July jackets, the monthly style challenge

Hello again! Yes, it's time for our monthly Style Not Age challenge. This month Jacqui came up with the idea of Jackets for July, but that was before our heatwave of course! Things have cooled down a bit now, and I for one am not sorry about that. So, on to the challenge - let's see what Jacqui and the others came up with this time, shall we?

Jacqui has chosen a white linen jacket for today's feature; a classic summertime look. Wide legged trousers and a chiffon top complete the outfit. See all the details on Mummabstylish.

Emma's showing off her wild side today with lots of animal print. Her coral blazer is far from conservative too with colourful trim and funky buttons. See more on the Style Splash. 

Gail's suede bomber jacket ticks all my boxes for chic style and what a fabulous pairing with the citrus bright top too! Catch up with her on blog Is this Mutton. 

Here's another gorgeous jacket that wouldn't go amiss in my wardrobe! Hilda found this blazer in a local boutique - see the back story on Over The Hilda. 

I've had this bright green jeans jacket (from Benetton) for years now and still love it. The cotton has a touch of stretch to it which is nice too. When Jacqui proposed this challenge I almost went for a blazer as I have this silk one that's not made it out of my closet yet. Hopefully you'll get a chance to see it before the summer is over.

The Tresco Island tee shirt was gifted to me and is available at the Lucy-Tania shop on island. The design of the Gaia Statue (located in the Tresco Abbey Garden) is by Emily Parsons, a local artist who also works on the Reservations team at Tresco Island Office. My blue sea glass necklace was bought at Gallery Tresco from Drift Jewellery.

I'd popped out before 7am to take these shots before work. The view down through Tresco Channel shows just a fraction of the yachts that are moored up around the islands at this time of year. The ramparts of King Charles Castle are a great setting for a photo shoot with 360 degree views. 

I had to laugh as even at this early hour I could see a runner appear across the headland towards me! There's no such thing as escape is there?

The rest of the outfit is made up of white crops (Next, pre-loved), trainers by Zara and Quay Australia. Glimpses of charity shop rings seen too.

I hope you're enjoying your summer and are keeping safe now that the government restrictions are lift or being lifted depending on where in the UK you live. I'm pleased to report that our clients are acting responsibly, still wearing masks and behaving with care towards others. It's a great relief.

And on that positive note I shall leave you. Take care and I hope you manage to get some picnic time/fun time/barbecue time this week!

                                                                                         Anna x

Dressing for a heatwave

Hurrah, we're having a heatwave!

Hello lovelies! Are you wilting in this weather? The heatwave here in the UK is a wonderful summer bonus for us, but golly it's a challenge to keep cool at work. You may have seen how I was keeping cool in my previous feature, but for work I need to be a bit more formal. 

Long and loose was my way of coping at work the other day. A double dose of lightweight fabric in my most favourite of patterns, paisley of course, was a wonderful way of wafting my way through the day. Neither the skirt or top is new, but that doesn't detract from their loveliness. Sasha gave me the H&M orange top a few years ago and it pops up on the blog with regularity. The paisley maxi skirt was a charity shop find a few years ago too and has that sweet sparkly stretch waistband making it uber comfy! The whole outfit is perfect for a hot day.

Simple yet bold accessories today in the shape of two turquoise coloured rings, both pre-loved, and a gold chain from Primark. Retro sunglasses are by River Island.

The silvery blue embroidered mules were from TK Maxx years ago and are still going strong. I often bring them out to wear with this skirt as they work so well together.

The weather is due to break today with rain arriving in the Southwest by the end of the day. I'm off to raid my wardrobe for inspiration to cover this eventuality. It's still hot at the moment so wish me luck in finding the right outfit to fit the bill!

                                                                                       Anna x

Summertime picnic

Hello lovelies!

Yes, this was our Friday escape. Steve and I had an awayday motoring off in our little boat to the Eastern Isles for a day of eating, drinking and splashing about in the sea. We've both been working hard, putting in long hours to keep up with things and this was our reward.

This is our favourite uninhabited island giving a Robinson Crusoe feel to our day. As we landed on the tiny spit of sand the flock of gulls took flight leaving us to set up camp on the white brow of the island. Our needs were simply to sit down and enjoy the view. Taking time away from home was long overdue and we talked and talked and talked. We've both been on a loop of eat, work, sleep for weeks and this was such a treat.

The pale turquoise strip of sand is where a beautiful sandbar reveals itself on the low tide. I was hoping we could get onto the sandbar before we went home and kept my eye on things as the day progressed.

And I wasn't the only one to be drawn to the lure of Ganilly sandbar.

Kayaks and boats arrived spilling the beach lovers onto the silky smooth sand as it revealed itself more and more. Steve and I bided our time, waiting until the last visitor left before we headed across.

The water was deliciously warm around the edges of the sandbar, ideal for wee paddle.

Messing about in boats, a picnic and splashing about in the water - that's my idea of a fun way to spend a day off!

Here's an update for you late readers -

I sent this photo into BBC Breakfast programme last Sunday just as I was writing this blog post. They had asked for viewers to send in photos of how they were managing to keep cool in the heatwave. Much to my amazement, and only 5 minutes later this appeared on my screen.

Some of my Instagram followers saw it on TV and sent me messages too! 

Anna 

My 60's vibe

Hello again! 

I'm writing this as the National Anthem plays on the TV and my ever hopeful husband sits transfixed as The Football Match of the Year (The Euro Cup Final) commences. Will England bring it home? I do wish them the best of luck for this historical game. Oh heck, they've scored! A goal within the first two minutes!!!!!

Anyway, here we go with the outfit of the moment. I wore this to work one day this week and honestly have no idea what day that was. Early starts in joggers and jumper at 5am are followed by breakfast at nine and a quick change of clothes ready for serving the customers. The days are passing in a blur of hello's, lovely to see you again's and yes, of course I can ship that you to. I love this time of year when the culmination of my artists efforts are rewarded by brisk turnarounds, sometimes with a painting only on the wall for half a day before it sells. 

Last week was a bumper week for quite a few of my best selling artists which makes me so happy that we're getting it right. The best art for our clientele at this time of year is something I've been fine tuning for years and this summer is looking like another winner for us all. So far the women are selling well; Marie Mills, Lizzie Black and Amanda Hoskin have all had a great week, selling over a dozen paintings between them. See the entire line up on offer at Gallery Tresco here. 

As I was saying, this was an outfit of the day last week. The 60's ensemble was created around this wonderful vintage top by Diane Freis in polyester georgette. The bold print is typical of this designer who embraced colour and pattern through all of her ranges. I picked up this top a few years ago in a charity shop and this is the first time I've actually worn it. Unable to bypass a bargain (this was only £2.50) I knew that it would be a useful addition to my wardrobe at some stage.

Teaming the psychedelic blouson top with straight yellow chino's (again charity shopped) and white kitten heel boots (New Look) completes that 60's vibe.  The look is fun and funky and makes me feel good, which is surely what it's all about, eh? I can pin down the day to when one of my readers, Tessa, popped into the gallery to say hello. It's a rare treat to have the chance to meet up with my followers and she enjoyed a day on the island, finishing with an appointment to visit the gallery. We had a speed catch up about all manner of things which was lovely. She scooted off to catch her boat without much time to spare, so much so, that her husband rang to tell her to hurry up in case it left without her! On the mainland another bus would follow in due course, but here if you miss the last boat there won't be another until the next day.

I added persex rings and a 60's plastic and metal geometric necklace to compliment the look, along with these fabulous yellow sunglasses by Quay Australia.

Being time challenged at the moment, today's photo shoot was located in my back garden which will look much more pretty when the Agapanthus burst into bloom. I decided to ignore the glimpses of phone lines and Sky dish that festoon our back door. Within the next week these flowers will be looking at their best so I'll revisit this again to show you. Thanks so much for dropping by. I'll be back soon!

Wishing you a fab week!

Anna x

Style inspo from Sheila

Hello my lovely readers! Apologies for the erratic nature of my posts recently, but as you can see from the above, summer is here and my work life is hectic with long hours and late evenings. Sales are going well at the gallery and every day brings another few familiar faces, all happy to be back on our little island paradise so I'm not complaining. I fancy that I make these apologies every year about now and just want to thank you for keeping on coming back as my cycle of posting becomes increasingly unpredictable.

This was my work outfit on Friday, a classic vintage two-piece by French designer Paul Mausner (1910-2001). I bought it in a charity shop in May for £15 and this is the first outing. I must admit that exhaustion of both mind and body has been evident some days with regards to my outfits resulting in me grabbing a dress, any dress, and white trainers without much thought going into it. Those days will often be the same days that I've not managed my morning swim and am therefore not firing on all cylinders. My cycle back from the beach is usually when I mull over what I'll wear to work as I consider the weather and temperature.

Anyway, on Thursday evening I finally found half and hour to visit my blogging friend Sheila of Ephemera. I was delighted to learn that she has been interviewed by another fashion blogger, Lucy Bertoldi and the piece can be heard on her podcast here. And do you know, this was just the cure for the fashion blahs that ailed me! Sheila was one of my first finds when I was researching blogs for women over 40. I've followed her for the past 6 years, being awed and inspired to be bold and colourful just as she is. And, here's a funny thing, in my mind I imagined that she had this husky voice like rich roast coffee when in reality she sounds clear and light like your favourite citrus fruit. Sorry Sheila for this strange analogy.

The next morning, refreshed by the sights and sounds of my wild and wonderful style inspo, I searched through my wardrobe for something that would lift my spirits and impress my mentor. This pale peach (polyester) suit with embroidered lapels and satin trim caught my eye and was the start of my fashion challenge. Pale nude sandals beckoned, but I knew that Sheila would eschew these, therefore so did I. The suit has a matching belt, but I wanted to change that up too. I bent down to survey the back of my shoe stash, catching sight of these leopard print pumps - perfect!

From there the rest was easy - leopard print belt and wide bangle tied the look together along with this tribal print necklace (Topshop) and leopard trim sunglasses (Radley London).

A couple of charity shop flower rings tone in well with the outfit of the day.

After a whole day at work, the outfit remained crease-free and had been very comfortable to wear. I shall be taking heed of Sheila's fashion advice to never wear the same outfit twice, even if it's simply a matter of changing jewellery or accessories.  

Another nugget from her was - Life is short, wear those clothes! Saving things for best isn't our remit. And with that I'll leave you with a twirl of pleats and leopard print. 

Wishing you a great weekend! 

Anna x