And fur coats too!

Hurrah for the joys of dressing up big time! Oh what fun I'm having playing around with lots of fur and sparkly things this month. As ever, I really don't have many going out options, partly because of living on this tiny, but beautiful, island, but mostly because I don't drink alcohol and therefore pub life isn't really my thing. So this was me, on a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon, all dressed up and nowhere to go.

I have maybe half a dozen fur coats, but this is my current favourite. It was from River Island quite a few years ago and I still get excited at the prospect of wearing it. The length somehow adds to the sense of luxury plus it has that reassuring weightiness to it - what a fab fur it is!

The coffee and cream palate is decidedly conservative for me so I thought the best way to ramp things up was by adding as many extra bells and whistles as possible. The satin combat trousers are by Zara purchased from a Truro charity shop recently. They're two sizes too big, but never to be put off by such small matters, I simply added the cow print belt (from Vinted) to tie in with the coat and cinched the waist in as tight as possible.

Next up is the cream blouse with these fabulous frilled arms. These obviously need to be flashed about to gain the full effect. The blouse is from TK Maxx. The pony skin boots again in cow print were a Vinted buy some time ago and work perfectly with the overall look.

The rings are preloved and the sunglasses are by Radley London. 

I'm pleased to say that I've nearly wrapped all of my Christmas presents already and am about to start writing my Christmas cards. Coming up this weekend is the first stint of fudge making for my far-flung relatives. Somehow I've not managed to amass the fancy fudge boxes that I like to use for this sweetest of gifts so I'll just have to get creative with what I can find. Wish me luck with that. 

And that pretty much winds things up this week. I do hope to fabricate an excuse to wear some party clothes soon - I missed our island staff party at the weekend as I was a bit under the weather so that's one opportunity dashed! But never mind, as my husband often has remarked, I'll get dressed up for the opening of an envelope so I'll be turning up here next week in another fancy outfit (as opposed to fancy dress!).

Sending you my warmest festive greetings and wishing you successful shopping in the final run-up to Christmas!

Anna x

December - the month of sparkles!

And so begins the season of sparkles! Needless to say I'm in my element this month for at last I have a legitimate reason to dial up my dressing up. I'm wearing a cosy roll neck fairisle sweater that I recently bought from the F&F range at Tesco's. It was the only one on display which, for some reason, made it seem like a real find. 

I'm not normally keen on black and white but the sweater is so perfect for this time of year I couldn't resist it. It has silver beading on the front that lifts it out of the ordinary too. 

I've paired the sweater with these rather fabulous silver jeans, a charity shop find in Truro recently - the brand is Pull&Bear - and they're brand new, without a scuff or mark on them. 

The mock crock effect boots are a recent purchase too from Deichman in Truro. I used to have a pair very similar to these and do wonder sometimes what on earth happened to them. Anyway, when I saw these I thought they might work well with some of the winter looks that I have planned...

My photography is a bit blurry this week. I had to take my own photos which wasn't helped by the blustery and cloudy weather. I've tweaked the photos but they could be better I'm afraid.

My textured cow print bag was the perfect accessory for the silver and black outfit. It's big enough for all of my photography essentails - mini tripod stand, phone, hairbrush and lipstick (although the look was definitely more windswept than anything else!).

The jacket is quite old now, but the brand is Zara and has a rating just like a duvet - it's ultra cosy and has this massive hood for rainy days too.

I do love this casual look for these silver jeans - what do you think? I'm sure I'll find another bit of styling for these over the next month, if I can only hit on a better day for the photoshoot!

                                                                    Anna x

December is for Dressing Up, our Style Not Age challenge this month

Hurrah and Happy Christmas to us all! I do hope you're having a wonderful time. Our challenge this month has a festive theme and was chosen by Gail. I'm not averse to a bit of dressing up as you may know and so it wasn't a terrrible hardship to push the boat out for this most special of posts. Let's see how the others fared and come back to mine later...

Gail has totally embraced her prompt by pairing lime green sequins with a gold faux leather skirt to glamorous effect! Catch up with her on Is This Mutton blog for the full story.

This is Hilda's Christmas Day outfit which looks not only fabulous but also comfortable too which is very clever bit of Dressing Up. Read her backstory on Over the Hilda blog.

Gold satin and red wide legged trousers are another successful festive take on December Dressing up from Jacqui.  See more from her on Mummabstylish blog.

Pink, silver, glitter and sequins - Emma's brought it all in her Christmas outfit, even a bottle of bubbly! Find out what she'll be getting up to today on her blog Style Splash.

My trouser suit is a Christmas present from my son (under my instructions obviously) and is by Lavish Alice, a brand I've not come across previously. Its silver and gold pattern screams out festive dressing and I hope to find an excuse to wear it soon. 

I've teamed the suit up with a silver and white sequinned top which is very ancient and was a charity shop find. Sparkly rings are also pre-loved and the silver chain necklace was a Vinted purchase recently. I'm wearing classic black sunglasses by Radley London and must admit I felt red carpet ready in this glitzy lot!

I took myself off the Tresco Abbey Garden for this photo opportunity and think it makes for a lovely backdrop to the silver outfit.  My leather boots are old, from TK Maxx and are utterly fabulous don't you think - the brand is Buffalo.

And just in case you're wondering, I didn't traipse the mile from my home to the Garden dressed like this. I made use of the large loos on site to act as a changing room as no-one was around on the quiet Sunday afternoon. It was a two-for-one day as I captured last week's ensemble and this one at the same time.

And that rounds up another year of our Style Not Age challenge. Thank you so much for joining me and my blogging friends and I do hope you've been inspired to maybe try out something you've seen with us.

Wishing you a very Happy Christmas!

Anna x