A touch of sparkle, our Style Not Age challenge for November

Hello and welcome once again to our monthly style challenge! Never one for understatement, I'm kicking off this month's challenge with a very liberal dose of bright orange sequins as my touch of sparkle. However, you'll see that I'm not so out of step with my fashionista friends with this month's quest as we all limber up in readiness for Christmas.

Hilda has plumped for the glitter option of sparkle in this pretty bronze blouse with black trim to match her black chiffon skirt. Catch more from her on Over The Hilda here.

Jacqui's black and silver sequinned top dazzles in the sunshine, but teamed with these velvet trousers epitomises evening elegance. Read her blog Mummabstylish for her style story.

Gail's take on this month's challenge could be called Glitter, Sparkle and Shine as that's how wonderfully she has embraced the theme! Find out more from her on Is This Mutton blog. 

Emma's interpretation is an eye-catching mix of damson sequins and emerald green chiffon frills. What fun! Do please scoot across to find out all of the details on her blog Style Splash.

As you'll all be aware, I'm on a 12 month shopping ban currently and despite the odd wanton browsing of the Zara website (see this rather stunning bit of sparkle available at the moment), I'm happy to say that this tightening of the belt has only served to show me how much my wardrobe holds. The orange sequinned jacket was from TK Maxx a couple of years ago and the brand is Anothereight. I last wore it almost a year ago (see here) and this is the 4th time I've shown it on the blog. 

And what does one wear with a bright orange sequin jacket? Why, bright orange satin pants of course! These are from the Conscious Collection at H&M, but are quite old. Thank goodness, however, that they're not so old that they don't fit. I have a friend who used to say that some of her clothes tend to shrink in the wardrobe if she doesn't wear them for a year or two ... I know exactly how that goes!

The skinny satin trousers called for statement footwear and these old beauties came to mind. By Office, the chestnut suede ankle boots are far from new, but the towering heels and platform soles still give me buzz regardless. 

Accessories read like this: the gold framed mirror sunglasses (they were just begging to team up with this burnished ensemble!) are by Quay Australia, rings are pre-loved and the rose gold heart pendant was from a boutique in Truro some time ago.

My jewel bright cashmere sweater works so well with today's orange sparkle. In case you missed it last time I was gifted this beautifully soft two ply cashmere jumper by Cashmere Specialist, a mail order company in Slovakia. Please do check out their extensive website and if you quote ANNA10 you'll get 10% off your order, but be quick as this ends on the 2nd of December! 

Many thanks to the ladies of the collective for their joyful contributions and also thanks to Sasha for being the photographer of the day. I love how she managed to capture the reflection of these exotic palm trees in my sunglasses.

Take care and see you next time!

Anna x

Orange + sequins = heaven!

Hello to you, my dear readers!

Today's offering gives more than a nod to the festive season and golly, how wonderful it makes me feel! I love orange. I love sequins. And therefore this is a heady delight for me to air once again. I wore this fabulous jacket way back at the start of the year (see here) and again in the spring (here). It's pretty bold, even by my standards and so I have to be in the right frame of mind to carry this off. 

If you're a regular reader then you'll know that I find the winter months a real struggle. This year more so than most as I'm not able to swim currently and that daily dip is what keeps me from descending into the black hole of depression which snaps away at my heels for the long dark months. But I've discovered that the discipline of a daily walk yomp has an equally good effect on my mood. Now, that may be because I've been joined by friends on some days, but even on those days when I've stamped around the circuit on my own, I've been energised and so very pleased with my efforts. 

I'm finding the walking bug has got me in the very same way that the swimming bug did. The daily yomp has become an addiction regardless of the weather. The circuit I walk is a full hour of speed walking both up and down hills, across moors and coastal paths and I just love this new found high. The other day Jilly and I were striding out in a howling gale dressed in full wet-gear, marching alongside the exposed southern coast as we tried hard to keep up our conversation. As we reached the top of an incline we were suddenly blasted by sand; it was the cheapest spa treatment ever as we were exfoliated by gusts of mica-laden wind and we laughed at each other as we struggled to see. The ferocity of the wind stole the words from our mouths, dragged the snot from our noses, and forced us to stagger bent double against it. I was grateful for my sunglasses protecting my eyes and also for the scraps of loo roll Jilly dragged out from the corner of her pockets. Afterwards as we hugged and said our goodbyes, we both congratulated each other on that life-affirming walk; the extreme weather making the challenge all the more of an achievement. Never mind ladies who lunch, we're ladies who yomp!

And so, to the outfit. Another Eight is the brand of this dazzling bomber jacket which is surprisingly cosy, thanks to the fulsome padding. I would wear it more often, but even for me it's pretty out there. Having said that, I plan to wear it a lot over the Christmas period. I'm suddenly back in love with this flamboyant piece and it fills me with joy and the "Why not?" philosophy that has served me so well in the past.

The turtle neck was second hand (from eBay) and the rings are pre-loved too.

The brocade boots are from ASOS.

The high waisted Mom jeans are from Topshop, earning lots of praise for the great fit as well as the contrasting lime green stitching. I picked them up at the end of the summer sale (£20) - result! The leopard print belt is second hand and my sunglasses are my old faithfuls from Quay Australia.

I'll leave you now, as I have to return to the task in hand, that being another few batches of fudge to be made, cut and packed before the weekend is over. I love the pleasure of giving these be-ribboned boxes out to family and friends. There's something so special about a hand-made Christmas present isn't there? For me 'tis the joy of giving, that's for sure!

In case I don't get back to you again before the event, I'll just say -

Happy Christmas to you all! 

                                                                                    Anna x