Second Hand September our SNA challenge

Hello and welcome once again to our monthly Style Not Age challenge! This month we're tying in with Oxfam who promote this annual event, Second Hand September. I have to admit that this is an easy ask of me as most of my purchases nowadays are second hand, either from Vinted or charity shops. We'll get to my outfit in a minute, but first lets check out my fashionable friends ...

Jacqui's looking extremely stylish in her Second Hand offering. The dress is by Monsoon, costing the grand sum of £6 from a local charity shop and her jacket is a hand me down from her daughter. Catch up on all of her news over on Mummabstylish blog.

Emma has also inherited a second hand piece from her family - her mum's skirt is part of this colourful outfit. Nothing new at all from her, so do skip across to her blog Style Splash for the full low down.

This cutsie look from Gail is based on a pinafore dress from Vinted which suits her down to a T! I don't think I have ever had a pinafore, not since I was a girl, but this is cute as a button on her. See more from her on Is This Mutton blog.

Hilda was invited to join Oxfam in Second Hand September and found this beautiful cashmere blazer by Louis Copeland - tres chic Hilda! She shopped her wardrobe for the rest of her look, so do pop across to see her interesting back story on Over The Hilda blog. 

£10 was all I paid for this frilly frock from Vinted and goodness, how lovely it is! The bright colours and that flirty frill sold it to me and when it arrived it was even better in the flesh. The last half of September has been a mixed bag of weather and this dress has come into its own a couple of times when the sun burst through and I needed something cool and airy for work. 

Nature's variety of greens really help to offset the vibrant orange and purple flowers of this mini dress. The button front and elasticated sleeves make it easy to pop on and off too.

I've brought out my Oliver Bonas handbag from last year and paired it with these elasticated slip on sandals from Primark, a find from my trip to Truro in June.

There's nothing new as far as my accessories go: rings are indeed second hand, sunglasses are from Radley (old) and my Storm watch is pretty much star of the show. 

Second Hand September has been a successful challenge for us all - I do hope you've enjoyed our diverse outfits too. Many thanks for joining us and I look forward to seeing you next time!

                                                                        Anna x

The Scottish Highlands

Hello again! Apologies for my absence but I've been away on holiday - Jamie and I went to Scotland to visit some of our relatives as part of his birthday celebrations and golly what a lovely time we had!  We travelled by train to Gatwick and flew on to Inverness, staying there for four days to hook up with my sister who had flown across from Orkney and met up with my niece and her husband and my nephew and his partner and their son who all live in the area.

We were keen to do as much sightseeing as possible within our brief visit and were delighted to find that Loch Ness wasn't too far away. The day was fresh and stormy, very atmospheric, giving us a true feel of the wildness of the Highlands and the loch therein. There's nothing like a stormy day to whoosh you up and make you feel alive!

And talking of making you feel alive - there were three women swimming in the Loch that morning! The Saturday Morning Club meets up weekly so I took a moment to chat to the ladies about the conditions and how many of them take part. Aside from the three swimmers there were four others who had come along to act as support and to join in the social part of the post-swim. The temperature was about 13 degrees which is about the same as on Tresco. They did ask if I wanted to join them but luckily I'd omitted to pack my kit...

Next stop was the pretty little village of Beauly where we meandered through the small churchyard which led us onto the Old School, now a beautifully converted shop. The school rooms were each recreated into bright spaces housing the most most stylish of wares from clothes and household items to books, toys, toiletries and jewellery, not forgetting tartan goods of the most upmarket kind. I fell in love with a fabulous velvet dressing gown but as it retailed at just under £200 I gave it a miss. The other one I fancied was called the Teal Exotic Dressing Gown - see here. I did buy a couple of gifts for the family though; you can never go wrong with some delicious chocs!

We all gathered for lunch at Dalmore Farm and Cafe. The play area and petting farm are a popular tourist attraction, particularly for my great nephew Finlay. We milled about between cafe and sand pit and farm area taking turns to be on duty or catch up on family news. It was a super way to spend the afternoon.

Next day's trip was to Fort George, again another historic sight not far from Loch Ness. My knowledge of Scottish history is greatly lacking and something I feel I need to address before old age properly sets in.

The mizzle drifted in and out that morning, again lending an atmosphere to the ramparts where we stopped to admire the view and consider the life of those who had and still do serve at Fort George. It took 22 years to build - what an undertaking!

A quick bit of supermarket shopping in between sightseeing and this was a joyful discovery for me indeed! Mutton pies were part of my childhood, a weekly treat, topped with baked beans and heated up for a savoury lunchtime dish. My dad was a butcher, but I seem to rememeber that we bought our pies from Johnson's the Baker or even from Frostie's the bakers near our house. Happy days!

Sunday afternoon was all about the train set. It was another fluid situation with various helpers drifting in to assist otherwise eating, drinking and chatting were taking place elsewhere. 

Goodness knows if the family knew they were posing to be featured on my blog - I may not be invited back again after this!

On Monday morning we headed off to Culloden - this was a very busy tourist attraction with lots of coaches in the car park. 

The battle lines were heartbreaking to see; to imagine the bloody battle where over 1300 men died and were subsequently buried. On a lighter note I was pleased to capture the obligatory man in a kilt who was giving a guided tour of the battlefield.

By Tuesday lunchtime we were heading home again. We had travelled over 1000 miles by boat, train, aeroplanes and car during our week off work just to give us four days in Scotland, but it was definitely worth it. 

                                                                Anna x

My new Ted Baker dress

I've finally gotten round to showcasing this fab tent dress! I bought it last summer from TK Maxx, using a gift voucher from the previous Christmas. I don't know why it took me so long to get my act together, but the end result was worth waiting for. I was thrilled to find this colourful gem which ticks all the boxes - bright colours, floaty fabric, feminine style and very easy to wear - oh, and it's got pockets!

As summer seems to be well and truly over I thought I'd better capture this for the blog before I'm totally out of sync with the seasons. Here am I still bared legged and in summer sandals and this was only a few days ago. Suddenly on Tresco, the temperature has dropped and wind and rain have lashed us for most of the day.

My friend Fiona and I tried to capture the best of the dress outside, but the light wasn't so good. I've opted to use both these and my indoor shots . 

I've had these neutral coloured sandals for a couple of years now and they're not only comfortable, but pretty too. I'm known to be partial to bit of sparkle so these are aired quite often during the warm weather.

Rings in pink and orange are both old, but still perfect partners for this outfit. 

I couldn't help laugh when Fiona remarked that the dress was a bit like a tent! Clearly that trend had passed her by.

And finally, thank you to those of you who've managed to beat a path to my door (aka Gallery Tresco) over the past few months, and indeed years. It's so lovely to meet each and every one of you!

                                                                        Anna x

Gifts received with gratitude - what a week!

Wow, what a wonderful week I've had! Usually I'm raving about the weather or a fab sea swim, but this week I've had two surprise gifts in the post and this is the first one - Colourful by Iris Apfel. The book turned up in the post from a blog follower who saw it and thought of me. Thank you so much Rosemary H! 

In the summer of 2023, as Iris welcomed her 102nd birthday, she put pen to paper to write this very special project: what Iris called her legacy. Filled with over  300 personal photos Iris's incredible energy radiates from every page. 

This is one of her many quotes: her voice speaking my thoughts. She validates my joy in the daily pleasure of dressing up. The book is a beautiful rich tapestry of Iris's life - what an amazing gift!

Yes, here's Iris in my peapod trouser suit! Oh how I love this suit, but you already know that, don't you. According to Iris when she wore it felt like haute couture and it certainly elevates me every time I wear it too.

And here's my second surprise gift of the week. One of our Gallery Tresco artists, Lizzie Black, was recently on the island for a brief en plein air session and had taken some photos of me as I hung my washing out one morning. Fast forward a couple of weeks and this turns up on my desk. What a kind and generous thing to do. Thank you so much Lizzie! I've bought a couple of Lizzie's paintings in the past and now I have this very personal piece to add to my collection - wow!

The outfit for my lounging-about-at-home look is a pyjama suit that Sasha bought me last year. It took me a while to fix it as it didn't have any buttons on the jacket so I waited until I found the perfect buttons and then proceeded in making button holes.

It still thrills me that I can sew and mend and fix my own clothes! It's not exactly rocket science, I know, but the achievment still gives me a rush.

I recently bought these rather fab flowery sandals and thought they worked very well with today's flamboyant outfit - a great homage to the splendid Iris Apfel! Nothing else is new: the jewellery is all old, often preloved which would have met with her approval as thrift shops were some of Iris's favourite haunts too. I'll leave you with a few more of Iris's quotes - echo's from my heart. I feel such gratitude for my life, for these unexpected gifts. 

Thank you as ever for joining me. I do hope you have a lovely week!

Anna x