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Five tips for purchasing fashion on Ebay

April 24, 2014 / Fashion / 23 Comments

Just over a month ago I went to my cousin’s wedding. I left it a week before the wedding to find a dress to wear to the event.

I have a few maternity dress favourites that I turn to for special occasions but because I had worn them a fair bit this summer, I really wanted a new outfit but I didn’t want to spend a fortune on a new maternity dress.

In these situations I usually head to ASOS online but there was nothing there that was grabbing my fancy and the delivery wasn’t going to work with my tight time frame.

So I headed to Ebay. I wanted a dress which would have a hemline just above the knee and have some sort of black pattern so I could wear a black jacket and my black Easy Step wedges.

I scrolled and scrolled through Ebay. I searched for ‘Size 16 Cocktail Maternity Dresses’. I find the more broader the search, the more dresses that come up on the screen.

I ended up finding an Olian Maternity dress in size XL, brand new with tags. The hem length was exactly what I was looking for and it had a black swirl pattern which would tie in my shoes and jacket.

The dress was listed for $7.50 but it had another three days of bidding left and it was from Clare in SA which would mean the dress wouldn’t come in time for me to wear to the wedding.

Not to be put off by the circumstances of the sale, I contacted the seller and asked for a buy it now price and whether I could pay for the dress to be sent via Express Post.

The seller replied promptly and said I could have the dress for $35 and the express postage would be $10. I was happy to pay this because maternity dresses can cost a bomb!

I paid for the dress with Paypal and the dress arrived two days before the wedding!

My gamble worked and the dress fit me perfectly. I was shocked to see that the original price on the dress was $189!!!

This is the dress I purchased…

Here are five tips when purchasing fashion on Ebay.

You need to be realistic about your size. With maternity wear I always find that bigger can be better because you can grow into your item. Knowing what size you fit into a certain brand helps when purchasing that brand online. If in doubt, ask the seller for measurements.
Usually there are no refunds when purchasing from second hand sellers, but don’t despair if the item doesn’t fit, resell it on Ebay for the price you paid.
Have a good understanding of what suits your shape. The dress I bought is a very similar cut to another maternity dress in my wardrobe so I was fairly confident the style was going to suit me.
If you really love an item and can’t wait for the bidding to end or don’t want to miss out on the item, ask the seller for a ‘buy it now’ price. This price will be higher than the current bidding price. If the buy it now price is a bit extreme, you have no obligation to purchase the item. I remember bidding on an item that I really didn’t want to miss out on. When I asked for a buy it now price, the price given was much more than I was prepared to pay. I ended up waiting for the bidding to end and I ended up winning the item at a much lower cost than the seller wanted.
Always pay through Paypal. If the item sent to you is faulty or not like the description, you have the right to demand a refund. If the seller doesn’t give one, you can lodge a claim through Paypal and once proof has been shown that the item is faulty or not as per the description, Paypal will reverse the transaction. (This can take a couple of months though.)

What do you think of my bargain dress? Have you ever bought anything on Ebay?

What I wore to a 30th Birthday Dinner Party

March 5, 2014 / Fashion / 26 Comments

I went out to my first 30th Birthday Dinner party for the year to celebrate a school friend’s Birthday. I rarely get the excuse to dress up these days, so I welcomed the night out and knew a new dress would be needed for the occasion. Sadly the dress that I had wanted to wear, had a hole under the underarm seam, and even though no one would notice, I didn’t want to constrict my arms all night trying to conceal my fashion faux pas.

I was nearly in tears before the party because every dress I tried on was too tight around my bump or too big around my hips. I’m in the middle of my pregnancy, so I have seemed to only have put weight on at my belly and nowhere else.

I bought this teal Kimono sleeve-like maternity dress for ASOS specifically for a wedding that I wanted to go to this weekend, but because of my wardrobe dilemma, decided to wear it earlier to the 30th.

This is the Skater Dress from ASOS Maternity:

And this is how I wore it.

What I love about this dress is the colour and the stretchy material and wider arm sleeves which will allow for future body expansion. I will be able to layer this dress in Autumn and Winter too with some black leggings and a long sleeve black tee underneath.

I limited my accessories by wearing this gorgeous peacock feather headband that I bought from the Portobello Markets in London. I matched the look with Easy Step black wedges (wedges and flats are all I seem to be able to wear these days) and my Zjoosh Accessories Black Sequin Clutch.

Have you ever had a wardrobe dilemma like me and decided to wear something you were keeping for another separate occasion?

I’m linking up with Kimba Likes for Wardrobe Wednesday.

If you choose to purchase this dress via the link above, I will receive a small commission but this is no extra cost to you.

What I’m Wearing – Zjoosh Accessories

February 28, 2014 / Fashion, News / 20 Comments

I’ve mentioned before that I love accessories. I think most women do. Accessories and shoes are the items that can be easily purchased to update your wardrobe if you don’t want to spend money on clothes while your weight is fluctuating. I find pregnancy is the perfect time to add to my accessory collection and feeds my need to wear something new without spending a lot.

There are so many accessory shops these days and most high street stores offer their own accessories which means we are spoiled for choice. So do we need another fashion accessory shop to feed our addiction? I say yes. In fact, the more the merrier! I’m excited to have found another online accessory retailer, Zjoosh. Zjoosh is also stocked in various retailers around Australia. Check out here for a local stockist in your area.

Zjoosh is a unique Australian retail concept for women of all ages, providing a large range of affordable fashion jewellery and accessories that will “Zjoosh” your capsule wardrobe. The idea behind Zjoosh is that a quality simple base wardrobe can be made brave and unique with statement jewellery at an affordable price. The pieces can be interchanged easily bringing a unique personality to your overall look. The clothing is the base, and the jewels are the ZJOOSH! Effectively you “decorate yourself”.

I was sent some Zjoosh accessories to play with my existing wardrobe and honestly they couldn’t have arrived at a better time. My pregnancy capsule wardrobe is full of basics, but adding the Zjoosh accessories made my uniform look more stylish and fun.

The Black Sequin Clutch is simple in design, but a great gripping size and will fill a small, thin coin purse, Iphone, tissues and a lippy. My car keys made the clutch look too bulky, so I left them at home and gave the key handling responsibility to my husband. If you’re on a night out with the girls, I suggest only keeping 1 car key and house key which would fit in with no problems.

I haven’t worn the black wrap scarf, only because the weather in Brisbane has been too warm to give it any use, but come Autumn and Winter, I’m sure it will be on high rotation and it will make an excellent cover up for breastfeeding.

Do you love accessories like I do? What are your favourite accessory stores?

This is not a sponsored post, but I was gifted the accessories in the above picture. All opinions are my own.

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?

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