Another shorts co-ord from Primark!

If someone had told me 12 months ago that I'd be wearing shorts next winter I'd have laughed in their face, and yet here I am in another fab two-piece from Primark. I've recently bought this one from Vinted and it cost me £18. Vinted has become my guilty secret of late. I seem to have become a insomniac shopper, using the app to fill the dreary hours when I can neither sleep nor read. Speaking about this out loud is my first step in controlling things before they get out of hand. Rest assured my purchases aren't yet breaking the bank, but I'm finding the bright colours and interesting pieces quite a lure. Even if I stopped buying right now my blog will still be littered with jolly purchases for the next while. Anyway confession over, let's talk outfits shall we?

As I was saying, shorts and me are not really a happy marriage. I still carry my teenage angst about my athletic thighs and wouldn't normally choose to show them off, but the magical powers of 80 denier tights inspire enough confidence in me to step out in style. I've always loved bright coloured tights and it seems that by adding them to the equation I've overcome years, if not decades, of hang-ups. Even at my grand old age it seems we can still surprise ourselves! I'm even going to give you a quick look at the back view which is pretty brave of me, I can tell you...

The shorter length jacket works well with the slighter shorter shorts too, compared to the pink and orange two-piece I've been raving about. (See it here in case you've missed it.) I wore it to work in the last week of the Gallery being open and loved this green and white colour combination. 

I've opted to wear my mint green brogues (old from Office) with this new suit. Again, I surprise myself that I'd wear flats with shorts! What on earth is going on? Anyway, I brought various shoe and boot options together for the initial try on and strangely these chunky brogues gave the best balance to the outfit. High heeled boots really were too much, (even though that worked with the other suit) as were various ankle boots that seemed to shorten the leg, leaving these as the winners. Not only did they look the best, but they're all-day-long comfortable - hurrah!

The pale colour means that the slightest mark shoes up, but I'm learning to live with a bit of wear and tear too. Goodness, is the perfectionist in me drifting away I wonder?

I teamed the suit with this fine knit roll neck sweater that I bought from TK Maxx this summer. I've been waiting to find the right opportunity to showcase this funky top and love the pattern play it creates. The belt is old (from Primark) and the Tree of Life pendant is very old too. One silver ring is by Emily Nixon and the other enamel and silver one was a lucky charity shop find.

The finishing touch is these old Radley London sunglasses. I'll sign off with a local view for those of you who might be in need of a dose of Tresco bliss. 

Have a great week and I look forward to reading your comments. Your feedback is so very welcome, letting me know you're out there and enjoying my latest offering. So please do drop me a line! Thank you.

                                                                       Anna x

Debenhams bolero jacket

Hello again. How was your weekend? The mercury rose here at the weekend and Tresco became thoroughly tropical for a couple of days. On Sunday I took cover for most of the afternoon as it really was too blooming hot for me. I spent a couple of hours indoors doing clothes management. If this is a new term to you then I decided to name the constant chasing of laundry around in circles as such. Not only laundry though as I've been putting away some spring outfits and bringing lighter summer clothes out. The chore is complete for this weekend at least!

This was Saturday's work outfit. I'm so pleased to showcase this yellow linen bolero jacket. I love it! The brand is Debenhams Collection (Petite) and was a pre-loved purchase from my recent mainland trip. I paid £4.50 for this pristine jacket and am thrilled to have this as part of my wardrobe now. The cut is great, the fit is perfect and I do like the notch front too.

I paired the jacket with these silky wide legged trousers from H&M which I bought way back in 2018. Have I worn them on the blog before? I honestly don't remember - (yes, shame on me Sheila!). I've had them hung up alongside a lemon and grey striped jacket for over a year now and I do know that the combination never made it to the blog last summer or the one before. I think the jacket was too long, whereas this cropped length is a much more flattering fit for this high waist Oxford Bag style of trouser.

The cream lace top was a charity shop find from ages ago and has certainly been aired on the blog many times already.

The cream hessian weave sandals are by Europen, bought from TK Maxx, but not recently.

Nothing new jewellery-wise: the gold chain necklace was from Primark, the yellow stone ring was an airport concession purchase and the silver and gold seaweed ring is by Emily Nixon.  

The lemon and cream combo has a lovely fresh feel to it and not only that, but the jacket gives the outfit a sharp edge which garnered a few compliments too. Dressing in lemon and yellow shades are akin to wearing portable sunshine and always earn me a smile or two along the way. Hurrah for summer!

Wishing you a great week ahead!

Anna x

Checks, plaid, tartan...

Checks, plaid, tartan, call it what you will, but this pattern is very much my calling card for the autumn/winter months. I love the sock-it-to-me boldness of these trousers which encompass so many of my joys all in one. From the zingy orange colour to the wide cut of the trousers to the obligatory pockets and neat fitting high waist, these new trews are my latest delight. The brand is Collusion and I found them on ASOS a couple of weeks ago, although they appear to be all sold out now I'm afraid.

The outfit is a mix of old, new and charity shopped. The wool roll neck was a charity shop find last year, the fabric boots are by Zara (see them here) and the Michael Kors jacket is a few years old now. 

From the shoes up, this outfit was all about comfort. Some days that's the main focus as I'm getting dressed, but I'm happy to say that I don't think I've had to compromise on style with this luxe look. The trainers have a stretch top to them, knitted in fabric all the way to the ankle and I must admit I felt like that I was at work in my slippers all day long - what heaven!

A little aside here: I just wanted to acknowledge the presence of the storm boards that are now in place for the next few months. I hate to have them in the way of our view from the gallery window, but with the prevailing winds, high tides and storm surges they're a necessary addition to keep us safe. Apart from that they impact on my daily photo shoots, but at least you still get a glimpse of the view beyond.

Today's sparkle comes in the form of rings from Diana Porter and Emily Nixon and orb pendant by Vivienne Westwood. 

I've been gathering a few photo shoots together in my draft box ready for when Polly leaves me. In fact we have our last day of working together tomorrow. Her daily input into my life as well as the business will be sorely missed, but at least I'll see her often as she'll be just five minutes away. I'll be dipping into that back catalogue for a couple of weeks and hopefully by then I'll be back into the swing of my winter shoots with tripod and timer again. Steve and Sasha are both on call too when I'm needing a hand, so hopefully it'll look like business as usual for you readers. Thanks for dropping by and here's to our journey into winter together!

Anna x