Sadly, summer is over

Much as it pains me to say, summer is indeed over. But before I descend into autumn/winter dressing I thought I'd leave you with one of my much-loved outfits; the peapod trouser suit which I wore just a couple of weeks ago.

For the past four years this trouser suit has been cropping up not only on the blog but regularly in my workplace, Gallery Tresco, much to the joy and admiration of many of our customers. If you missed the introduction of this dazzling co-ord then see the first post about it here.

This latest iteration sees me adding my summer holiday hat with pleasing results. The colours work very well together and the addition of a hat adds style and sharpness that's appealing too. Do you agree?

My Oliver Bonas sunglasses work nicely with the outfit, as do my very old beads which suddenly came into their own here. 

My other accessories are: dragonfly brooch (a present from my daughter), vintage recycled jewellery repurposed into this rather fabulous bracelet, my old bejewelled leather belt is still going strong and the finishing touch are my Emily Nixon sapphire and diamond rings. 

There's nothing understated about this look. My shiny silver boots finish everything in true show-off style. I make no apologies here. This look is one of my most complimented at work, so clearly I'm not alone in my appreciation of all things bling. The peapod trouser suit is statement dressing at its best and I'm very proud of it. 

Dressing up gives me the opportunity to take on another personality, one who has supreme self-confidence. But surely that's the point of clothing after all? Clothes are our armour, our vision of ourselves that we offer up to the world. I choose to offer up my best self every day, for who knows when our last day may be? If I'm remembered for being that woman on Tresco who wore her best every single day, then that's fine by me.

                                                                            Anna x

The peapod trouser suit

If you're a regular reader you'll be familiar with my peapod trouser suit, a super stylish co-ord from H&M in collaboration with the late Iris Apfel to celebrate her 100th birthday. The suit is one of my most prized possessions, a very special addition to my wardrobe. This summer I've been making a point of wearing it once a week as I feel there's no point in having special clothes that simply reside in my closet. 

These photos were taken last night after our drinks party which is taking a break over July and August. My assistants for yesterday's party were Lucy and Issey, two young girls who are spending the summer working at the Garden Cafe on Tresco. The girls are drafted in on Wednesday evenings to pour wine, chat with guests and generally help out with the practicalities of the night. It's lovely to have the youngsters on board - I swear they inject the place with energy!

Issey did the honours taking the photos last night. I was keen to capture the summer flowers that are suddenly in bloom along my garden wall and don't they make a great backdrop to my outfit?

My styling of the suit is always pretty flashy, but that's because I feel it simply lends itself to as much bling as possible. The peapod pearls always get noticed, as they're such an unusual feature. My accessories are: Elvis style bejewelled belt (from Amazon), dancing girl necklace bought from Gallery Tresco many years ago, cowrie necklace by Julian Warrender, another of our Gallery Tresco jewellers, multi jewelled bracelet by Magpie Vintage, again from a Gallery Tresco jeweller and last of all my rings are both by Emily Nixon, one of our best selling jewellers.

My white cowboy boots are by Besson, a purchase from Vinted last year. 

The bracelet is created from lots of vintage jewellery that has been deconstructed and made into a stunning, modern piece of jewellery.

If you'd like to read the first post about my (now almost famous) peapod trouser suit see it here. It was also my post to celebrate 7 years of blogging which means it's now 10 years that I've been writing this my online diary of island life, family adventures and Gallery tales. If you're a long term follower or a newcomer, you're much appreciated and I do hope you're enjoying the journey. Thank you so much for taking the time to visit!

                                                                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

My new watch from Storm

Hello and how are you? I had a mini break on the mainland last week which has taken me a bit of time to recover from, but here I am resplendant in my peapod trouser suit to wow you with my latest accessory, gifted from Storm Watches. The Elexi gold watch in Lazer Green is an absolute beauty of a watch - see more about it here - Storm Elexi Lazer Green Watch

When the watch arrived on my doorstep the first thought for me was about the outfit of course and what would showcase it the best. Some of you might say I would be spoilt for choice, but it soon became obvious that something as stylish as the Elexi watch deserved to be paired with my most stylish of outfits - my aqua trouser suit from the H&M collaboration with Iris Apfel.

It's months since I strutted my stuff in these threads and oh, how I'd forgotten how great this co-ord makes me feel! It wasn't by chance that the colour of the satin lining of the suit is the same as the watch face - that was the main reason I opted for this ensemble.

I first wore my beautiful suit back in 2022 with shots from this very same spot and styled not so differently either - see here. Today I've added a simple white vest top from Primark, my Besson white leather boots (recently purchased from Vinted), white pearl belt from Amazon, lemon Dune handbag and pre-loved rings. The mixture of old and new is so very me.

And so, on to the watch. The STORM Elexi is a statement watch with a 21 karat gold plated strap and unique cut glass dial. This sophisticated watch has a deep green jewel face and a two-tone brushed/polished stainless steel strap. The perfect fashion watch for day or evening wear.

STORM watches are made from high quality sustainable materials which are responsibly sourced and recyclable.

My friend Jodie did he honours with the photography for this shoot, helping to set the right tone for this feature. Thanks Jodie, for doing such a great job!

The Elexi comes in four other colourways, even aqau which was quite tempting, but I love the bold rich green of mine and will wear it often. 

Thank you as ever for dropping by to catch up on my news. Next time I'll give you all the latest from my trip off-island, including the big reveal of my shopping spree!

                                                                    Anna x

Most loved outfit of the week

Hi there! How are you doing? Did you watch much of the TV coverage of the Coronation this weekend? I did. I watched the entire thing on Saturday and then enjoyed the concert this morning as I was doing some hand sewing. It's been a really uplifting time; makes me proud to be British. 

So, this was my most loved outfit of the week at work last week. I received so many lovely compliments on this trouser suit. Hurrah for the Iris Apfel and H&M collaboration of a year ago! This is probably only about my 6th time of wearing the (almost famous) Pea Pod Trouser Suit, but every time I do, I try to mix things up so that the accessories are different giving it a fresh look. This time I've popped on my Frida Kahlo tee shirt which has the same aqua colour as the suit and looked pretty fab, I must admit. The other addition are my new boots from MOMO in New York, recently bought on Vinted. They were brand new, with the labels on, and I saved $200 buying them second hand - result!

The tiny patch of aqua on the toe of the left boot was all it took for me to know that these would be a dream pairing, well that plus the ornate design and little pearls too. I'm thrilled to have these in my shoe collection. They are made from old sari's which appeals to me for its recycling.

The pearl belt is my go-to piece to wear with the suit, simply to match the pearl pea pods. I found it on Amazon and think it was a great buy. I've layered up necklaces, three this time, along with bangles and rings in turquoise and aqua. You'll probably recognise my old favourite sunglasses by Quay Australia too.

On the home front, I've spent most of the Bank Holiday weekend sewing. I'm all a bit OCD about this latest hobby of mine. I've nearly completed my second linen dress, this time in aqua, but am being held up waiting for interfacing to finish the neckline. It's all very frustrating as I know how easy it would be to find this in a shop on the high street if I lived on the mainland, but hey ho, such is island life! In the meantime, I'm finding lots of alterations I can do now which is quite exciting. I'm not sure if the word alteration is a bit grand as sometimes these are more along the lines of a botch job, but mostly they're wearable which is all that matters.

My lovely husband coined a great phrase about me recently, saying I was born audition ready as I appeared in yet another over-the-top work outfit. I love his total acceptance of my need for all that's glitz and glamour. I recounted this to a friend who visited me at work the other day when she said I looked as if I was about to go on stage! The gallery surely acts as my everyday stage, hahaha.

Thanks for swinging by and I do hope you have a great week ahead!

Anna x

Ready to party...

Hello lovelies, and how are you? Today's blog features a dry run for an upcoming party. Steve and I have been invited to join a gathering for a surprise party on the mainland on Friday and this is one of my possible outfits. I'm not sure how dressed up this party will be and can't decide if I'm wanting to be too 'out there' amongst lots of people, some of whom may not know me or my penchant for dressing up. 

Is it just me who feels more confident on home ground? Or even simply with friends? On Tresco I'm known for my over the top dressing and often have people drop in to the Gallery just to see what my outfit of the day is. It's an easy talking point and a great lead-in to more in depth conversations. In some ways, this suit could be an ice breaker at the party, but it also might backfire if I'm seen as an old bird (heck, I am 64 after all) doing the proverbial mutton dressed as lamb thing.

Anyway, to the outfit - this is my (almost famous) pea-pod suit, a gem of a find from H&M in the spring of this year. In case you missed the reveal of this you can read the post here. Over the months I've had readers of my blog and Instagram followers turn up at the Gallery requesting that I wear my suit sometime during their stay - how lovely that is! And thank goodness, it has never failed to please and even astonish. I've never had so many compliments in response to an outfit, even from men! In fact, it seems that the dapper nature of the trouser suit is what's so eye-catching for the menfolk.

I've glammed up the suit by adding a sequinned vest and bejewelled belt along with silver high heeled boots. But maybe I'm guilty of trying too hard? In my head, the word party does mean pushing the boat out and this is my boat well and truly out!

I leave Tresco on Thursday and will be packing my bag in the morning. I would have liked to showcase some other party options but I've been busy this weekend doing my big six monthly clothes changeover and still haven't quite finished. The good news is that this ensemble is close at hand. The bad news is that my confidence levels are dropping as time goes by. One less jazzy outfit I'm considering is this one - see here - a Joe Browns dress. And another is this one - see here - another trouser suit, but much less bling. 

So, here's where you come into play... Please send me your thoughts - drop me a line in the comments box below as to which of these three outfits you would suggest I wear, or anything else you've seen on the blog. This far, I only know that the venue is within a pub, although not the actual pub itself. I know I'd be happy to wear my pea pod suit here on Tresco in our local pub, but beyond that I'm not sure at all. And on a purely practical point, I am more than a little worried that something dire may happen to my precious pea pod suit, like someone spills a glass of red wine on me or I sit on some chewing gum in the taxi. Have I just persuaded myself not to venture off island with my beloved Iris Apfel ensemble or am I missing the opportunity to showcase this spectacular outfit beyond the shores of home? 

                                                                                  Anna x