I haven’t visited Mix for many moons now–after that initial purchase of that uh-mazing bow-necked polka dotted top that you’ve seen featured in a few posts here, I’ve checked their website every now and again and not really found anything to my liking. That all changed when I recently found out via their Facebook page about a month too late that they were selling breton-style tops for the new season. Hopped onto their online store and lo and behold, everything is pretty much sold out.

So I pestered my mother into checking out their physical stores and far from the barren wasteland of their online website, I found a treasure trove of high-quality, low-cost items. Both my mine and my mother’s eyes popped out of our eye sockets. You know it’s impressive at that point when you’re shopping with a frugal quality snob like my mother and she’s left speechless by the clothing she’s uncovering on those grocery-store shelves. We walked out of both Coles (we went on a Mix Apparel spree yesterday, seriously) $150 down and ecstatic with our purchases. Here are some of our buys and a few little reviews..


First up is the lovely little crew-necked sweater I bought in cream. This sweater is pretty awesome in that it comes in two different styles, crew neck and v-neck. Comes in four different colours which are almost on-target for the upcoming Winter palette but just miss the mark. Still,  a cream and black breton sweater is such a nice staple for this Winter that I bought two. With their promotion (2 for $29), that brought the cost of the sweater down to a cool $14.50. For 100% cotton, it’s not bad at all.

As far as sizing and fit goes, we all know that Mix Apparel is known for two things–boxy silhouettes and extreme vanity sizing. The XS that I’m wearing in this photo could very nicely fit a size 12, but as for a size 8/10 (which is what I am generally), the fit will feel a bit loose around the torso.

 

Next up, for $10 a piece, who could resist these 3/4 sleeve breton tops? I’ve always loved the idea of these, but with no sane retailer offering these things for under $50 a piece, I’ve always gone without them. These are absolutely sold out on the website but there was so much stock in the Springwood store left that it’s definitely worth driving around (especially in “bogan suburbs” where this kind of stuff is less popular–don’t laugh, I’m serious!) to find them. They’re made from a light cotton material with four button detailing near the shoulder. I plan to unstitch them and add a little class to the top by replacing them with gold buttons later on.

I bought these in a size XS and the fit feels fine on me, if again, slightly big with a boxy fit. I will be remedying this by mostly wearing the top tucked into pants until I can be bothered to alter the sides into a more flattering shape.

 

Now for a few things I haven’t taken photos of–a striped sweater and a few singlet tops with a little shelf bra built in. The sweater is awesome (in an XS, again with a slightly loose boxy fit) in 100% cotton and the material feels thick and very warm. My mother commented on how she bought a very similar sweater for $100 in Myer and furthermore asked me if I was sure I didn’t want to buy a hundred of these before we left, but I stuck to the one. Quality is superb and it has a lovely wide boat neck that shows off the collarbones (if you’re into that sort of thing).

As for the singlets, they’re not showing this deal online but I bought the cobalt blue ones for $3 a piece on sale! And because I also bought a $6 full priced white one (more of a cream actually) alongside the blue, the register deducted $3 from my purchase so the singlet ended up $3 anyways, which I found a bit funny but didn’t even notice until I’d gotten back home. These are made from cotton and elastane and they’re a pleasantly snug fit. I bought XS, which felt slightly tight around the bust area, but then formed rather nicely to the rest of my torso, making me one happy camper.

So there you have it, frugalistas.

My final say on Mix Apparel is that it’s pretty awesome. While the majority of its clothing is targeted towards, and let’s not mince words here, middle-aged women who have started to go apple-shaped, it’s nothing so drastic that the average Spring chicken can’t workaround; Consider one of two things if you find the fit a little boxy–will you usually be wearing this stuff tucked into skirts/shorts/pants, or if not, is the item totally impossible to alter? Sewing is not hard, my God, and for items that surpass the quality of some pieces you’ll find in Myer, it’s definitely worth a crack.

You’ll find a lot of neat Winter staples if you pop down to Mix Apparel soon, including cardigans in a myriad of colours, cable-knit sweaters made from angora wool (I’m not even kidding, I couldn’t find it on the website but I sure found it in store!), and lots of different basics and accessories. Find your nearest store here and get going!

10 Comments

  1. I am so with you on the Mix Apparel love, I’ve just received my first parcel and was pleasantly surprised! Great fuel for my first haul post :)

    PS your blog looks gorgeous, I’m totally subscribing

    • Demi

      They seem to be pleasantly surprising everyone, I find! I’m still going back there for basics a year and beyond after this post, haha. Thanks for the lovely compliments, I’ll check out your blog too :)

  2. love the breton stripe top…I need to go hit up my local coles tomorrow and see if they have any left!

    • Demi

      Make sure it’s a Coles store that actually has Mix Apparel in it though, because most of them don’t! ;)

  3. Ooh angora sweater?! How much were they, and what were they like? :) Thanks Demi! :)

    • Demi

      The angora sweaters were $30 I believe and they were gorgeoussssss, very soft and fluffy. My mother was very close to buying one but they only had cream/white and black left that we saw and she wasn’t interested in either (she likes bright colours, haha). I would have bought one for myself but there were only large sizes left in the store I went to :(

  4. I got a $20 reward voucher for the mix using my fly buys points about a month ago and I bought a grey sweater with red polka dots. It was $19 and then I got a $3 singlet to bump it over the limit. A week later and country road brings out a polka dot sweat for like $80-$100! I really like the dark grey and red polka dot combination which I got from Coles and its so warm and thick! Can’t wait for the weather to cool down and I can wear it properly

    • Demi

      I can’t wait to wear my purchases either! Mix Apparel is really good for Winter basics this year, have you checked out their stores recently??

      The whole day while I was out shopping today, I swear I was like the worst frugal snob ever–Walk into Industrie and I’m like “T-shirts for $50 each?! PFFFF.. I can buy an angora wool cable knit sweater from Mix Apparel for $30, puh-leeeese.”

  5. I’ve walked through the Mix department at Coles before but that was a while ago and nothing really caught my eye. But I really like your purchases! And those singlets are sooo cheap! I think they might be the same ones that they sell at kmart though…since they are the same company, pretty much!

    • Demi

      Definitely really cheap singlets. I don’t know if they’re the same, but they’re definitely top notch quality and I’m glad I walked out with enough to last me throughout the rest of the year! (I usually use them as pajama tops)

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