Our Style Not Age challenge for May




The last Monday of the month means we're ready for May's Style Not Age challenge. It was Hilda's turn to choose this time and she has asked that we take our inspiration from the Sky and Sea. Obviously this was no hardship for me! I'm keen to see how the others tackled this one though...




Starting with Hilda; she's looking resplendent her bright blue Kimono from Zara which she bought a couple of years ago. See her story on her blog Over The Hilda.




Emma is wearing a vintage dress the pattern of which is similar to light playing on water. She's wearing cloud earrings to tie in with the challenge too. See more on her blog Style Splash




Gail has chosen aqua and blue to echo the Sea and Sky theme with a liberal dose of metallics to add that sunny sparkle - a great interpretation! Find out more on Is This Mutton.




Blue sky and white fluffy clouds were the inspiration for Jacqui's outfit. Her latest passion for her white trainers completes this cute look. Catch up with all of her news on Mummabstylish.




How lucky am I to have the turquoise sea right on my doorstep for this fabulous challenge! I'd been swimming on the other side of the island at Cradle Porth only an hour before this and was still buzzing with the afterglow. I swear that sea swimming actually gives me more energy!




I opted for these aqua jeans from Tesco's to reflect the clear sea colour. They're cotton with a bit of stretch which is just as well as I fancy that they're a bit more snug than last summer... The brand of the pale blue and white blouse is Kew159 and was a charity shop find - I thought this was a perfect rendition of the sky. I rummaged around in my jewellery box and found this aqua and white rope necklace to tie in with the theme. My favourite white and black Quay Australia sunglasses work really well with this ensemble.




Both my rings and the necklace are pre-loved. The suede belt was a purchase from Benetton a few years ago.




To complete the look I've added these turquoise metallic pumps, rather ancient though they are, but still very wearable. I bought them from Primark donkey's ages ago and had lost them in the back of the cupboard until recently. 

Thanks for joining us for this month's challenge - I do hope you've enjoyed it. I'll be back on Friday with my long awaited 6 year blogging anniversary post. I'm working on that currently and can't promise how it'll look apart from very colourful!


I hope you can join me for that on Friday!

Anna x



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Primark suit and Converse boots - a cool and stylish work outfit




Hello my friends, how are you? I'm doing okay, especially as I've got that Friday feeling. No matter that I'm actually working tomorrow - it's all about that end of the week vibe!




This was today's work outfit, a thoroughly stylish suit from Primark that I bought on my recent trip away. I decided to underplay things by adding a shimmering silk blouse in a neutral hue. Yes, you might have expected a burst of pink or orange to jazz up this rather conservative trouser suit, but hey, not today!




My Converse boots add a playful touch and also give a cool, edgy feel to the look. I love the check on check pattern play.




Mixing old and new pieces is one of my favourite ways of putting an outfit together and this is a perfect example of that. The silk blouse is pre-loved as it the elastic belt. 




I must admit, my new hairstyle has restored my self confidence. That long shaggy (non) style was making me feel rather drab, but now I feel all pepped up and ready for fun!




I think this may be the first time I've showcased this bronze blouse. It was a charity shop find from way back when, but at least has been given its moment to shine.




My green pearl necklace has a golden hue which works so well with the blouse. The large ring is a pre-loved piece and the other one was from an airport concession. The rose gold watch is by Michael Kors.




It's funny how a good haircut and decent suit can lift the mood, oh and these new Steve Madden sunglasses help too. I had some lovely comments about the outfit today, one of which was that I looked dapper - I loved that!




I've had a good week; busy at work and I've had some lovely sea swims. On Thursday we also we had our first dinner party in almost 18 months. It's been so long since we had anyone round to our house and yet it felt so easy and natural again. Hurrah for some semblance of normality! 




What are you up to this Bank Holiday weekend? Are you going away anywhere? I'll be working on Saturday and hope to get out on Sunday to take some more photos for Monday's feature. The end of the month signals time for our monthly Style Not Age challenge so I hope you'll swing by to see how that pans out this time.


Have a great weekend!


Anna x

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Cornflower blue dress from Fat Face




Hello lovelies!




Yes, you may recall I left a little teaser at the end of my last post about a cornflower blue dress and here it is! This is the Margot daisy patchwork midi in cornflower which is still in the sale, but is going fast (see here). I saw this on Instagram on the very day I was leaving the mainland and it really set my heart a flutter. On getting home I did a search online, but my size was sold out. I rang the local branch in Truro and they kindly offered to hold one for me until I could get in to collect it. A dear friend hot footed it down to the store and popped it in the post. Isn't it lovely?




My summer wardrobe feels complete now with this lightweight frock in such a super colour. It was a really windy corner of the island that Steve and I chose for our shoot, so some of these photos are less than perfect. My belt is askew and the clasp is drifting off-centre. My new hairstyle is being blown all over the show and the dress is behaving like a cling-on in most of the shots. Ho hum.




Side pockets are a bonus feature. The frill above the bust does draw the eye to that area which isn't really my thing, but I can live with it. The dress has elasticated sleeves and waistband, but I thought the addition of a belt was a better finish.




Next time I shall wear my midi length net underskirt with this. 




Rings and belt are all pre-loved.




Sunglasses are Quay Australia and my disc necklace is by M&S.




My white patent Puma's are ideal for wearing on the beach.




And last of all, here's the new haircut (and colour) without the windswept look. It's great to have a healthy mop of hair again. Hurrah!


Thanks for dropping by!

Anna x

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Yay, I've been shopping!




Hello lovelies!




Yes, I've been off-island and survived the fray - hurrah! My four days in mainland Cornwall were hectic, but without incident, thank goodness. Most importantly, I returned to the joys of retail therapy like a duck to water. Having said that, I was much more restrained than I expected, taking a more considered view of shopping than on previous shopping sprees. The old "this might be useful" was a no longer an option. Instead I questioned "how will this fit in my wardrobe?" or was happy that "this will be good to replace".




Finding that changing rooms were closed was a bit of a surprise, meaning I did spend a lot of time trying clothes on in my hotel each evening and then jumping on the train to return them the next day. But that was no bad thing as I wasn't so rushed and was able to be much more honest about every item. Do I really need this or do I love this enough to justify lugging it home, were critical questions. 




These red Mary-Jane's were the first purchase I made on day one. I had been sent by Steve on an errand to Penryn to buy supplies for his boat. The Chandler's was a 15 minute yomp downhill from the railway station and a 20 minute hike back up again. The trains ran every 30 minutes therefore I had time to spare before I could catch the return. It was a happy discovery to come across a retro clothes shop only 100 metres along the road. 




There was little evidence of these being worn. Obviously I'll be calling them my Dorothy shoes.






Both of these skirt suits are vintage pieces bought in the same shop. One was £15 and the other £40. I shall keep the green one for the autumn and plan to wear it with knee high boots. The pale peach two piece will be a dream to wear during summer. It's lightweight and in beautiful condition. I'm a big fan of suits and have quite a few trouser ones and so it's a thrill to add these two skirt suits to my collection.



 
I've been a bit obsessed about finding a linen dress for the summer ever since I missed buying three of them on my last shopping trip. This one was from TK Maxx and fits much better than the others would have - result! The following will show the rest of my TK Maxx haul. 




This ditsy flower print dress has a dark brown background with pale pink and green flowers. It's similar to another one I own, but it has an element of stretch and is also a drop waist, both of which make for a very attractive fit. 




This DKNY dress just says summer to me. The price reduction was down from £129 to £39.




This Reebok swimsuit was a great fit and it's orange too!




Red, wet-look, skinny jeans for £7.99. Well of course I was going to buy them!




A great fit. This is already stashed away for autumn/winter.




Top centre and left are both TK Maxx purchases. The trainers are by Replay and are similar to my other ones. Embroidered trainers are too good to miss; the mix of comfort and style is a winner in my book. The Juicy Couture mules will be great for beach days and weekend wear. The turquoise trainers are for my lunchtime walking and were charity shopped. The Beach Dogz nagged me in a shop window for two days until I finally gave in to them. They will be replacements for my orange ones which were downgraded to beach shoes last year. These will be for work when I need flatties.




So let's fill in the gaps, shall we?




This was a last minute purchase from Primark. I so love the white checked one from there a couple of years ago that I thought this would be another good buy. Will one be more favoured than the other? Only time will tell.




I have a pink shirt just like this in man-made fibre so will replace it with this linen one. I paid £5 for it in the Cancer Research shop. I'm not sure that I've ever worn the other pink one - I'll pack it up for the next charity shop donation.




Another £5 M&S charity shop find. This is to be a summer post-swim jumper. It's in that lovely crunchy cotton and also has a high neck to keep me warm. 




M&S charity shop linen skirt for £3.75 was a no-brainer. Perfect for work or play during the summer months, it'll surely pay its way in no time at all.




Pre-loved and new, this Topshop skirt will be a great little beach item. It's flirty without being too short and will be great for hopping in and out of our boat.




Another charity shop find, this combination of paisley print and frills makes this top a winner.




I fell for this yellow linen jacket big time. At only £4.50 I'm happy that it's worth it.




At only £3 this orange and black dress was the same price as a cup of coffee. Need I justify this more?




I have two pairs of jeans in this colour already and yet neither of them fit - these will replace them for £5.




Another £5 bargain pair of trousers. These will work well with the Juicy Couture sandals.




This floral jeans jacket was a charity shop piece, bought because the weather turned warm and I only had a raincoat with me. At £7 for a Topshop jacket I thought it was a good buy and something that I'll definitely get lots of wear out of. It made me smile that the label says size 8. I say that because the range of sizes I bought went from 8 through to 14. Just shows how no two brands are the same, eh?






This vintage maxi dress was probably my star purchase. Not only because it's a vintage piece, but simply for being a super fit and a beautiful dress to boot.




This blue polka dot dress was the charity shop bargain of the whole trip at £2.50. It was only when I put the dress and shoes together that it dawned on me to add the red tulle petticoat. 




All of my accessories are pre-loved too - belt, rings and necklace. The sunglasses are by Quay Australia. 




I couldn't resist a quick twirl for you!


So that pretty much winds up my shopping trip. I've incorporated everything into my wardrobe and look forward to mixing some new outfits together. It was great to have that rush of retail excitement again, but I'll be honest with you - I'll be happy to leave it another year until I go mainland shopping again. I only have one thing that's on my wish list now and that's a cornflower blue dress. I missed one from Zara last summer while I was on my shopping ban, but I may have one on the way and will report on that next time...


Until then, have a great weekend!


Anna x

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