Frilled To Bits our SNA challenge for May

Hello there! How are you this fine Bank Holiday Monday? So, here's our Style Not Age challenge for May, as chosen by yours truly. Frills are all the rage with me currently, so why not share this penchant with my style sisters?

Gail from Is This Mutton is sporting her blend of citrus brights - the frilled blouse is from eBay, crops are from Roman and sandals are from ASOS. It's a fab summery look, isn't it!

Jacqui's frilled wrap dress is from Izabel Clothing and fits the bill perfectly. Sage green and paisley print are a winning combination! Catch up with Jacqui's backstory on her blog Mummabstylish. 

I love the pink frilled and pearly top of Emma's! This was a happy purchase when she was in Funchal recently. See more from her on Style Splash blog.

Hilda's frilled dress is from Whistles, a fab thank you for contributing to a recent fashion feature in Good Housekeeping. Catch up with her story on Over the Hilda blog. Hilda's perched on the balcony of her daughter's house during her child-minding stay - what a view!

If you're a regular to the blog, you'll recognise the frilled petticoat as one of my recent sewing successes. I've just altered the length, shortened it, so that it sits better under my orange dress. (See the whole outfit here in case you missed that one.) Today's offering is more vintage than new - the frilled blouse was bought in a vintage shop in Exeter many years ago and the skirt must be at least 20 years old, from good old Dorothy Perkins. 

The boots are new, bought especially to wear while I'm in my pink and orange phase. I found them on ASOS, see here. They're available in three colourways but this one is perfect for my summer trend.

Nothing new today with my accessories. Sunglasses are from Radley, belt is old as are my rings. 

My friend Fiona volunteered to take the photos when I told her about my fab new cowboy boots. We had fun as we always do during these sessions, with me doing lots of bossing about while she heckled from the sidelines. The evening sun was soft and flattering to the skin and the new walkway to the bird hide made a great catwalk. The view from the hide was glittering in the evening light.

Hope you're basking in the early summer sunshine too. Looking forward to seeing you again soon. Please leave me a comment if you've enjoyed today's post.

Have a super week!

Anna x

Gallery Manager once again

Hello lovelies! Yes, here's me back in my normal guise as Gallery Manager of the art gallery on Tresco. It's been a long seven weeks during which time I was seconded to the Cottage department in my role as art curator of the large Tresco Art Collection where I rotated paintings between houses, adding new works when I deemed it necessary. I'm now onto the next step which entails cataloging every one of the 40 cottages with its updated collection. My photographic memory is serving me well as I can walk through every single house to visualise each piece, room by room. 

My outfit of the day is made up of old and new, as is my wont. The jacket, I inherited from my daughter many years ago, was from H&M. The brown jumpsuit came from TK Maxx last year, but this is the first airing on the blog, worn with a thrifted orange leather belt to go with the chunky orange necklce (old) and my new and rather fabulous orange boots from ASOS - see them here, now reduced in the sale! 

None of my accessories are new - the brown across the body bag with orange trim was a charity shop find. Rings are preloved and sunglasses are by Radley London.

The sun has returned as have the holiday makers, all descending on the islands in time for Easter. I'd forgotten how busy the island can get! 

                                                                    Anna x

Winter layering

Hello again! It's been so good to have a week off work, but here I am back in the groove. I managed to find a happy compromise with my time off, catching up on a few chores (even spring cleaning two cupboards) and doing some batch cooking for the freezer, but also having some lovely swims, watching a few movies, read a book and had the odd daytime nap. It's been great!

Today's outfit is all about winter layering, the perfect answer to indoors heat and outdoors cold. My dress is a charity shop purchase from last month when I was on the mainland. It cost me all of £4.95! I love the pattern, the colours and the retro vibe too. The v cutout and neck band lift it out of the ordinary, don't you think? I popped a long sleeved thermal underneath to give an extra bit of warmth to this cotton dress.

Next I added this fur gilet, not new, but still a fab bit of glamour plus warmth when you need an extra layer. The waistcoat was from TK Maxx a few years ago and comes out every winter.

My boots aren't new either, but were from ASOS a few years ago. I love how I've created a brand new look without breaking the bank.

Nothing new with my rings or sunglasses either. 

Last of all is this oxblood leather coat, another charity shop bargain from years ago - it was £20 from Oxfam and worth every penny of it. I love how windproof leather is and how it copes with rain without marking. Once the temperature drops a bit further I'll add a scarf and some leather gloves to make this entirely chill proof.

Can you believe that in a month's time we'll all be in the run up to Christmas? Is it just me, or are the months simply speeding by? I've bought one Christmas present so far and a couple of packs of cards so maybe I need to start getting my act together!

I'll be back on Monday with another of our Monthly Style Challenges. Please do swing by to see what we're up to!

                                                                                           Anna x

Mellow yellow

Hello lovelies! Are you okay? I'm doing great. I've taken a week's holiday to wind down after what's been a hectic end of season. This was Friday's work outfit, a mix of old and new pieces that I was trying out. 

Mellow yellow is a step down from my normal sock-it-to-ya colour scheme, but I really love it. The faux leather paper bag trousers are by Zara, but were bought from TK Maxx in the spring and my, don't they work beautifully with my ecru Asos boots from last year?

The yellow woollen jacket is by S'NOB and is very old. I like the gold lurex thread that runs through it, adding a bit of glam to an otherwise conservative piece. 

My gold flower ring was a gift from a girlfriend and the other floral ring was a charity shop find. My poppy brooch comes out every year. Sunglasses are by Quay Australia.

This lace blouse was a recent charity shop find in Penzance. It was brand new, still with the labels attached from the brand "I Saw It First". In fact there were two side by side, this and a pure white voile one which I snatched up too. One was £7 and the other was £10 - what a result!

What's not to love about a cream lace blouse with frilly cuffs? I particularly enjoyed the pairing of leather and lace, especially in this neutral palette. So unlike me, I know, but isn't it grand to stumble across a new love?

The main of the blouse is fully lace so I opted to add a natural body underneath which was not only a modesty choice but a useful extra layer of insulation too. 

It's always a bonus to find a new outfit at the end of the season as I know I'll still have it to hand ready for when we re-open in March. This definitely will transfer to spring without any tweaking at all. How fab is that? And yes, I did waft about feeling rather fabulous all day long in this muted ensemble.

Thanks so much for dropping by. Have a super week!

                                                                                       Anna x

Hurrah for that Friday feeling!

Yes, after a week back at work, here I am at the end of the day, flushed with that Friday feeling. Much as I love my job, it's been tough to know that there was a second Triscape retreat taking place just on the other side of the island - without me! I've been green with envy at the very thought of it all. But hey ho, life goes on and I've had a busy week catching up on sales and making plans for the weekend ahead. 

 

I'm sporting my new work glasses here, not too expensive as they were from Specsavers, but they are great for my computer work when my eyes are getting tired. I wear reading glasses for my bedtime read, but apart from that it's only computer work that has me reaching for my glasses for a clearer vision.

And once work is over, it's time for a bit of fun! I love to have a bop around the back of the gallery when we're closed and I'm winding down. The weather wasn't good for outdoor blog photos so I settled down to capturing some shots indoors for a change...

My outfit of the day shows nothing new, simply a joyful collection of animal prints along with my cream Asos boots. The frilled blouse was a charity shop find from many years ago and is still going strong. I had planned to wear a fab fur coat over the top of this, but we had mix of wet and windy weather that scuppered my plans. I'll show you next time!

The cream leather belt was a second hand find, but actually brand new from Country Casuals. Rings are old too, but perfect tonally for today's look.

And it's that time of the year again, when I bring out my Paul Costelloe leopard skin handbag. It's sleek, stylish and great fun!

And talking of fun, the rest of the shoot was all about hamming it up for the camera - and why on earth not?

Hurrah for that Friday feeling and hurrah for having the freedom to dress as I please, even at work! 

Wishing you a fab week ahead x

Anna x

The party outfit

Well, here it is - the party outfit from last weekend! I packed three options for the surprise birthday bash for ex-Tresco farmer, Paul Christopher who turned 70 on Friday. Paul was indeed totally surprised at the turnout for him and we were all so happy to see the look on his face when he opened the door of the pub in Cornwall. Family, friends and work associates filled the venue, sharing stories, filling the air with laughter, and showering Paul with hugs and kisses. The night was a fine celebration for this unassuming, gentle and kind man to give him the affirmation that he so deserved.

My wonderful husband, diplomatic soul that he is, advised me not to wear my beloved pea-pod suit to the party and how right he was. It's not that kind of party, he told me, as I was giving him a show of each outfit an hour before the party and it was great advice. This, however, was just right to ensure I felt comfortable, not out of place, leaving the focus clearly on the birthday boy and not my extravaganza of an outfit.

The trousers were new from TK Maxx in the spring and this was their first outing. They're a mix of polyester and elastane, making for a heavy drape with a comfy bit of stretch too. The high waistline is emphasised by the twin belts with brass popper fastenings, an unusual feature that lifts these Oxford bag style trousers out of the ordinary and into something quite stylish.  A white turtle neck body ensured a sleek, streamlined fit avoiding that constant tucking in that a vest top might need. The zip up crochet cardigan in autumn hues is by Karen Millen, a pre-loved purchase from a charity shop from some time ago. 

My Asos ecru platform boots finish off the look. The trousers are too long to wear with flats so these will be what I wear with the trousers next time too.

The vintage necklace works well with the colours of the cardigan don't you think? The rings are old as are the Quay Australia sunglasses. 

No mainland trip would be complete for me without a tad of retail therapy. I dodged into TK Maxx, rattled through Primark and bustled into a couple of charity shops during the couple of days resulting in an armful of new and pre-loved clothes in a rainbow of colours -

Trousers, sweaters, cardigans, a skirt suit and two pairs of boots plus one pre-loved necklace was the haul. It's so lovely to end the season with an array of bright colours to dress in over the drab winter months ahead. I really don't enjoy the gloom of these next few months, but having some cheerful clothes to ward off the winter blahs will surely help!

                                                                       Anna x