Fake fur, frills and tartan

The British weather is in the news lately thanks to the recent storm which blew across the land dropping record levels of rain onto the North of England, leaving thousands of families homeless after the floods. I can't begin to imagine the heartache of this, never mind in the run up to Christmas. Here on the islands we've suffered much less rainfall, but constant gales have been sweeping over us for days on end. My camera and tripod haven't been out for well over 10 days which is when this was taken. If I'd known what was ahead I would have spent the entire day filling my draft box with outfits!

I'm proud to say that today's offering is made up entirely of pre-loved items. All purchased at different times from different sources, each element is a joyful find. The retro patchwork leather boots cost me £20 in Exeter and have buffed up beautifully. The tartan skirt a la Vivienne Westwood came from eBay, as did the faux fur bolero. And the gorgeous russet blouse is from a charity shop in Truro along with the stretch belt. My sister Sandra found this wonderful necklace in a charity shop on Orkney (I think she's enjoying coming across trophy pieces for my blog too).

I'd like to take a moment to say thank you to all my followers for joining me every week to chart the progress of this my island fashion blog. To those I know, hello and I look forward to seeing you again soon, and to those of you across the world who don't know me in person, but who may be getting to know me through the stories and events I share, hello to you also and thank you for coming back time after time. I love to chart my audience, to see it grow and see new countries being added where I have viewers and imagine the people on their phones and at their computer screens. And finally thank you to the newly discovered world of fashion bloggers - this community has been warm and welcoming to me, giving me feedback when I thought no-one had the time to chat. I've had my moments of doubt about running a fashion blog. Am I a fool to show how vain, shallow, needy and narcissistic I am? Or is this type of thinking just a by-product of living in a small, insular community? I think that may be so. And then I take a look at all the other blogs out there, and I can see the pleasure in doing something entirely harmless, see this dialogue that's non-political, non-religious, a hobby that's inclusive for the ordinary, which shares and brings happiness into so many lives, creating new friendships across the globe. Thank you to all who have joined me on this joyful journey.

Anna x