Maxi Lengths and Balenciaga Bags

Every now and then I'll get a comment that someone who's short (but actually taller than me) wishes they could wear maxi lengths. You can! In some cases you might need to get things hemmed, or buy a petite length, but both the maxi skirt and dress I'm wearing below haven't been altered in any way to fit my petite 5"2 self.

A slightly more formal and more casual way to wear maxi lengths, both with Balenciaga bags.

What I wore:

Jacket: Jeanswest brown marle waterfall cardigan

Necklace: Silhoupette gold plated Shih Tzu necklace layered with Tai gold alphabet necklaces
Dress: MEV Havana maxi dress C/O Zibibo
Belt: Asos metal keeper skinny waist belt in bright blue
Shoes: Marc by Marc Jacobs metallic mouse flats (on sale in black or silver!)
Bracelets: the usual plus silver charm bracelet
Bag: Balenciaga envelope clutch in 2012 mangue with giant 12 RGGH

Why I wore it:

I feel like I say this every time I wear this dress, but I loved this outfit. It is my favourite dress - even in pregnancy it never fails to make me feel good. Wore this to baby boy's dedication ceremony. It's like a christening, the baby wears a traditional gown but there's no baptising. You just thank God for the amazing miracle you have, welcome baby into the family and circle of friends and promise to tell them all about God. It was exciting having baby boy wear the same gown his brother did almost two years ago, it was my dedication gown too and it's been in the family for generations.

Wasn't sure if the weather was going to be as cold and rainy as predicted or not so added this cardigan. It was warm enough to take it off for the ceremony and the rain stayed away until later that afternoon thankfully.

I've worn a yellow bag with this dress before, it's a great combination. The style challenge for the day was 'lighter' so the bright colour and smaller size met the theme nicely. The clutch did spent most of the time in the baby bag though, as if I wasn't holding baby boy or toddler T or Cooper I had a camera in my hand taking pics.


Last worn: brown marle cardigan, cobalt belt, pink maxi dress, gold mouse flats, Balenciaga yellow envelope clutch.

Other ways to wear: brown cardigan and khaki tank, cobalt belt and boho dress, pink maxi dress at 39 weeks pregnant, gold mouse flats and skinny jeans, Balenciaga yellow envelope clutch and a lace dress.

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What I wore:

Sunnies: Ray-Ban new Wayfarers (on sale)

Scarf: Marc by Marc Jacobs mauve square scarf
Top: Dorothy Perkins 3/4 sleeve wrap top
Skirt: Target black and white striped maxi skirt
Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star low in black
Bracelets: the usual plus Cora purpleheart and mother of pearl watch C/O JORD
Bag: Balenciaga giant hardware Day bag in 2009 tempete

Why I wore it:

A much more casual way to wear a maxi! This maxi skirt was an awesome buy when I was pregnant with toddler T. It stretched to accommodate two pregnancies (have to love an elastic waist!) and is still so comfy post baby. With this wrap top it was an easy breastfeeding outfit. Picked the purple scarf as I wanted a little something to keep my chest covered in the chilly morning after all the coughs and colds we've battled the past few weeks, and I really like blue and purple together. Ended up taking the scarf off in the afternoon as it got warmer.

Wore this for a relaxed day - went to view a house in the morning and then the in laws came over for dinner. The Converse and maxi skirt together met the 'kicks and skirt' Spring Fling style challenge prompt, and the black maxi skirt was perfect for the 'darker' theme of the TRMstyle challenge.


Last worn: Ray-Ban Wayfarer, purple scarf, blue wrap top, striped maxi skirt, Converse, Balenciaga day bag.

Other ways to wear: purple scarf and pink bag, blue wrap top and printed jeans, striped maxi skirt and skull scarf, Converse and flares, Balenciaga day bag and denim shorts.


Linking up with Friday Faves, Passion for Fashion, Hello Monday, Let It Shine, Shoe & Tell, Modest Monday, Monday Mode.

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Jeanswest Prima Skinny Jeans, Autumnal Tops and Balenciaga Tempete Day Bag

It's spring here in Brisbane so the weather is starting to warm up. I'm still finding myself wanting to wear my darker more autumnal colours - I tend to wear most colours year-round if the fabric is right. It's nice to be inspired by the style challenges I'm doing to add some little spring touches to my outfits with a denim jacket or kimono though, even if I didn't love both resulting outfits.

What I wore:

Sunnies: Ray-Ban new Wayfarers (on sale)

Jacket: Bubblegum denim jacket
Scarf: blue tartan scarf
Tee: Atmos&Here rolled sleeve oversized tee in wine (similar in black or grey)
Jeans: Jeanswest prima denim super skinny jeans in absolute black
Shoes: Marc by Marc Jacobs black logo plaque ballet flats
Bracelets: the usual plus Cora purpleheart and mother of pearl watch C/O JORD
Bag: Balenciaga giant hardware Day bag in 2009 tempete

Why I wore it:

I wore this simple jeans and tee outfit for a busy morning. My plan was to take the boys out to a local book sale, get some groceries and come home and clean the house in preparation for having a friend over for dinner. Of course we were running late in the morning which put me behind for the rest of the day, but we did manage to score an entire cardboard box of books for $40 (which you might have seen on my instagram story) and my friend didn't mind being picked up a little late even though it was raining. One of those crazy hectic days where you have a relaxing evening and all your running about doesn't seem so stressful in the end.

The scarf was a bit of an afterthought as it was a little cooler, but I liked the way the colours looked against the burgundy tee. It worked for the 'in check' style challenge prompt on instagram. I picked the denim jacket as I'd wanted to wear it a few days before but didn't think it looked great with that outfit. I really liked it this time around, as the jeans are black denim I felt fine attempting the double denim look for the first time in a long time! Was perfect for the 'cuff stuff' style challenge theme too with the cuffed sleeves.


Last worn: Ray-Ban Wayfarer, denim jacket, blue tartan scarf, burgundy tee, black Prima skinny jeans, ballet flats, Balenciaga tempte day bag.

Other ways to wear: denim jacket and a maxi dress, tartan scarf and a graphic tee, burgundy tee and a maxi skirt, black Prima skinny jeans and boucle, ballet flats and a wrap dress, Balenciaga tempte day bag and printed kimono.

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Sale Alert! 

Up to 50% off in The Iconic's sale!

(Sorry to my international readers, The Iconic only ship to Australia and New Zealand. Check out the sales & discounts page instead.)

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What I wore:

Sunnies: Ray-Ban new Wayfarers (on sale)

Jacket: Cotton On 'Gemma' cocoon kimono in Laos blossom navy print
Tank: Target embroidered khaki tank
Jeans: Jeanswest Bindi skinny 7/8 jeans in indigo luxe
Shoes: Converse Chuck Taylor All Star low in white
Bracelets: the usual plus Cora purpleheart and mother of pearl watch C/O JORD
Bag: Balenciaga giant hardware Day bag in 2009 tempete

Why I wore it:

This was another big day! We had brunch by the bay, toddler T's swim lesson and dinner at my parents. Which involved some cookie decorating with toddler T and was a lot of fun. Again, I shared a bit of this on instagram stories.

Just thinking about it now as I write this post I'm realising I've finally hit that point where I'm managing to squeeze multiple trips and events into my day. A milestone for having two under 3, one of those things that seems impossible in the newborn days. I'm feeling happy about juggling two style challenges again too, and managing to hit so many (although not all!) of the prompts.


I knew I wanted to wear this comfy tank. The style challenge of 'man style' was kind of met with my Converse Chucks. I wasn't sure what to wear to meet the 'floral fantasy' prompt of the other style challenge when I saw this kimono in my wardrobe. This is an outfit fail - it doesn't look great. Even the skinny prima jeans can't cancel out the oddness of the voluminous tank and kimono together, it's not a combination I'll be repeating again. Despite that, I was happy wearing it. It felt super comfortable to wear and I really liked the navy and khaki colour combination!


Last worn: Ray-Ban Wayfarers (above), navy cocoon kimono, khaki embroidered tank, Prima denim jeans, Converse, Balenciaga tempte day bag (above).

Other ways to wear: navy cocoon kimono and denim shorts, khaki embroidered tank and flares, Prima denim jeans and tall boots, Converse and a chambray skirt, Balenciaga tempte day bag and a printed maxi dress.


Linking up with Thursday Moda, Fashion Files, Fun Fashion, On the Edge, Weekend Wear, Flashback Fashion.

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Leopard Print Scarves, Skinny Jeans and Plum Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAB Tote Bag

As it's spring now in Brisbane I'm aware that I'm not going to have a lot of opportunities to continue to wear my scarves. While I love scarves I do find them tricky to wear year-round, especially with the high humidity. I'm enjoying wearing my big blanket scarves for the moment while it hasn't fully warmed up yet.

What I wore:

Sunnies: Ray-Ban new Wayfarers

Scarf: Sportsgirl animal scarf in violet
Top:  Jeanswest 'Marina' stripe henley
Jeans: Jeanswest 'shale' super skinny jeans
Shoes: Marc by Marc Jacobs black logo plaque ballet flats
Bracelets: the usual plus Cora purpleheart and mother of pearl watch C/O JORD
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff mini MAB tote in plum (on sale in pastel and on sale in pink!)

Why I wore it:

The style challenge for the day I wore this was "this is what I found" and I had been hunting for my bright purple jeans. While pregnant last year, we boxed up a lot of things to empty our house a little in preparation for selling it. I figured I wouldn't need my pre-pregnancy clothes for a while so packed a lot of them away with no particular organisation. Since we didn't get our perfect house and house-hunting still hasn't gotten us anywhere, I'm a bit unsure where everything is! I didn't find the bright purple jeans I was looking for but I did find this grey pair with a bit of a purple tint.

Since I still felt like wearing purple I grabbed the purple leopard print scarf and Rebecca Minkoff mini MAB tote bag for accessories. I really liked this outfit in the end! Even though it wasn't what I had in mind at first I really enjoyed wearing it. I've worn the jeans and top together before too.


Last worn: Ray-Ban Wayfarer, leopard print scarf, striped henley, grey skinny jeans, black ballet flats, Rebecca Minkoff purple mini MAB tote.

Other ways to wear: leopard print scarf and leather jacket, striped henley and printed shorts, grey skinny jeans in the office, black ballet flats and flared jeans, Rebecca Minkoff purple mini MAB tote and a pink maxi dress.

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Sale Alert! 

Jeanswest have up to 70% off in the end of season clearance sale!

Jeanswest ship internationally and as well as some lighter pieces on sale they have a lot of fall-appropriate things for my northern hemisphere readers! :)

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What I wore:

Jacket: Jeanswest Peggie kimono cardigan in purple mulberry marle

Scarf: Cotton On animal print scarf in blue
Top: MEV Britney bubble tank in mood indigo C/O Zibibo
Jeans: Jeanswest Super Skinny Jeans in Mid Indigo
Shoes: Marc by Marc Jacobs metallic mouse flats (on sale in black or silver!)
Bag: Rebecca Minkoff mini MAB tote in plum (on sale in pink!)

Why I wore it:

This is what I wore to venture out of the house for the first time in a couple days after the boys and I were recovered from the flu! I went into the city with the boys to visit a friend and stop by my office to see some colleagues. Afterwards I had a wonderful chat with a new friend.

If you've followed along on my blog (or twitter) for a while you'll know I volunteer at Life.Church, an online church. My team leader got in touch to say that she had a friend who also works at Church Online who has a niece that's visiting Australia. Since the niece was in Brisbane and the boys and I were feeling better and up to meeting people I emailed her and we had the chance to talk over coffee.

The funniest thing about catching up with this relative of a friend of a friend was how perfectly timed it all was. I'm not sure what God had in mind for our meeting but I really enjoyed it, and we kept marvelling over the way things worked out.

• I'd never usually meet up with a stranger, especially with the boys tagging along, but I was in the city that day anyway dropping by the office so it made sense to meet.
• If it had been a few days earlier I would have been too sick to catch up. 
• While we were talking a little about where she was staying I realised I'd checked out a house in that street - she had just moved and was living 5 minutes from us! It meant I could have her round for dinner before she left that weekend for a newly accepted au-pair job in Sydney. 
• Her new job requires her to look after a little boy around the same age as toddler T, so she could prep a little by playing with him. 
• When organising dinner I mentioned one of my food allergies - she has the exact same one and (like me) hadn't met anyone with it in person before! 

While she's left Brisbane now, she's got a few people in Sydney from Church Online to catch up with too.

Being able to meet with someone from Arizona I'd never know about if it wasn't for my friend at Church Online, and to have so many things happen just the right way for us to connect blew my mind a little! I'm so grateful for my church. I can't wait to see what God does in my new friends life during her Australian trip.


Last worn: purple cardigan, blue leopard print scarf, navy breastfeeding tank, skinny jeans, gold mouse flats, Rebecca Minkoff mini MAB tote bag (above).

Other ways to wear: purple cardigan and maxi dress, leopard print scarf and a white top, navy breastfeeding tank and a baby bump, skinny jeans and a trench coat, gold mouse flats in the office, Rebecca Minkoff mini MAB tote bag and denim shorts.



Don't forget to enter the giveaways I have running! Enter to win $100 for a JORD Wood watch or $50 for that baby/toddler essential, diapers. They end this week!


Linking up with Mix it Monday, Turning Heads, On Trend, Confident Twosday, Style Sessions, Wardrobe Wednesday, Midweek Inspo, What I Wore, Fresh Fashion.

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