Red Alert! - our monthly style challenge for January.

Hello and welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge! Jacqui has chosen Red Alert as this month's theme and it certainly was a fair challenge for me as reds are so few and far between in my wardrobe. Luckily I've been wearing this co-ord (old from Zara) that Sash passed on to me in December and it was perfect for the festive season, also great for the winter months generally as it's super cosy. But let's continue first with the ladies of the collective to see what they came up with...

Jacqui is looking fab in this feather topped jumpsuit (borrowed from her daughter) with her black oversized jacket, finished with blood red shoes and lipstick red handbag. Find out more on her blog Mummabstylish. 

Gail has brought out all of the reds from her closet to great effect. In particular, I love her second hand coat from Coast, tres chic! Read all the latest from her on Is This Mutton blog.

Emma's tomato red top and trousers are from River Island topped with a vest from Principles. Her funky bag steals the show however, don't you think? It's from Jayley. Catch up with all her latest on The Style Splash. 

HIlda's red trousers and yellow cardi tie in perfectly with her leopard print courts and what a statement this ensmeble makes - I love it! Follow Hilda on Over The Hilda blog.

My chunky knit two-piece has been aired quite a lot during December and January, mainly because it's so blooming comfortable! The pull on trousers have an elasticated waist which has been ideal for the post-Christmas tum and the long tunic top hides any such evidence too!

My massive Koi boots in cow print (from Vinted) are a brilliant pairing for the outfit as the whole thing is quite over-sized. The chunky heels and platform soles help to balance out the weightiness of the co-ord . 

Necklace, rings and sunglasses are all old, but work really well with the colourscheme of today's outfit. Again, red isn't one of my oft worn colours so it was a bit of a rummage that took place to find these. The sunglasses are my old favourites from Quay Australia.

Our Red Alert challenge has brought forth a lovely and diverse range of outfits to hopefully inspire and entertain you. Many thanks for dropping by and I look forward to chatting to you again soon!

                                                                            Anna x

OMG - OAP!

Hello and thanks for coming! Today's news is that it's my birthday and I'm 66, officially an OAP! I don't know why I'm so shocked by this, but I somehow don't feel ready for free bus passes and whatever else may be due to me now. I suppose we're all the same; the age we feel inside is gradually drifting further and further apart from the image we see in the mirror. I'm not so vain that I'd resort to fillers or surgery of any sort, but maybe I'm guilty of refusing to dress my age - I certainly pay no attention to the advice given by the late singer, Prince, that of, "Act your age not your shoe size".

Steve and I had a picnic lunch today at the Ruin Beach cafe overlooking Raven's Porth beach. It was beautifully still as the tide gently rolled in and was a lovely backdrop for our time together. As ever, I used the occasion as an excuse to dress up and Steve stepped forward as blog photographer for the day.

I'm well aware at there may be many (women) who'd happy level the accusation of mutton dressed as lamb at me, particularly when you see the heels on these boots, but frankly my dear, I don't give a damn! Life is too blooming short for me to weep and worry at what others may think of me. My outfits do no harm to anyone and I certainly don't take myself too seriously as if I'm some fashion guru. I simply love clothes, always have done and thoroughly enjoy the creativity to be had from playing around with colours and textures of pieces to create new looks for myself. You're a long time dead, so for goodness sake, let's have some fun now!

So, on to the details of the outfit. The shorts suit is from Primark, bought on Vinted not so long ago. The sweater also comes from Vinted, as did the boots. The tights are from Snag and fur coat was from TK Maxx a couple of years ago. 

All of my jewellery is old, some also pre-loved. Sunglasses are by Radley London, but not new either.

We had a stomp about on the beach after lunch and Steve took this post-shoot shot, very casual of me in wellies but looking suitably relaxed and happy - a true reflection of where I find myself at this juncture in my life. We sat together and counted our blessings for the life we've had here over the years and how lucky we were to find each other.

This evening we're off to join all of Steve's family who are staying in the newly converted Blockhouse Cottage where his sister yesterday held her 70th birthday party. I have photos from that and my outfit of the day, but that will have to come another day. I must make myself ready for my birthday bash as we're expected soon. Thank you so much for joining me on this special day. Monday brings our monthly Style Challenge and thereafter I'll give you all the news on both of my party outfits.

                                                                                                          Anna x

Blue Monday post

Hi there! Thanks for swinging by again. I'm posting on Blue Monday, allegedly the most depressing day of the year as we're all supposed to be in a full post-Christmas slump, but hopefully it's not been too much of a trial for you. This year it's on the 15th of January which is my daughter's birthday (she's 35). We met up with Sasha yesterday to have brunch with her in one of the Seagarden Cottages where she's enjoying a few days of luxury as a gift to herself. I dodged outside to take a few shots of my outfit, but couldn't find the right spot either out of the sun (too bright)... 

...or in the shade (too dark). The view was pretty spectacular though!

I've been itching to wear this wonderful waterfall tulle skirt since I bought it recently on Vinted. I can hardly bear to tell you how much it cost. What do you think? Would you believe that even though it's brand new it only cost £5? Honestly! The rest of the outfit is from my wardrobe, nothing new. The waistcoat is years old and may not ever have been shown on the blog, but do tell me if I'm wrong. The blouse is ancient, was a charity shop buy from years ago, boots are from ASOS, sunglasses are from Quay Australia and cream tights are very old indeed.

Later on I swapped the waistcoat for this fitted jacket (very old). I really like this look; the yellow tweed jacket has a gold fleck to it and works so well with the soft fluid nature of the tulle and chiffon. The chunky boots toughen the look up without being too overpowering.

The broad tan leather belt is another way to add an accent without it becoming too much of a focal point. For me this outfit is all about the skirt, so hopefully the balance with the other pieces works to allow the tulle to remain at centre stage.

Nothing new with these citrine rings - I've had them for years now - they were gifted to me as part of a collaboration with Gemporia way back in  2017 (see here).

No doubt you'll see this skirt again and again and again this year. It's an obvious piece for summerwear, but I so wanted to try to winterise it successfully and think I did. Do you agree? I actually wore my cream cow print fur coat over the top of this as it was so chilly - sorry I forgot to get shots of that but we were running late. It's great to have your company again - many thanks and have a great week!

                                                                                         Anna x

A quick catch up!

Hi there and thank you for dropping by! I've been awol for a little while, but thought I'd better get back online to share what's been happening. Christmas was so lovely this year, mainly because none of us got ill. Last year the four of us were hit by a nasty cold/flu virus but the upside is that we spent this Christmas celebrating the fact that we were all well. We lazed around eating non-stop, watching movies and generally feeling very happy with our lot. And then New Year's Eve came around and I went to the pub to have a dance or two. Steve felt a bit bah-humbug and stayed home, but I was keen to see everyone dressed up. The evening was a fancy dress do with the theme being 1920's. I didn't have an outfit sorted so just wore sequins...

I'd bought this dress from Vinted, the brand is Very and cost me £25. The boots also were from Vinted, are beautifully soft Italian leather and were brand new costing me £6 - yes, actually £6! The yellow tights were from Amazon. 

I had my very own kitchen disco to warm me up before venturing out to the New Inn. 

These boots are pretty special aren't they? I've already lined up three other outfits to feature them...

This was me before my New Year's day swim. I'm so enjoying my winter swims at the moment! The cold isn't too bad as yet - it's mainly about maintaining the distance of once across the bay and back which is pretty much as far as I swim on a summer's day. I'm feeling good about this. March is the coldest month, so let's see how I'm doing by then.

I have a new stylist in the family. My great niece, Leila, is due to go to secondary school this year and at only aged 11 she is already passionate about clothes, so much so that she hopes to become a fashion stylist. Over Christmas I invited her to come to see my winter wardrobe so that she could try a few things on and put some outfits together. She turned up looking like a miniature Madonna, all in black in a variety of fabrics and textures including fishnet tights and lace gloves. This was her suggestion for me to wear. The top is new, from Vinted and the fringed skirt is conversely very old. Leila loves cow print, choosing these boots and orange tights to complete the look. 

I love the look she put together for me, especially as it's not something I would have come up with myself. I plan to invite her again once I've got my summer clothes in place so that she can have another rummage. Watch this space!

This was a post-swim shot sporting that wonderful after glow, taken a couple of days ago. The air temperature is pretty cold at the moment as we're experiencing a brisk easterly wind, but I dodged out of the breeze on the western coast of Tresco on Appletree Bay. The first photo of this post is of me enjoying a hot drink as reward for my efforts. I had a beautiful swim along the length of the bay which really looked like a summer's day, despite the chilly sea temperature. Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to look me up. Here's wishing you a somewhat belated Happy New Year!

                                                               Anna x