wear this striped tank anywhere! Dressed up for the office with a pencil skirt and blazer, or dressed down with a pencil skirt and kimono, even a pretty maxi skirt looks good with this striped tank. I don't have any mini skirts in my wardrobe but you could certainly wear a striped tank with a mini or even midi skirt too - it works with any length of skirt.

Layering Up A Striped Tank

The beauty of Brisbane's tropical weather is that I can layer up a tank to wear in winter and still stay perfectly warm! As you can see in the first and last outfits, neutral layers like grey cardigans or hoodies work well with this tank, but so do colourful layers like the blue scarves I've added there in the middle. Basic block colour pieces layer well with a striped tank.

Navy White Striped Tank Worn With Red

Red is something I wear with this top a lot. Navy and white stripes with a touch of red can seem a bit nautical but I think the thinner navy stripes on this tank don't give off that vibe. I really like red accessories with this tank, like a red scarf or bag, but other red clothing pieces like the cardigan or the skinny jeans also work well with it.

Wearing Green With a Navy And White Stripe Tank

While green isn't the most worn colour in my wardrobe this striped tank is so easy to wear with green and it works so well with any shade that I wanted to call it out specifically. With the green or olive skinny jeans it's a simple outfit, and it works with the olive green shorts too on warmer days. I like navy and green together so it's no surprise this tank is worn so much with green.

Navy And White Stripe Tank In Outfits With Brights

While I've called out the red and green, there really aren't any bright colours that don't work with this tank! From an amber skirt, blue scarf and magenta bag, teal and yellow, even neon orange or pink leopard print, the neutral navy and white stripes on this tank go with any bright pieces you have in your wardrobe.

Print Mixing Outfit Ideas With A Navy And White Stripe Tank

Stripes are always one half of any print mix I try, I find them the easiest base piece to pair with other prints. And while not all of these print mixes were successful I do really like trying different prints with this striped tank! Sticking to the rules and matching blue prints with the navy stripes seems to work well.

Baby Bump Outfits With A Navy and White Stripe Tank

I always love looking back at baby bump pics when doing these 30 wears posts! This comfortable tank was perfect over a growing baby bump, and the first two photos here are some of my favourite pregnancy outfits. it's always nice to have a non-maternity piece that works even into the third trimester. I find a stripe really enhances the baby belly too 😂

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Where To Buy Striped Tanks Under $50:

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Similar Posts In The 30 Wears Series:

• 30 ways to wear a navy tank
• 30 ways to wear navy stripe maxi skirt
• 30 ways to wear a black striped maxi skirt
  
  

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

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