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

Tweed and satin? Yes!

Mixing up fabrics can be just as much fun as colour play in my book, so today I'm sporting a cute little tweed jacket with these skinny satin trousers. The jacket is pre-loved by Joules which I picked up for £15 in a charity shop and the disco pants are quite old and were from H&M Conscious Collection. Jeans might have been an obvious pairing for this, but I wanted to add a bit more colour, hence the tangerine pants. 

The jacket has velvet edging and a fancy lining as well as non-matching buttons making it very me. The fit is great to say it's off-the-peg with the sleeve length being perfect too. All of my jewellery is charity shopped, but the watch was a gift from Nordgreen - see more about it here. I still have an offer available on this brand if you use the code PARKES15 you will get a 15% discount on any purchase. 

At this time of year I seem to always add a polo neck sweater to the outfit of the day, probably because I'm one of those chilly types. I hate having a cold neck more than anything, so my closet has lots of them, especially black ones - I must have about six of those currently. This cream one was from Primark last year.

Sasha was my photographer, catching me laugh when I almost fell over on this tiny incline. It's really not a very steep road, but as I changed my footing I almost lost my balance, creating a drama out of nothing as is pretty much my way. Slight incline plus high heeled boots equals risk assessment!

In my previous post I was complaining about having short legs, but today I concede that the towering boots (by Office) are magnificently leg-lengthening. Those extra five inches make all the difference confidence-wise. The best part of course is the deep platform that means these are all-day comfortable too. 

I seem to have waited ages to showcase this tiny leather bag, but here it is at last. It's by Gigi and yes, it was a charity shop find. I'm particularly pleased to have matched up the orange trim with the trousers - small things please small minds eh?

I'm enjoying this lovely view looking east across the Great Pool, a perfect spot to stop and chill. The island has benches dotted all around (many made by my dear husband) encouraging the habit of pausing to take in the scenery. The big lure of holidaying on the island is indeed the slow pace allowing for time to reconnect with not just nature, but with oneself. Read more on this aspect here. 

And as we hurtle towards Christmas in a flurry of shopping, baking and partying it's worth keeping in mind the need to take a moment away from the commercialism of Christmas and remember the true meaning of our celebrations. This is a reminder to myself as much as anyone.

Have a fabulous week!

Anna x

H&M jumpsuit

Hi and happy Wednesday to you!

As the summer draws to an end I'm keen to share as many summery outfits with you as I can. Today's offering is this rich tropical print jumpsuit by H&M Conscious Collection which I picked up in a charity shop in Truro this summer for the grand price of £9.99. I've just done a quick search for this on line and came across it on eBay for £19.99 so it's still around if you fancy it. The fabric is drapey, medium weight and hangs well. The cut of the wide palazzo pants is cool for summer wear too. The crossover front has a hook and eye fastening to stop it gaping open - I suppose you could wear it on its own as the top is quite slim fitting.

The elastic belt is preloved and adds definition to the waist, as is my preference to draw the eye to the smallest feature of mine. I also like the feeling of a comfortable pulled together look that a stretch belt gives me, more than a narrow belt ever could. The rings are both preloved too and the necklace you may have seen before (it's by Melissa James Jewellery).

A jumpsuit is my ideal work wear you know. I love the easywear aspect plus how I can climb a ladder without worrying about a wardrobe malfunction which at my age seems like a terrible gaffe. It's interesting how the act of accidentally flashing a bit of thigh in your twenties seems harmless enough and yet in ones 60's is seen as comical at best, cringe worthy at worst. Am I just becoming a bit touchy now I wonder, or do you agree?

You'll have seen these (New Look) black cork wedge sandals before I'm sure. In fact they're coming to the end of their time as one of the toe ends is becoming a bit worn now. I've bought a replacement pair already, but haven't quite broken them in yet. 

I forgot to mention one of the best features of all - the pockets! I love the slouch factor of pockets, the easy resting place for the hands which helps to relax the shoulders giving a breathing space between chores. Pockets are an irresistible plus point for me when I'm considering a purchase, often tipping me over the edge when I'm in doubt. 

Coming up on the blog soon is the monthly style challenge with my friends from the Style Not Age collective. The subject this month is "Wild about animal print". After a bit of rummaging around in my wardrobe I found a piece that fits the bill. Ironically enough I did find my animal print collection to be lacking in choice, but am also very aware of how high I set the bar for myself. I do hope you'll join us on Monday to see how we all fared. The Abbey Garden is where Sasha and I did the photo shoot so I'll leave you with a small taster of what's to come.

Wishing you a fabulous week!

Anna x

Winter coat

Yes, it suddenly dawned on me that any minute now we're going to be embracing all that is spring and I've yet to show you my new winter coat. My daugther Sasha bought it for my Christmas and it's been a fine addition to my winter wardrobe. This slim fitting leopard print coat comes from Tesco of all places and was in the sale for about £15 I think. I pointed it out to her when we were shopping together et voila, there it was on Christmas day!

I've worn the coat today with these fabulous orange satin disco pants from the Conscious Collection at H&M from quite a few years ago adding this mohair sweater by Diesel which I've also had for years. It's got a tiny bit of itch to it, so I always pop a vest top underneath to make it more comfortable. The ginger and spice colours of the look were just calling out for my nutmeg suede boots from Office and I finished it all off with my heavy gauge gold necklace (another gift from Sasha) along with some old rings. Oh, and let's not forget my old faithfuls - sunglasses by Quay Australia.

The winter has evoporated once again and I'm aware that our season on the island is just beginning again. I'm pleased that I've managed to get out and about in between the winter storms to capture some new backdrops for you. This setting is in the woodlands just above the church, looking out across Old Grimsby and onwards to Men-a-Vaur rock. One of my blogging friends, Julia from When the girls rule blog (see here) has asked to see more of the island - well this little corner is mainly populated by holiday cottages, but also is where the church, community centre and primary school are all located. My son, Jamie lives in a tiny bungalow at Old Grimsby where a lot of the young members of staff are housed in flats and staff accomodation. Our winter population is about 150, but that almost doubles in the summer when the seasonal workers arrive. With no shopping malls, night clubs, fast food joints or other temptations, the island is the perfect location to work for a summer and save up. Some, like me, come for a summer and fall in love, not just with island life, but with an islander, and never leave.

When I arrived on the islands (in 1978) Round Island Lighthouse was permanantly manned but is now operated remotely. On a stormy day the waves crash onto the rocks below and can break over the buildings on the island, sometimes obliterating the lighthouse completely. The sight can be exhilirating and is a great reminder of how tiny and insignificant we are at the hands of nature.

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Anna x