Blog - Page 73 of 79 - Styled By BEC

Wearing ASOS Maternity

February 19, 2014 / Fashion / 23 Comments

Maternity clothes can cost a bomb. I remember spending a ridiculous amount of money when I was pregnant with Esther at a boutique and each item of clothing averaged around $100 per piece. I don’t mind paying full price for a garment that I love and know will last really well. But sadly, most of those maternity clothes haven’t made it to my third pregnancy which meant I had to buy new clothes again. This time around I went to Big W and Target for some budget friendly buys.

I haven’t been in the shopping mood lately having been dealing with morning sickness, but one afternoon, when both of my daughters were napping at the same time (Hallelujah!) I jumped onto the Ipad and did some internet shopping at my favourite online shop ASOS.

I bought four items and I only paid $107. Included in my purchase was this gorgeous Pussy Bow Maternity Blouse (which also comes in cream) and Khaki Peg Length pants which are now no longer available but they do have other maternity style pants available here.

And this is how I wore them together. I kept accessories to a minimum wearing my Sussan African Print Hoop Earrings and silver and Black Novo Sandals which are flat and perfect for a waddling, pregnant mum!

I love wearing ASOS Maternity clothes because they are generally on trend, budget friendly and include free delivery. I bought size 16 to grow with my bump which proved to be my perfect size with room for my belly to grow. If I went a size bigger, the pants would drape more around my legs like they do on the model. They are a soft jersey and quite comfortable to wear and perfect for running after a super fast crawling baby.

What are your go to online shops when purchasing clothes off the net?

This is not a sponsored post. The links are affiliated which means if you purchase from the link, I will receive a small commission but at no extra cost to you. 🙂

Christmas 2013 and Emerging from the Little Room

February 5, 2014 / Fashion, News / 69 Comments

A very belated Happy New Year to my clients and readers. I can’t believe that it is February!

I haven’t updated this blog for a few reasons. Firstly I wanted a break over Christmas and New Years, but then that break turned into what I would like to call sick leave because I haven’t had the headspace to blog about anything fashion related while I have been feeling so poorly. I’ve just been able to maintain writing on my plumbing blog, The Plumbette.

Anyway, I’d like to rewind to what I wore on Christmas Day which ended up being a terrible styling mistake of sorts and had me changing out of my attire into a completely new outfit.

I wrote a post about possible outfits that could be worn on Christmas Day and these outfits are still fitting for a summer BBQ or casual dinner out. I decided a week before Christmas that I would get myself a new outfit for Christmas Day, after all I was hosting and I had just found out I was pregnant and wanted to spoil myself with something new even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to get much wear until next summer.

In Witchery I found this gorgeous playsuit reduced to $59.95. There was a size 16 and 14. I loved the pattern and loved that it zipped up at the front because I figured I would still be breastfeeding my new baby next summer and would need outfits that required quick and easy access to my boobs.

Witchery Playsuit $59.95 on sale

The 16 was really roomy and so I opted for the 14 which still had some generous room around the bust. It was pretty much a 5 minute purchase because I had a 3 year old and 10 month old in tow in a trolley, and as soon I saw the playsuit on the sale rack I picked all the available sizes and jumped in the change room and did a quick try on.

On Christmas Eve I opted to wear the dress I wore on Christmas Day in 2012 because of the fantastic empire line that gives great allowances for pregnant bellies. I’m wishing I wore this Christmas Day, but sadly, after the Christmas Eve church service I threw up and the dress needed to be put to the wash.

This is me with my gorgeous cherubs on Christmas Eve, just before we went to church

On Christmas Day I excitedly changed into my new playsuit and I didn’t realize how far the shorts rode up my leg when I sat down. And because I was drinking a lot of water and soft drink to keep my morning sickness at bay, I was going to the toilet every half an hour which made the playsuit a nightmare to get into and out of. By the third time of going to the toilet, I changed out of my outfit into a new pair of comfy pants, a black tee and statement necklace. Morning sickness can do that to you, even on the happiest day of the year.

This is the only photo I got of me in the Playsuit watching Esther unwrap her Christmas presents

This is what I changed into and the photo is blurry because my three year old took the photo

This outfit has pretty much been my uniform for the last month and a half while my little bump grows. I add on a statement necklace when I go out, but when I’m at home, its just the tee and pants because I still have frequent visits to the toilet from being sick. Ugh.

I’m so glad that I made the investment into my wardrobe with clothes that would help me with my weight loss because the extra room has been accommodating for my growing bump.

Funnily enough I’ve had to visit this post recently to get some inspiration for my maternity wardrobe because I had started to sell some of my maternity dresses on ebay thinking I wouldn’t be needing them again.

Oh well… I guess I’ll have to go shopping. Thankfully I still have my winter maternity wardrobe which is what I will be needing for this pregnancy.

For those that don’t read my plumbing blog, here is a link to a post that I wrote announcing my surprise pregnancy. My baby is due on the 20th July, but I’ve been scheduled for a C-section 2 days after my 30th Birthday.

It’s going to be a big year.

So over to you, did you have a good Christmas and have you had any fashion attire mistakes like me?

What to wear on Christmas Day

December 17, 2013 / Fashion, Style tips / 44 Comments

Christmas is next week! The all important question regarding fashion and Christmas is what to wear on Christmas Day?

It depends on the type of function, the weather and what kind of impression you want to make if you are wanting to make one at all.

In Brisbane, Australia, it will be hot. But I’m hosting and our house has ducted air con so we will be all cool.

I always opt for a stylish, casual and comfortable ensemble. A dress or jump suit have been my choices in the past. This year, I am going to wear a pair of colourful harems that I bought on sale from Erin Louise with a tee and a statement necklace.

The thing is, dresses aren’t practical if you’re going to be sitting on the floor with young kids helping them unwrap their presents. Pants will be practical and they need to have an elasticized waist so I can comfortably eat as much Christmas fare that I can stuff into my gob (and stomach).

But if you don’t have young kids and don’t want to wear pants, a dress is a great option. Here are my suggestions on what to wear on Christmas Day. These are all casual options as the majority of Aussies tend to have a get together that only requires smart casual dress.

1. Blue Bungalow Mckenzie Shirt Dress $69.00

2. Blue Bungalow Green Circle Mosaic Maxi $59.00

3. Erin Louise Colour me in Pink Maxi/Jumpsuit $45.00

4. Erin Louise Minty Kiss White Singlet $35.00

5. Erin Louise Free Love Harems in Mint $40.00 (on sale)

So have you worked out what you’re wearing on Christmas Day? I’m linking with Essentially Jess for I Blog on Tuesdays.

What I wore to a Work Christmas Party

December 10, 2013 / Fashion, Style tips / 63 Comments

On Saturday night I went to my husband’s work Christmas Party. Any night out with my husband and getting the kids babysat is a night worth dressing up for. Usually I would buy something new for a Christmas Party but this year I shopped… in my own wardrobe.

I styled an outfit you’ve already seen but just changed the accessories and decided to do the monochrome look.

I wore this wrap to the Problogger Conference in September this year

What I Wore:

I wore my Decjuba Black and White oversize wrap with a black tank top, black cotton skinny jeans and black wedges. I layered two black and white pearl bead necklaces around my neck to dress the look up and I wore my Zebra print hoop earrings.

Wearing Monochrome to my hubbie’s Work Christmas Party

The Christmas Party was a catered Spit Roast at a colleague’s home. I was a tad overdressed for the occasion but I was comfortable and I prefer to be overdressed than underdressed.

This wrap can be accessorized to create different outfits and I love that the one size fits all accommodates those extra kilos I’ve been trying lose.

Decjuba has a range of other patterns in the same wrap. I love this Chevron Patterned one. Here is a way to incorporate this style into your own wardrobe.

1. Decjuba Carolyn Oversize Wrap $89.95

2. StyleTread Top End Clinker Black $139.95

3. Sussan Evening Sateen Pant $79.95

4. I Love Lola Necklace Tribal Princess Pink $59.95

5. Decjuba Black Tank Seamless $15.00

Have you been to your work Christmas Party yet and what did you wear? Are you like me and sometimes buy something new for the special occasion?

I’m linking up with Essentially Jess for I Blog on Tuesdays.

The part of fashion I don’t like

December 3, 2013 / Style tips / 20 Comments

Thank you for all your comments in relation to my styling posts. I really enjoy being able to offer style advice that I use myself and know will assist you in developing your own style.

But there is a part of fashion that I don’t like and I feel that I should reveal it to you. And that is the pressure to constantly buy something new so that your wardrobe is on trend. I feel as a stylist, I have a responsibility to lead by example and sometimes I think I have to wear the latest styles because that’s what a stylist should do. But I can’t afford to. And I know that a lot of you who read my blog can’t either.

So how do I spend my money when it comes to clothes and what do I look for and where do I go?

Well firstly, I rarely buy designer clothes at present because

I can’t afford them
My size is fluctuating from having children and I don’t want to spend money on something I won’t be able to fit into
I have a three year old and a 9 month old. Grubby hands and snotty noses end up being wiped on my clothes.

So I try and spend middle of the range and only buy what I need and LOVE.

The key here is love. How many times have you bought something just for the sake of buying something and you haven’t really liked it? I have done it so many times and I did it a lot in my pre-children days because heaven forbid I wear the same outfit twice to church or to a function.

But when you are reduced to a smaller wage due to having children and bills take higher priority, there isn’t much left over to spend on clothes.

I usually buy my clothes online or from Witchery, Target and other high street stores if I see something I fancy. I keep an open mind on all sorts of stores when I’m hunting for something new.

Just recently I bought a new black tee, white tee and orange tee from Target ranging from $9-$15 each. They are staple items for my wardrobe and can be worn with jeans or patterned pants.

While I was at Target I saw a gorgeous Black and White Polka dot cardigan reduced to $20. I bought that too knowing I will get good wear out of it in Autumn and Winter next year.

I was also on the hunt for a pair of coral sandals and brown sandals. I ended up getting both pairs from Target for $25 each.

Pre-children I would have overlooked Target because I had more money to burn and labels were important to me. But now, style and comfort at a lower price is what I look for. And I am impressed with the quality at Target.

I shopped up a storm when I went to Melbourne. This was pre-children of course.

Accessories are also a great way to incorporate a trend without spending a fortune. You can never have too many accessories, but smart shopping means most accessories can be worn time and time again when the trend pops back up.

For example, I have a fabulous leopard print scarf from Witchery that I bought 3 years ago and it makes an appearance every winter because leopard print interweaves itself in the trend cycle. Some stylists argue leopard print is a neutral and therefore a staple but I disagree. It’s a print and prints do go though a trend cycle.

Smart buying is really what a Stylist should be doing for you when giving you advice to update your wardrobe. Yes, you want to be stylish, but you also don’t want a wardrobe full of items that are trendy for one season. Your wardrobe needs to be workable and wearable for future seasons.

So tell me, do you have a budget for clothes shopping? Where do you go to shop?

I’m linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT.

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