Go red for February!

Hello and welcome to our Style Not Age challenge for this month. Hilda's come up with this month's theme of Go red for February, a lively idea I would say. I've fully entered into the swing of things as you can see so let's have a look at the others now shall we?

Hilda's red sweater and bag are by Irish brand, Lennon and Courtney, worn with blue wide legged jeans for this stylish and yet casual look. See more from Hilda on her blog Over the Hilda now.

At the smarter end of the scale is Jacqui in her woman-about-town look. She's sporting a few variations of red along with her new cream faux leather skirt by Izabel. Catch up with her latest news on Mummabstylish.

Emma's mixing things up for a quirky and fun look for her Go Red offering. Emma isn't timid in her dressing and it always pays off. Read her back story on her blog the Style Splash.

I'm thrilled to be wearing this suede fringed jacket for the first time. I'm not sure why it's taken me six months to showcase it, but here we are. I found it in a vintage shop in Penzance last year and kept on waiting for the right moment to wear it. This challenge was the perfect prompt!

I paid £45 for the jacket which, considering it's real suede isn't a bad price at all. Adding the tartan trousers may not be the obvious for everyone, but to me it seemed like a great idea. The trousers were a charity shop find from last year too.

A full fringe across the back of the jacket deserved a bit of a twirl!

The cream rib knit sweater was a high street buy last year, one of those versatile pieces that you can't go wrong with. 

The white leather cowboy boots by All Saints tie in perfectly with the fringed jacket.

Never fear mixing fun jewellery with classic pieces. It's easy to stick by the rules, but much more fun to make your own. The plastic ring was a thrift purchase and the silver scribble ring is by Emily Nixon.

It was such a relief to see the sunshine this weekend! I'm sure we're all pretty fed up with the relentless rain. It's been feeling much more spring-like here - hopefully I've not spoken too soon!

Many thanks for joining us for the monthly round up. Did you go red in Feb? Maybe we've given you an idea or two...

                                                                    Anna x

New jumper from Next

Hi there! This was my weekend outfit, including this fab jumper from Next. As you probably know, I don't often shop from the high street but I happened to visit an out of town Next store when I was recently on the mainland and this eyecatching sweater was hanging right by the door (great product placement!). 

And another different thing for me is that it's blue. Anyway, I held off for a day and then woke up with it still on my mind and decided to go back for it. What a nasty surprise I got when I discovered that they had been moved, or rather all sold. I was a bit lucky though when I found the last one on the rack by the changing room. That was surely a sign that it was meant for me. You can still find it online here.

Home again and I paired it up with these very old jeans, but didn't they work well colourwise? I seem to be having a big jumper moment recently. They're ideal for popping a thermal top underneath to keep cosy during the winter months.

My floral Dr Martens are making another appearance with this outfit and I'll be making no apologies as I do so love them. 

My Emily Nixon rings elevate the look from casual to not-so-casual. I tend not to wear anything apart from these at the moment and who could blame me? This was me on Saturday but by Sunday I was looking a bit different...

A change of outfit was required as I started some diy at home. I've decided that we need a bit of a spruce up on the home front and am setting about doing what I can while Steve is busy elsewhere. By the end of the afternoon I had taken up the very old carpet and underlay ready for the next stage. Currently I'm stripping back the paintwork as I'm going to replace the carpet with a colourful runner. I fear that the paint build up spans back over many decades with one colour slapped on top of another, but ever the perfectionist, I'll be working on the paint stripping for as long as it takes... Wish me luck!

                                                                Anna x

Autumn Colours, our Style Not Age challenge for October

Hello again, and welcome to our Style Not Age challenge for October. This month Hilda has opted for Autumn Colours as our theme, a most timely choice. I just happened to be wearing this (non-outfit) outfit the other day when the photos started to arrive in my inbox and so I thought it might just pass muster.

So, let's start with Hilda, who has recently become a grandmother (again) to a dear little baby girl. The chocolate brown trousers are new, from Cos and the pretty embroidered cardigan, tee shirt and trainers are all shopped from her closet. Catch up on her news on Over the Hilda. 

Jacqui too has shopped her wardrobe for this month's look. She's wearing russets, greys and black as her autumn colours - see more from her on her blog Mummabstylish.

Emma is sharing one of her holiday snaps with us from the sunny island of Madeira where she's wearing a favourite orange jumpsuit by Nutmeg with gold accessories. See more from her on Style Splash. 

Despite this not being a staged outfit per se, it is one of my most seen looks of late. I love this embroidered coat and am wearing it often as I know it's a brief window of opportunity before I'll have to pack it away until warmer spring days. I found it on Vinted earlier on this year and love that I rediscovered these jeans recently - hence they're turning up on the blog like a rash at the moment! Anyway the jeans and coat marry up beautifully so excuse me if you see me out and about in them, again.

Something that is new however is this rather grand Harris Tweed and leather backpack which I bought in Inverness last month. Scotland prides itself on fine goods in Harris Tweed and I was tempted to buy a handbag in this pattern, but after much thought I hit on the idea of having a backpack to not only free up my hands, but to use as my travelling bag when popping off the island. 

It's big enough to hold all of the essentials plus my drinking bottle and still has enough room for my book of the moment and glasses - so important when I'm waiting for a flight on sitting on the train. Needless to say I love the dear little backpack and hope to have many happy trips with it in years to come.

The embroidery theme continues with my Replay trainers which you'll no doubt have seen many times before. I have these in two colourways and wear them often as they're jazzy enough for work and yet so blooming comfortable when I have to stand at the desk all day.

As ever, I'm delighted to show you my Emily Nixon gemstone ring which I've worn daily since Steve bought it for my birthday in January. I so hope that this is the start of new trend for him after many years of being sidetracked during my birthday month... Apologies for the lack of manicure, but it was an impulse photo shoot!

This little beach track is just across the road from our doctor's surgery and is a much nicer place to hang out whilst waiting for the annual flu jab that Steve and I had recently. He's not doing too bad a job as my blog photographer of late, don't you think?

Thanks again for dropping by and I do hope that our monthly style challenges feed your imagination!

                                                                        Anna x

Last week's most loved...

Hello lovelies! This was my most loved outfit from last week and what a surprise that was to me. As you know, dressing up is my daily pleasure, but that doesn't mean I always have a plan. On this particular day I returned from my morning swim and as is my habit sat in front on my wardrobe with my hot drink in hand to find inspiration for what I might wear to work. It was a muggy morning and therefore I knew it would have to be something loose fitting. Squeezed between my trouser suits I found this - a brand new pyjama suit with labels on which I had bought from Vinted, but goodness knows when and had stashed it away without even trying it on.

I'd obviously bought it because I liked it but for me the colours are very understated and therefore it hadn't caught my attention whenever I'd scanned the hangers over the past months. Anyway, I tried it on, thought it was okay so snipped off the labels, ironed it and got ready for work. 

My first compliment came from Steve when I dashed in to collect my bag for work. He's so used to me dressing up in all sorts of flamboyant outfits that he often doesn't pass comment, but this morning he was very enthusiastic about my look. I was a bit taken aback as it seemed so different to my shout-out-loud outfits but he said it really suited me.

Minutes later I was at work being greeted by Rachel with great enthusiasm too. She totally loved everything about this - the colour, the pattern, the fit - it was a 10 out of 10 from her. I was slightly bemused as I didn't really get it.

As the day went on I found myself showered in lovely compliments about the suit. At work I had so many kind remarks and later when I was out and about the pyjama suit seemed to be a bit of a showstopper. I was more than a little surprised.  In case you're interested the brand is H&M and I have no idea if it's current or from last year.

The Dune handbag was from TK Maxx a couple of years ago and every once in a while I find the perfect outfit to warrent its appearance. My rings are both from Emily Nixon.

The necklace is an old favourite and was from Topshop many moons ago. I wear it often as the colours work with so many of my outfits. The sunglasses are by Quay Australia and are very old too.

The cream mules are by Zara but were a charity shop find last year. I don't wear them often as they still need to be properly broken in which means they pinch a bit by the end of the day, but sometimes one has to suffer for one's art!

My thanks to Fiona for doing the honours with the photography last week. She too was very keen on the look. I must admit that the suit was incredibly comfortable and once on was so easy to forget about. I think I read that a good outfit is meant to be put on and then calls for no further thought as it simply works. By the end of the day I had acclimatised to this elegant, stylish suit that seemed to attract attention wherever I went - what a joyful find!

                                                                        Anna x

Orange and pink - what joy!

Hi there! How are you? I'm firing on all cylinders again and wanted to share this, my favourite outfit from last week. As you know, I'm all about bold colours and this is certainly bold! 

There's nothing new here and yet the look is a joy to behold. I love the marriage of orange and pink especially with this ornate and embellished outfit. The skirt was a Dorothy Perkins purchase and is well and truly vintage now. Every so often I check it over to see if the moths have gotten hold of it or if the stitching is unravelling but so far, so good. Underneath is a white stretch bodysuit from Primark, a basic and essential to buy every year as the white gradually dulls. 

The gold trimmed jacket was a Vinted purchase last year and is still looking bright and fresh as a daisy! I added a gold coloured link chain belt (from Primark) to tie in with the gold trim of the jacket. 

My cute pink Furla Candy bag was a perfect addition to the look as it just cries out Fun! My sunglasses are rather ancient, by Quay Australia and my rings are both by Emily Nixon. My gold link chain necklace was a cheap and cheerful buy from years ago.

I seem to wear these pink and orange bejewelled sandals all of the time lately, but why not? I totally love these and they're all-day-long comfortable too!

Another fun element to this look is my pink and orange net underskirt. I'm so proud of the fact that I made this (two years ago, see the post here) and that I still love it. This resurgence of love has meant that I've been wearing the petticoat with many an outfit of late so I'm sure you'll be seeing it again soon - sorry!

Aside from the outfit I've not got much to report. July is upon us and the island is teaming with happy families returning for their dose of Tresco magic. Rachel and I are rushed off our feet at work, but that's exactly as it ought to be. The Gallery is looking fab - bright and colourful too, full of all sorts of paintings inspired by the views and clarity of light of the islands.

And here's me in yet another orange and pink outfit with the requisite net petticoat to finish it off. Rachel said this looks like an angel dress thanks to the huge sleeves. The painting I'm hanging is by Teresa Pemberton, one of our long term artists - you can see more of her work here. Thank you so much for joining me once again and I do hope you're having a lovely summer too!

                                                                            Anna x

Dress for the heat, our Style Not Age challenge for June

Hello once again, and welcome to our monthly style challenge! Hilda has chosen well this month opting for the timely theme of Dressing for the Heat. Much as I'd like to report that the islands are basking in the UK heatwave, we are in fact sitting under a heavy cloud cover which is making for very muggy weather. My outfit is a preloved offering, but first let's see how the other ladies of the collective have fared...

Emma is basking under sunny skies on holiday abroad and is wearing a leopard print cover-up and gold sandals along with the essentail sunhat by Oliver Bonas. Catch up on her holiday news on Style Splash here. 

Jacqui is wearing her cover-up as an open shirt (by Salamander Shirts) with white top and shorts and white Lotus sandals. Catch up on all her news on Mummabstylish blog. 

Hilda is sharing her sizzling Sicily style from her recent holiday. The long, cool maxi dress is from Primark and her sandals are by Clarks. See more from her on Over the Hilda blog. 

No dazzling sunshine nor holiday backdrop from me, but Steve did land us on a brilliant white sandbar for my photoshoot of this white sundress by ME + EM, a lucky find in a charity shop in Penzance last month where I paid the grand sum of £5 for it! I found a similar one on their website here and it's retailing for £150! And let's not forget to mention that It's Got Pockets!

My green and white swimsuit was a Vinted purchase and works well with the chunky necklace from the bottom of my jewellery box. My sunglasses are old, by Quay Australia.

The beach dress is pretty but also pretty much transparent which might limit the opportunities to wear it, but I did in fact wear it to work last week...

I've added an orange vest top along with my hand made pink and orange petticoat underneath using the transparency to allow the colours to show through. I love the look as it's flamboyant and a bit different to the simple beach cover-up. 

I've continued with orange as my accessory colour - nothing new here apart from my Emily Nixon birthday ring (18 carat gold with sapphires and diamond).

I finished off the look with my favourite this season sandals (from Vinted) to tie in with the pink and orange theme. I did actually wear an orange jeans jacket over the top when I popped out at lunchtime, but forgot to capture that version for you...

And one final flash of petticoat reveals the orange trim and pink netting. I'm delighted to find another reason to bring out my fabulous underskirt again.

Many thanks for joining us for this month's Style Not Age challenge. As ever, I do hope you've found some inspiration amongst our offerings!

                                                                            Anna x