New jumper from Next

Hi there! This was my weekend outfit, including this fab jumper from Next. As you probably know, I don't often shop from the high street but I happened to visit an out of town Next store when I was recently on the mainland and this eyecatching sweater was hanging right by the door (great product placement!). 

And another different thing for me is that it's blue. Anyway, I held off for a day and then woke up with it still on my mind and decided to go back for it. What a nasty surprise I got when I discovered that they had been moved, or rather all sold. I was a bit lucky though when I found the last one on the rack by the changing room. That was surely a sign that it was meant for me. You can still find it online here.

Home again and I paired it up with these very old jeans, but didn't they work well colourwise? I seem to be having a big jumper moment recently. They're ideal for popping a thermal top underneath to keep cosy during the winter months.

My floral Dr Martens are making another appearance with this outfit and I'll be making no apologies as I do so love them. 

My Emily Nixon rings elevate the look from casual to not-so-casual. I tend not to wear anything apart from these at the moment and who could blame me? This was me on Saturday but by Sunday I was looking a bit different...

A change of outfit was required as I started some diy at home. I've decided that we need a bit of a spruce up on the home front and am setting about doing what I can while Steve is busy elsewhere. By the end of the afternoon I had taken up the very old carpet and underlay ready for the next stage. Currently I'm stripping back the paintwork as I'm going to replace the carpet with a colourful runner. I fear that the paint build up spans back over many decades with one colour slapped on top of another, but ever the perfectionist, I'll be working on the paint stripping for as long as it takes... Wish me luck!

                                                                Anna x

A colourful encounter

This is Myra, the most elegant of shoppers whom I met while I was recently in Truro. I always make a point of giving compliments where they are due and Myra was most definitely deserving of praise for her contemporary mix of colours and stylish look - in fact she was a joy to behold when I bumped into her in M&S.

Initially Myra's colourful outfit was the eyecatching feature (well that classy wicker shopper was worth a second look too) and that's what stopped me here at the bottom of the escalator. I asked if she'd mind me taking her photo and off we went. 

I moved her across the way to get her under better lighting and that's when I took in not only her flattering hairdo in these warm colours, but also her immaculate make-up and manicure. It'll be no surprise to learn that Myra worked for Estee Lauder for 25 years. Prior to that she had her own hair salon. She's even done some modelling for charity. Myra is a walking advert for great personal care.

We chatted about clothes and the daily pleasure of dressing up. Myra lives alone, but has a daughter and two lovely grandsons and admits that sometimes she does wonder if it's worth the effort, but hastily added that it's what makes her feel good and I agreed. We dress for ourselves, because, to coin a phrase, we are indeed worth it! She then added that she's 88. Wowee, what a style icon she is!

I later contacted her to ask if I could feature her on the blog and she's kindly sent me a few more snaps. From blushing bride to proud grandma Myra always steps out in style.

Myra's style tips are to wear a light colour against the face and if you're feeling a bit down then freshen up your make-up and slap on a big smile - it's an instant mood lifter.

                                                                    Anna x

A toned down colour palette this week

Hello again and thanks for dropping by! Today's outfit owes quite a lot to the Traitors influence, namely that style icon Claudia Winkleman (again). There's no point in me apologising as I find myself loving an oversized sweater and leggings a la Claudia. 

This fabulous cream sweater is from M&S, purchased just before Christmas when I was in store. I'm pleased that I was able to try it on in the shop as I sized up to get the loose fit that I wanted. 

This is my second week of wearing cream and honestly it's such a surprise to find that I like it so much. The loopy knit sweater is warm and weighty (oh you know how much I like a weighty fabric). And of course, cream is very good to warm up a pale complexion like mine. I wear a tinted moisturiser and blusher to ward off the pale winter tone of my skin.

My black leggings are very old, from Primark and the cream boots (by Catwalk) are on repeat from last week. I found them in the British Red Cross shop in Truro, brand new and only £6! Aplogies for repeating myself, but clearly I'm chuffed with them as well as them being an absolute bargain.

Cream crunchy cotton socks join that no man's land between boots and leggings, plus they add a toasty layer around the ankles.

My rings are both pre-loved and the sunglasses are by Radley London. I have to mention that it's a total relief to me to be in February now. Despite having a January birthday I really don't like the post-Christmas slump that seems to happen to me most years. I think my body responds to January by throwing up some ailment or other and this year I've had bronchitis. I'm just emerging from that and it's left me washed out and weary. A bit of sunshine yesterday was just what I needed.

It's only a month now until the island re-opens for another season which seems incredible. I have so much to achieve at work and that will have to be somehow condensed as I've missed two weeks while I've been recuperating. I'm hoping I can wave a magic wand to bring all of the projects and restocking and setting up all together in time. Wish me luck with that!

                                                                        Anna x

Joyful January our Style Not Age Challenge this month

Many thanks for joining me and my fashionista friends for our monthly Style Not Age challenge. It was my turn to set the theme and so I thought it might be good to view this normally anti-climatic month as a positive. Let's dive right in to see how everyone approached this one...

Emma is embracing her Joyful January look with gusto! Her joyful jacket is by Jayley and the perfect handbag for today's feature is from Vinted. See more about this rainbow bright outfit on Emma's post on Style Splash.

Hilda has opted for a more casual look this month. Her barrel jeans are by Cos and jacket is by Zara. Shopping her closet still results in this on trend look for her. Catch up on on her news on Over The Hilda blog. 

Jacqui is looking joyful indeed in her new Damart jacket paired perfectly with the maroon faux leather midi skirt. Catch up with Jacqui's backstory on Mummabstylish blog feature.

My Joyful January outfit coincided with an outing for my birthday a few days ago. This is what it looks like to be 68 - well, when you're me that is! I'm happy to say that I don't know what the expectation is for the average 68 year old woman and how she ought to look nowadays. No matter anyway. I'm making up my own rules as I go and the journey is indeed a joyful one!

For our picnic lunch at the north end of the island I gathered together some of my favourite items to create this daytime look. My cream shaggy jacket may not say daytime to you, but my style ethos is always to look my best every day without needing a reason to dress up. I think the jacket works equally well with denim as it did with my sequin leggings from the festive season.

The fairisle jumper is a wonderfully cosy knit as well as being the perfect length for these high waisted paperbag jeans. My favourite style icon Claudia showcased many a fairisle sweater during the Traitors series - I'm sure all of the Scottish Fairisle knitters were applauding her stylist for that bit of promotion. I wore a cream thermal top underneath as the jacket is more fashion than functional, but hey sometimes one has to suffer for one's art!

Nothing new with my accessories: the belt was from Amazon years ago, the cream flower ring is a charity shop find and the other is my birthday ring by Emily Nixon from last year, and the sunglasses are by Radley London.

My cream Chelsea boots were a find in the British Red Cross shop in Truro in December, a wonderful purchase as they were brand new and only cost me the ridiculous price of £6. Sometimes I just find myself being in the right place at the right time!

                                                                    Anna x

Another ode to Claudia

Hi there! Here, as promised, is another ode to the style icon that is Claudia Winkleman. If you're a fan of the Traitors you'll have seen her wearing many kilts, but always more subdued in colour compared to mine.

Mine was a charity shop find last year costing £7.50. It very similar to the Kerr tartan which is my clan. It's a vintage piece by Marks and Spencer which at the time was called St Michael on the label. I do love a red kilt!

There's nothing finer than the swish of a kilt! A good kilt is weighty and swishes from side to side as you walk. I have a kilt pin, but on the day I had problems getting it to sit flat without pulling the wool fabric so I ditched it at the last minute.

The black cable knit tights are new and the Claudia style ankle boots were a wonderful charity shop find - brand new, unworn and only cost me £7! I couldn't believe my luck. Not only that but they're so comfortable! I've been suffering some foot pains recently which panics me slightly when you consider how many beautfiul pairs of shoes and boots I own.  At least these fit perfectly and don't give me any problems.

My old favourite studded jeans jacket seemed like the perfect ploy for the kilt. God forbid that it's looking too old fashioned or simply traditional. The jacket is by Michael Kors from many years ago. It too is a fine weighty piece of clothing and feels decidedly cool.

I wore a plain black roll neck sweater to complete the look, adding my Vivienne Westwood orb pendant and two preloved rings as finishing touches. My old Quay Australia black and white sunglasses were a sharp addition.

All in all I'm sure even cool Claudia would have given this the thumbs up. And what about you? Are you a fan of the kilt? Hope this meets with your approval. 

Many thanks for dropping by. I'll be back again on Monday for our monthly style challenge so do please come back to see how we've all done. In the meantime, have a great weekend!

                                                                            Anna x

My festive round-up - part two

Hello again and welcome to the second part of my festive round-up. This was one of my first festive offerings, a daytime look and gentle lead-in to the Christmas holidays by way of this ancient velour two-piece topped off with my orange padded sequinned jacket. 

The embroidered suit was from Zara, probably about 10 years ago I'd guess. I like that it's got a hood as sometimes you just need an extra bit of warmth. 

The orange sequinned jacket was from TK Maxx many years ago and every Christmas it makes a joyful appearance. It's what used to be called a Bobby dazzler I suppose.

The orange plastic rings were both charity shop finds from years ago...

...and the sunglasses are by Radley London, also from a long time ago.

The black patent boots were from Deichman last month. 

This is the outfit I wore to work in that betwixt time, after Christmas and before New Year - the feather trimmed co-ord is by Karen Millen. I wore it on Christmas day last year and haven't worn it since then. Such a shame really as I do love it but just lack the opportunity to gad about in it.

This time I've added my Sarah Jessica-Parker boots aka Kurt Geiger ones. They're actually one size too big but once I added a lovely soft pair of insoles they are a dream to wear - no pinching my toes and bouncy underfoot!

Adding my new (F&F) shaggy jacket seemed like a masterstroke here. I love the glamour of this and how it has transformational powers turning me into a truly fluffy version of myself.

Oh, the joys of festive dressing!

And oh, how truly fabulous are these boots!

Clearly I'll never be able to give up work otherwise where on earth can I wear these kind of outfits?

Last of all is this, my New Year's Eve outfit. Once again I'm revisiting that glorious combination of my favourite colour and the obligatory dazzling sequins. You really can't go wrong with this can you? The brand is Boohoo, bought from Vinted almost 12 months ago with NYE in mind. It was brand new with tags on, but strangely I didn't think to try it on immediately and it was only two weeks ago that it occurred to me that it may not fit - luckily it did!

For this (daytime) photoshoot I wore this cream bejewelled vest but on the night I decided that it might be too hot so simply opted to wear the shirt on its own. A good move too!

The Steve Madden gemstone boots were a challenge indeed for my feet on the dancefloor that evening. I didn't sit down all night and golly did I pay the price for that!

So that pretty much winds things up for my festive outifts. Please do leave me a comment if you've enjoyed seeing these, or even if you didn't...

Next week I'll share a look inspired by the style icon that is Claudia Winkleman as seen on the Traitors recently. I apologise for this in advance as it may not be everyone's cup of tea.

                                                                        Anna x