Anna does Kirstie at Christmas

Happy Christmas my lovelies!

Hello and thanks for dropping by today. I bet I'm not alone in wondering how Christmas has suddenly been and gone already. All that hype, all those preparations, all that food and packing of presents and suddenly - it's over! 

This is my Christmas day frock a la Kirstie Allsopp. I'm a huge fan of her pre-Christmas bonanza of programmes in which she wears the shirtwaister dress in all sorts of colours and patterns. I found mine in a charity shop in September and stashed it away ready for the big day. It's a vintage piece by the brand Kerena. The red, green and gold theme screamed out festive dressing the minute I saw it and the voile fabric was too pretty to resist. 

I changed the self fabric belt for this gold trimmed woven one (pre-loved) to add a bit more Christmas pizazz. The ring is also pre-loved and my necklace was a gift from Sasha a couple of years ago - it's been one of my most featured pieces of jewellery thanks to the simplicity and therefore versatility of it.

(Just a little aside here. I spent most of Christmas day thinking I'd forgotten something and it was only when I reviewed these photos that I remembered - the deforestation of my eyebrows! A tad more lipstick wouldn't have gone amiss either.)

I wanted to lift the dress out the conservative dressing bracket and gave it a touch of tartan to create something more "Anna's Island Style". The boots were from M&S ages ago. The red glitter tights add a touch of glamour - maybe too much for some, but a dash of fun for me.

Anyway folks, I wasn't sure if anyone would be checking the blog over the festive period so thank you for calling. I'll be back on Monday for the last of our Style Not Age challenge for 2019. The theme is Winter Opulence and I'm sure it's gonna be a corker! Do pop by for that if you get a moment.

I'll leave you with this fabulous sunset shot taken from my garden this evening.

                                                                                   Anna x

A trial run

Yes, it's that time of year when I start doing the big try on, getting ready for the party season. I've got a couple of parties on the horizon as well as drink do's to prepare for so I like to be ready. 

I'm still besotted with these red sock boots, so please accept my apologies if you've tired of them already. Be warned - they will be making a few more appearances! 

When I wore them for the first time (see here) I didn't need tights, but the cold weather and length of this dress mean that's not an option. I'm not sure if black is the right thing here though...Maybe plain black would have been better?

The book handbag was a prize find in Primark in London. It was a fraction of the cost of the real McCoy ones I've seen in other shops.

This must be the first red dress I've had since I was a child. It's from H&M and was partnered with the boots in an advert. I don't normally fall for the spoon fed version of fashion, but I thought it was so simple yet effective.

I thought this charity shop owl necklace was the perfect ploy for the Harry Potter book bag, and only £5 too!

Maybe this could be an option for Christmas day? I'm not sure it's dressy enough for an evening party, but again, that's just me. This is where I ask you for your opinion. I'll be popping up again over the next couple of weeks to run some Christmas outfits past you, so please feel free to give me your thoughts. You can email me if you're too shy to post a comment.

Outfit details - coat: vintage, dress: H&M, boots: H&M, necklace and rings: charity shopped, handbag: Primark, sunglasses: Quay Australia, tights: H&M.

I've just taken delivery of a box of shopping from my Black Friday splurge. I'll let you know how that goes once I've had a try on. In addition, I'm aware that I've yet to show you my shopping from London, so I maybe need to have a post where I do a round up of all that's new in my wardrobe as we hurtle towards Christmas. I'm acutely aware of how short lived this hugely hyped holiday is so I'm fighting shy of buying any more in the way of glitter and sparkle as I own quite a lot of glitzy items already. I'm currently searching for the perfect pair of black shoes that will last beyond the party season and will let you know how that plays out too. 

How are you getting on with your Christmas shopping? Did you wait until Black Friday to hit the shops? And what about your big food shop? Do you do that online or do you brave the supermarket in that last minute rush? Are you one of those very organised types who picks up something every week for months in advance? Do tell - I'm keen to hear how life plays out beyond our little island especially at this time of year. Whatever you're up to, do try to enjoy what you're doing without getting too stressed. See you soon!

Anna x

Sparkle and shine

Today's offering is my attempt at wearing sequins in a more casual manner. However, I do realise that my default setting is probably a bit more blingy than most, in which case this maybe isn't as dressed down to you as it is to me. The fabulous mini skirt was a purchase in the January sales and this is the first time I've worn it. 

Almost exactly 12 months ago I was just beginning to falter with the first signs of flu. I struggled on until Christmas day when I managed to cook the turkey with all the trimmings, missed the lunchtime drinks at the pub, then almost as soon as we ate I spiralled downhill. By 4pm I was wrapped up in a duvet on the sofa, in denial, still trying to get my money's worth out of the big day. Things continued to deteriorate from there on and days drifted past in a blur of sweat, aches and pains. Eventually I resurfaced, well into the New Year to be greeted by an avalanche of parcels - evidence of my efforts at self medicating and proof of my influenzia delerium shoppingitis (as coined here) - which covered every glittered/sequined anything that you could imagine. Much of it I returned immediately, and many sparkly pieces of finery were placed in a holding pattern until I could get a second opinion. Polly came to visit and this mini skirt was the final item to be discussed. Yes, you'll not be surprised to hear that I was concerned that it was WAY too short for me/someone my age. Thick tights and flat shoes were our joint decision as to how to make this more wearable, so what the heck has happened today? Glittery tights and these brand new boots with fabulous gold high heels are what's happened, because this Christmas I've got a whole lot of catching up to do!

Skirt: H&M, sweater: TK Maxx, boots: New Look, tights, H&M, thermal top: M&S, rings: charity shopped, sunglasses: Quay Australia.

Anna x