Smart and sassy!

Hello lovely readers! How are you today? Well, I hope.

Today's title refers to the outfit, not me by the way. You'll have seen the dress featured previously, but the addition of a jacket just gives it a smart edge. My love of pattern play is truly evident here too, even down to the heart sprigged tights. It felt like a proper spring outfit when I wore it earlier this week. 

The jacket is by Heyton, bought in TK Maxx a few years ago. It really is a beautifully tailored piece, with perfect proportions for my height; flattering cut, neat stitching and lovely sleeve length. I had a search online for the brand, but couldn't find a web page, however I did find the same jacket on eBay if anyone is interested. 

My leather brogues are from Office (very old), but do work so well with this Zara snakeprint dress. I love the mint shade of the shoes although they're quite a difficult colour to tie in with a lot of my outfits. They are absolute heaven to wear, being all day long comfy with no need for that lunchtime swap over as so often happens to me. The Radley handbag was a wonderful charity shop find, a stylish neutral bag for this look.

 

My rings are both pre-loved, charity shopped and blooming perfect for this ensemble. Hurrah!

The dress came with its own self tie belt, so as is my wont I changed that for a different one; yet another charity shop find. It's leather and elastic woven with gilt trim to create an unusual accessory that had earned its place in my collection.

Next month is my 6 year blogging anniversary and I'm inviting any of my readers to send me an email with a photo of yourself in an outfit inspired by Anna's Island Style. Some of my blogging friends have responded to this, but I'd love to showcase readers too. So don't be shy, please step up and let me feature you on my anniversary feature!

                                                                       Anna x

Spring Sweaters for our Style Not Age challenge

Hello and welcome to this month's challenge! It was my turn to choose a theme and I've gone for the functional Spring Sweater. We in the UK are still being battered by another beast from the east, making the sweater more vital than ever. So without further ado, let's see how the my style buddies approached this shall we?

Gail of Is this Mutton wears her snuggly mohair cardigan in a lovely spring shade of green offset by pinks in many hues. I'm more than a little envious of her new haircut! Do swing by her blog to find out more.

The eternally cool Hilda is happy to share that everything she's wearing, including her sweater, is over two years old - a woman after my own heart! See more on Over The Hilda blog. 

Jacqui's orange sweater is a super burst of spring colour. Styled with white jeans and knee high boots she has created a lovely weekend look. Catch her back story on Mummabstylish.

Emma of Style Splash wears a beaded collar sweater which she has paired with a dash of spring green too. Always one for a statement handbag she has chosen the perfect colours to tie in with her outfit.  

My own sweater is a vintage cotton Laura Ashley number, a happy find in a charity shop some years ago. I picked it up because it reminded me of a similar Laura Ashley one that I had the first time around, back in the 80's. I so regret getting rid of my original one, probably during one of my zealous clear-outs, but hey, at least I've got this replacement.

I love the pretty pastel colours which work perfectly with jeans for a casual look. I chose two floral rings in neutral shades, pre-loved, to compliment the jumper. 

The flower sprigged jeans were also charity shopped some time ago. 

Shown here for the first time is an exciting second hand purchase. The leather across-the-body bag reminds me of a postie's bag. I paid £20 for it - the quality of hide and work involved meant value for money to me. It's a great size, perfect for holding both my mini tripod and camera as well as lipstick and hairbrush.

My pink lattice work trainers are Sketchers, bought on sale at TK Maxx two years ago. I wear them on my lunchtime walks and are cool and comfy for the couple of miles I clock up every workday. They have air cooled memory foam insoles that make for easy mileage without blisters or overheating.

The sun was very obliging for this shoot, in fact it's been sunny for weeks and weeks here on the Isles of Scilly, but the easterly wind is relentless and very chilly. I managed to drop down out of the wind here in the corner of the beach on the south end of Tresco and had the entire bay to myself.

Today's blue framed sunglasses are by Radley London.

Showing the view here from Bathing House beach across to St Mary's and St Agnes. The islands look as glorious as ever.

I hope you've enjoyed this month's style challenge. Do let me know if this inspires you to emulate something we've done!

                                                                                   Anna x

Lovely leopard print!

Hello again! Are you okay? How's life treating you?  I love to hear from you so please add a comment at the end of the post to share your news. This is a hot off the press outfit, taken just an hour ago. 

The look is inspired by a dear friend. We were discussing our plans to clothes shop next month (me in the UK and she in Portugal) and what we hoped to buy. I was bemoaning the fact that I had missed purchasing three wonderfully bright linen summer tent dresses; one in turquoise, one in orange and the other in bright pink. Big, loose and airy for the summertime is how I described them and such a heartache that I dithered over them two years ago when I was in Truro. Her observation was that the voluminous tent dress can swamp me (and her - we're of similar heights). She suggested that I might consider figure hugging styles as they're more flattering for us, giving the illusion of being taller.

Leopard print is one of her favourite patterns, so this one is for you Bo. The skinnies are  indeed figure hugging, but thankfully they do have lots of stretch. Purchased years ago from Zara, the bonus feature has to be the lovely pockets. You can't beat a good pocket can you?

The pre-loved blouse is by Boohoo and is a great match for this vivid outfit. The mix of animal and chain prints in red, black and blue work really well with the leggings. 

The final dose of pattern comes by way of these M&S tartan boots, again not new, but from a few years ago. 

Skinny trousers, fitted shirt and high heeled boots do give a streamline look which does help to quell the voice of the fat woman who lives in my head. Please tell me I'm not the only one to suffer from mild body dysmorphia? My lovely friend Bo has a knack of saying just the right thing to help me open my eyes to what others see. Thank-you darling!

Pre-loved rings, Primark gold chain necklace and Quay Australia sunglasses are today's accessories.

I'll be back on Monday with my fabulous fashionista friends for our monthly Style Not Age challenge. Do come and join us if you can!

                                                                                      Anna x

The ubiquitous all-in-one

Hi there! How was your weekend? Mine was busy as ever; I cleaned like a demon, but also did a spot of gardening, batch cooking for the freezer, had a couple of lovely sea swims, did a bit of sewing, took some blog photos, sorted out the cupboard under the stairs and caught up with the laundry. I made a roast for the family on Sunday and by the time I sat down to watch a movie later it felt good to finally stop!

My outfit of the day isn't new, but still looks fresh as a daisy, probably because this is only the third time I've worn it since I bought it last March. The thick cream denim jumpsuit is an easy to wear piece apart from the fact that the button front makes it necessary to go the loo ten minutes before you actually need to go! The addition of the belt only serves to complicate matters, hahaha! 

That said, an all-in-one does away with coordinating pieces and so needs less planning. The cream colour may seem a tad bland for me, but the details of the pockets and contrasting stitching are eye catching enough to compensate for the lack of colour. 

I specifically chose the dark brown leather belt for its contrasting stitching too - a nice tie in don't you think? My rings are old - both pre-loved.

The boilersuit is from Tu at Sainsbury's and was first aired on the blog here. Looking back I have to say how much I love the orange theme and really ought to revisit that look next time. What I also envy is that lovely short hairstyle! Oh, how fed up I am of this long floppy, shapeless style. It's four weeks until my appointment and golly it can't come soon enough.

My zig-zag patterned trainers have been mistaken for Missoni (be still my beating heart!), but were much more accessible through TK Maxx - the brand is LA Gear in fact. 

Excuse the slightly fuzzy photo, but this was the best one of these Radley sunglasses. I love the shape of the frames. My gold coloured chain necklace was a bargain piece from Primark a couple of years ago.

The gallery has only been open for a week now and yet it feels so normal. Everyone is very much keeping by the rules which I suppose is quite easy to do within a small community. Will things be much different by June when the final restrictions are lifted? I presume that means restriction of movement rather than not wearing masks etc? By then I ought to have had my second vaccine which will help me mentally too. We in the UK have been so lucky to get our vaccine as quickly as we did.

Next month will be my 5th year of blogging and to celebrate I thought I might ask for your input. Has Anna's Island Style influenced you in your dressing? Did I showcase something that sparked a copy cat outfit? Have I helped you to restyle an item of clothing that lay forgotten perhaps? Please do send me an email via the contact box, telling me which post was involved and attach a photo so that I can include you in my 5 year round-up.

Have a great week!

Anna x

The feel-good factor

Hello lovelies! How are you doing? And more importantly what have you lined up for the weekend? It's well over a year since I've been on the mainland and I can't imagine what it's like now that restrictions are being lifted across the UK. Have you been clothes shopping yet? And if so, how was it? Do share!

This was a work outfit of mine from this past week. We've had a wonderful run of sunny weather, but with a chilly east wind, hence the need for tights. I long for bare leg weather, but I suppose it's only spring after all. The bell sleeved smock harps back to the 60's from when I was barely a teenager. This one was a charity shop find and as is so often, it has no label. The fabric is a heavy weight jersey, perfect for this time of year. 

A wide smock that barely covers the knee can be a bit challenging. Do I end up looking as wide as I am tall? Am I a bit chunky around the knee area? Is this a style more suited to a young girl? Yes, all of these questions came to mind when I saw some of these photos. The fashion critic that resides in my head talks much louder than any straight talking girlfriend could. The truth is, sometimes it's not about how an outfit makes you look. Sometimes it's about how it makes you feel. And this smock dress always makes me feel good. So hurrah for the feel-good factor!

I chose purple tights to tie in with the floral patterned dress, adding these silver brogues (by Office) for a bit of razzle dazzle. 

Pre-loved rings and a mixed metal necklace finish the look along with my Quay Australia sunglasses. I'm listening to Tony Blackburn's "Sounds of the 60's" as I write this which seems very fitting. The song "What  a wonderful world" by Louis Armstrong is a great way to start my day. 

My thanks go to Fiona again for taking these photos. This post work shoot took place in front of our local church in the early evening sunshine. My first week of being open to the public has rushed by in a flurry of happy hello's from guests who were so grateful to be back on the island. Our numbers have increased staff-wise too with lots of youngsters wearing ear to ear smiles as they can't quite believe their luck at landing on our sunny island paradise - and getting paid to be here too!

I'm just off to the beach now for my early morning swim. The plan for me this weekend is all about housework. A big spring clean is long overdue and I'm ready for it. I love to clean if cleaning is my own chore. If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well is my motto. And with that I'll leave you. 

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Anna x

A riot of pattern

Hello again and how are you doing? Was yesterday a big day for you? Did you, like me, reopen your business? Or maybe you braved the rush and went for some non-essential shopping? If so, how was it?

We've had a steady influx of guests arrive on the island within the past 24 hours and they were greeted by the most glorious day. Honestly, the Isles of Scilly were sparkling in the spring sunshine and just couldn't have looked any more beautiful! It was a perfect start to the new season and did feel very special. I had three appointments which was a lovely gentle way to reopen the gallery. Behind the scenes I've got a part-time assistant, Lora, who is doing my admin for me, allowing me to focus on unpacking all the new artworks and deal with the appointments too. It feels like a good balance of the workload so far, hurrah!

Fiona took these shots post-work on Friday - it was great to have her help again. With regards to my tripod and camera debacle, I now have a weight in a bag to use suspended below the camera when I'm out and about on my own and it's quite solid and heavy and feels secure even in the wind. I used the set up on Sunday when I went to the beach and the wind was gusting quite a bit. I used the tripod on both rocks and sand and it was perfectly stable.

 

I've worn this outfit before, but with a different top and shoes (see here). Going back to see that post I was more than a little envious of my hairstyle some 10 months ago. I've not had a hair appointment since December and I've still got another month to wait until my next one. 

The back view of my mop of hair shows how long it is now. I've had some lovely compliments on my new longer style, but honestly it's driving me mad. My efforts at scooping it up in a scrunchie or scarf aren't in the least bit flattering, so I just have to keep it super clean and conditioned to make it look okay.

Anyway, back to the outfit. The joy is in the wonderful mix of prints. Fiona remarked that she would never have thought of pairing the two florals together, but agreed that they really worked. They're not the same colour exactly, but tonally they tie in beautifully. The fact that they are both in a silky satin fabric ties them together too. I'm already planning on wearing it again this week as it's a new favourite. The trousers were from TK Maxx and the blouse was a charity shop find. Sasha gave me the jacket as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago - she know's what I like eh?

My checked Converse boots add a playful element to the outfit. 

The statement necklace by Topshop has all of the right colours in it to work here too. The floral rings echo today's theme. And of course, my sunglasses are by Quay Australia.

The majority of my weekend was spent doing my seasonal clothes changeover. I've done a kind of half way house thing this year, bringing some pieces into my wardrobe and others are in big plastic boxes waiting for the warmer weather. We're still having cold winds here at the moment and despite the sunshine it's not exactly warm as yet. 

I've kept a lot of sweaters and cardigans to hand and lots of short jackets too for layering up.

I'll show you the other side of my wardrobe when I've brought out my summer dresses and sandals. For the moment I'm keeping my boots in circulation until I feel ready for that bit of swapping - the gallery is always cold in the morning, but if the sun shines it can be like a greenhouse in the afternoon. I'll be bringing spare footwear to work so that I can change if it gets too hot.

I'll leave you with some shots from the weekend. As I said, the islands are looking beautiful at the moment.

 

Thanks for dropping by. See you again soon!

Anna x