December's Style Not Age challenge




Hello again and welcome to the final Style Not Age challenge of the year! The onus was on Jacqui to round off our year on the right note and she came up with My Perfect Little Black Number for NYE. Personally, I have very little that falls into this category so it was quite easy to choose between the offerings in my wardrobe. My vintage frock has been a stand-by for years since I found it in a charity shop and it seemed to be perfect for this challenge. But first let's catch up with the other ladies of the collective to see how they approached this month's task...




Emma from the Style Splash also shopped her closet, choosing this LBD from Bastyan and shoes from Quiz. Looking sleek and elegant, Emma is more than ready for that NYE bash!




Another stylish twist comes from Gail in her Hobbs black dress with mulitcoloured spots. Old favourite boots mean she'll be able to dance all night long. Find her backstory on Is This Mutton blog.




Over the Hilda is also sporting a spotty frock; hers is from Biba. Hilda has paired the dress with her long time fave Clarks sandals that have indeed danced many a night away! Do check out her blog for more.




Jacqui from Mummabstylish has recently rocked her NYE frock while she was on holiday. The lace and rivets add funk to this Julien Macdonald LBD. Check out Jacqui's blog for more.




My vintage frock is an Italian number by designer Gina Bacconi. I checked out her website and I'm delighted that I grabbed myself a bargain when I paid £20 for this flamboyant number. I love the ornate hemline with gold trim - it's suitably fancy for NYE. 




The gold ruffled hemline was what informed my choice of footwear; these black and gold brocade boots are old, but much loved. I bought them from River Island a few years ago and just love that they add real pizzazz to outfit. And just in case there wasn't enough going on, I opted for these (old) paisley print tights. There's no less is more with this outfit!




All of my accessories, apart from my Radley sunglasses, are second hand. I do miss my jaunts to the mainland to root around charity shops, seeking out those little gems of jewellery that add a personal touch to an outfit. One day when life settles down a bit I'll be back.




Some of my readers may well recognise my backdrop for today's outfit. I visited Cromwell's Castle last week in an effort to get ahead of things, but didn't really take the weather into account. When I climbed to the top of the building, which for some reason seemed like the ideal place for the photo shoot, well it was blowing an absolute gale! I have a heavy weight that I attach to my tripod to hold it down, but even then I was on edge as to whether it would be strong enough to stop my camera come crashing to the ground.






And this is me, all windswept and interesting! 




The jury is out, of course, as to what we will or won't be allowed to do on New Year's Eve when the time comes. I have another very sparkly outfit lined up in case I get lots of invitations to parties, but honestly I think Steve will be very happy if we have to stay at home. Needless to say, I'll be dressing up on the night just for the heck of it!

I do hope you've had a lovely Christmas and that New Year won't be a washout. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that Covid19 won't wreck another party opportunity!


Happy New Year!

Anna x

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Easter exhibition night

Our first show of the season took place last night with resounding success, I'm delighted to say. The gallery looks fantastic, filled with a diverse collection of paintings and new glassware produced for this exhibition. You can view the show online here and I'll give you some inside shots of the gallery at the end of the post. But let's start with the team who performed like a well-oiled machine to make the evening run perfectly - Ruth, Polly and Heather.


Strike a pose for the blog ladies!







This vintage dress was a purchase in September when I was away on the mainland. I kept it to wear over Christmas, but then decided to save it for our exhibitions instead, and I'm glad I did. It's an 80's piece with huge shoulder pads, this wonderful ruffle hem and is Italian made by Gina Bacconi. The shoes are by Jessica Wright which I bought in TK Maxx in my recent post here. My necklace is by Magpie Vintage and rings are charity shopped. 

The exhibition features paintings by Tom Holland, Wendy McBride, Gary Long, Jon Evison and Richard Guy. Rob Braybrooks is showing work in woodcut from beech which is quite unusual. In addition we have a glass collection created by Will Shakspeare which are sketches of the landscape/seascape. 






The gallery window overlooks New Grimsby bay with the islands of Samson in the distance to the left and Bryher to the right. The tide rolls in, the tide goes out, but this ever changing view never fails to enchant.

Linking with -
Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb


Anna x

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