Two summer jackets (in autumn)




Hello there! At the time of writing it's blowing a gale outside with torrential rain battering against the windows which makes this seem a rather odd feature to be posting, but I've been promising this for days, so here we go. So far I've managed to get photos of two summer jackets and still have two more waiting in the wings, however they may have to wait until next year.




I was particularly pleased with the pairing of jacket and dress in this outfit. I love the stripes of colour echoed in each even though the patterns are different. The colours too work really well together. It's a real match made in heaven.




It's the first time I've worn the jacket (the brand is Divas) and it's a neat fit with discreet zip up pockets and zip front. The dress is by Per Una and is a perfect summer weight in linen with fitted waistband and inverted pleat creating a generous skirt and those lovely pockets making it a sure fire winner. The v neck kept me cool and the pretty pleating added a bit of style in what could have otherwise been an overly simple frock.




The dress, jacket and rings are all pre-loved pieces which just goes to show how second hand isn't just the green option, but can be a colourful and stylish one too. The necklace is by Drift jewellery one of the brands we stock in the Gallery. I collect Tresco sea glass from our beaches and send it to Fiona, the maker, who turns it into one-off pieces for us to sell. 




The Primark petal sandals have jewelled centres. I've had these for a couple of summers now and goodness, they're so comfy!




The second summer jacket is showcased just a day later in what was a real dose of pea-souper fog. It disrupted flights, delaying departures and arrivals with some guests not moving to or from the island at all. Fiona and I decided to go ahead, aiming for that atmospheric shot ...




The pre-loved jacket is by River Island. It's unlined, but has pockets and again this is its first outing. I seem to collect jackets as that handy item to finish off an outfit. I'm quite formal on the quiet, despite my efforts at rebellion sometimes. When I'm being smart, a jacket is the finishing touch and yet is easy to discard when it gets too hot.




The Topshop orange satin trimmed top is also pre-loved and very well worn by me. The off-white trousers were from F&F at Tesco many moons ago. They are great wash and wear trousers requiring the minimum of ironing to look sleek and smart. 




Comfort and style are combined in these glorious embroidered trainers by Replay, bought in the Harrogate branch of TK Maxx last spring. They certainly do draw lots of compliments every time I wear them. 






The shopping my closet theme continues with my jewellery too. Both rings and the tiny seed pearl necklace were all gathered along the way over the years. Vintage and second hand are always more interesting to me. 




And so here we are bang into autumn with fog, rain and gales. My newly found jackets look like the only place they're heading is into a suitcase along with the rest of my summer clothes. The big clothes change-over may be coming sooner rather than later...

In the meantime, I've got one more summery outfit coming up on Monday for our monthly style challenge with the posse from the Style Not Age collective. Our theme for September is "All dressed up with nowhere to go". It'll be no surprise to you if I say that I took this one rather literally! Do swing by on Monday to see what that might look like.

                                                                                                Anna x

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5 years of blogging - a mega post!




Thanks for joining me today!

I'm amazed to think that I've been larking around like this for five years now and still you guys are here with me! Thank you so much for keeping on coming back to follow my antics, my ups and downs, my work, home and island life all wrapped up in this twice weekly update. 




Although I'm mostly known for my colourful outfits I thought it might be good to feature a more sophisticated, elegant version of Anna's Island Style today. And nothing says elegance more than the chic combination of black and white, does it? 




The bubble sleeve jersey top was purchased in February when I was last on the mainland. Apart from charity shops, my go-to high street shop is always TK Maxx and didn't fail me in its offerings. I bought this and a white version, both slight variations on this theme and equally lovely coming in at £15.99 for the white and £17.99 for the black. This one is from By Clara Paris.




I paired the rib knit top with these off white trousers that were another bargain, this time from F&F at Tesco a couple of years ago. They were in the summer sale for £5. The material is man made, but a lovely heavy weight that drapes well and is virtually crease resistant. 




Oh how my heart soars when I see these shoes! I had them packed away for the winter until recently and goodness, how exciting it was to rediscover them. I bought them in TK Maxx and the brand is Nine West. The elasticated band of black contrasting beautifully with the white leather pointed toe, plus the fact that they are all day comfortable put these in my all time top ten pairs of shoes.




The tartan clutch and rings are all charity shop buys. My black and white sunglasses are long time faves from Quay Australia.




So that's the outfit of the day, but what about the past five years? I've spent some time looking back through both my photos and blogs from this time and my first observation has to be about my personal appearance. I don't mind the ageing aspect, but it's probably no surprise ('cos I'm a woman and afflicted by the vanity gene) that I hanker after my slimmer self of five years ago. Oh golly, how I hope I knew how slim I was at that time! I certainly had an air of happiness - hopefully that was because I knew how nicely my clothes hung due to the lack of back fat, soft waistline etc. 



From July 2015, see that post here.


Another July 2015 post here.



This outfit was from September 2015 and you can see the post here. I was only five months into my blogging dairy and Polly was my photographer of that time. Oh happy days! Oh skinny days! My most popular post of 2015 can be viewed here - it's called These arms. Do you remember it? I might have been dismayed at the less than perfect arms on display below had I not written the ode to those limbs the previous year.




The votes are in and a travel post is the most read feature on my blog for 2016 - you can see that feature here. I must admit this vintage designer ballgown is one that I have such fond memories of wearing. I can't recall if Steve and I danced that evening, but I certainly floated on air all night long. 




The most popular blog post of 2017 was in response to my radio debut with Johnnie Walker on Sounds of the 70's. I've only listened to this once and can't bear to again as I sounded high as a kite! The beach shot above is from another popular feature, Ping Pong Piece from July 2017 - see it here.




In 2018 I turned 60 and tried my hand at modelling, namely with JD Williams. The Christmas campaign was one of three I did with them and was my most read feature that year - catch it here. 




2019 brought a challenge of very different kind when I decided to swim around my island home of Tresco. The resulting post was my most popular one of the year - read about my crazy escapade here.




And so, here we are half way through 2020 and thus far, my most popular post of the year is Escape from storm Ciara as featured in my February post here

I do hope you've enjoyed this whistle stop tour of the past five years of Anna's Island Style. If you're new to the blog, then this may provide a wider viewpoint of what may initially appear to be a fashion blog, but the brushstroke is broader; effectively it's my online diary. 

And finally, a thank-you to my readers, old and new, for without your feedback, emails and stats I wouldn't be able to gauge how I was doing. It's as much a pleasure to share my island life with you now as it was when I started five years ago. Will I still be blogging in another five years? Who knows. But in the meantime, thanks for joining me on my colourful journey!

                                                                            Anna x

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Do your own thing!

I'm a little late posting this week due to having a nasty tummy bug since Monday. I'm on the mend now, weak as a kitten, but no longer lying prone which is progress. Being forced to stop is no bad thing sometimes, although this wasn't exactly stopping if you get what I mean. As I was resting this morning I read an article in a recent You Magazine about Lorraine Kelly and her quote really resonated with me - maybe with you too?

You Magazine 15th April 2018

I bet we all feel an affinity with this wonderful lady who has become a household name. As a fellow Scot I feel proud that this lovely lass rose from the provinces to take London by storm, ending up wearing the crown of breakfast TV, all the while remaining grounded and reassuringly ordinary. I agree with Lorraine when she says, " One of the few consolations of growing older is that you have far more self-confidence than when you were young."

Take the following outfit - 


In my formative years I read in Jackie magazine (the style bible for my teenage years) that only the most flat chested Twiggy-esque types could wear smock dresses/coats. I took this to heart as my own chest blossomed beyond the reach of this particular fashion. Even now as an assertive, self possessed woman I still carry all these rules around with me when I go shopping. But lately I thank goodness for being able to counter these style restrictions with the "who gives a damn?" of maturity.


There were so many features that attracted me to this duster coat/swing coat when I found it in Harrogate recently - the checked pattern, the colourway, the darling pleated hem, the bow-tied sleeves, the patch pockets - all of which countered the fact that it was a smock coat. I'm not what you'd call busty, but the fabric falling from the bust can only make you look bigger and vanity usually gets the better of me, however in this case this entirety won me over. 


And thank goodness for that, cos isn't it just the sweetest thing ever!


I had thought that this was a vintage find, but like my dear blogging friend Sheila I took a moment to research the label and found that it's an American brand and is the sister company to Fovever21. And it's a scoop at £15!


No matter how I tried I couldn't get the big hair and big coat to swing in the same direction!


As you can see I've totally embraced the whole smock thing here with the empire line top by Cameo Rose (preloved). I used the cream tone of the lace to inform my choice of trousers; the F&F wide legged crops were in the autumn sale last year for £5. And the shoe boots were an obvious when I picked up the coat - yellow and blue in checks and florals - of course they go!


Today's jewellery is all preloved although the sunglasses are new from Quay Australia.

And to finish off I'd love to have my soundtrack for this post from my favourite artist Paloma Faith. The track is called "Make your own kind of music" see here. The remake of the hit by Mama Cass is perfect for those of us who appreciate an anthem on our journey of self expression. Until next time ...


Anna x

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