Fun with pattern play

Hot off the press - this is today's work outfit! A comment from my blogging friend about last week's offering was pretty accurate about my rather tame trousers; so thank you Sheila for your constructive criticism! It spurred me on to work a bit harder with this week's post.

I spent more time on curating the outfit than ironing this time and I do believe it paid off. There's nothing new here, but that's not to say that it's not a fun offering. I'm delighted to say that this does spark joy for me and was much appreciated by a couple of lovely ladies too while I was serving them at work. One of them remarked that she would never have put these patterns plus the necklace together, but what a raving success it was - praise indeed for my pattern play!

The jacket and trousers are both by Zara, both second hand, and the H&M shirt was a charity shop buy some time ago, but I think this may be its first appearance on the blog. The necklace is from Topshop many moons ago and the purple stretch belt is very old too. Once again I'm wearing my two Emily Nixon rings as is my wont at the moment.

My sunglasses are old too, but still rather lovely - they're by Radley London. I'm not sure this is the most flattering of my snaps but it does show up the pattern play perfectly.

It's the first time this year for me to wear sandals; these were featured heavily last year I fancy as they're pretty much my favourite sandals of the moment. I bought them on Vinted and would love to find them again in another colourway, but no joy as yet.

Fiona did the honours taking the photos today at the end of our working day. We were caught up in the end of day rush hour although our idea of rush hour and yours will probably be many miles apart. Anyway, Fiona attracted attention as she was kneeling down for some shots and a lady approached her enquiring if she was on her knee proposing to me... We were quite tickled by that.

                                                                                    Anna x

Dressing for a heatwave

Hurrah, we're having a heatwave!

Hello lovelies! Are you wilting in this weather? The heatwave here in the UK is a wonderful summer bonus for us, but golly it's a challenge to keep cool at work. You may have seen how I was keeping cool in my previous feature, but for work I need to be a bit more formal. 

Long and loose was my way of coping at work the other day. A double dose of lightweight fabric in my most favourite of patterns, paisley of course, was a wonderful way of wafting my way through the day. Neither the skirt or top is new, but that doesn't detract from their loveliness. Sasha gave me the H&M orange top a few years ago and it pops up on the blog with regularity. The paisley maxi skirt was a charity shop find a few years ago too and has that sweet sparkly stretch waistband making it uber comfy! The whole outfit is perfect for a hot day.

Simple yet bold accessories today in the shape of two turquoise coloured rings, both pre-loved, and a gold chain from Primark. Retro sunglasses are by River Island.

The silvery blue embroidered mules were from TK Maxx years ago and are still going strong. I often bring them out to wear with this skirt as they work so well together.

The weather is due to break today with rain arriving in the Southwest by the end of the day. I'm off to raid my wardrobe for inspiration to cover this eventuality. It's still hot at the moment so wish me luck in finding the right outfit to fit the bill!

                                                                                       Anna x

Sending a little happiness your way

Hello! So here we go again with our third lock-down in the past 12 months. January and Feb are my least favourite months of the year, stretching my ability to keep cheerful and fight off the blues, but hey ho, here we go! I've yet to find out if being at home during this time makes it easier to bear. What has added to the challenge however, is the fact that my husband had a minor accident at work in December and is now at home laid up with a poorly foot. Hopefully he's to have an x-ray next week so he might have a diagnosis and idea of when he'll get back to work. In the meantime, I seem to be spending a lot of time providing cups of tea, cakes, snacks and meals as well as plumping up of cushions and generally faffing around him. Does he not realise that my Domestic Goddess outfit had to be returned at the end of the festive period?

Anyway, here's a little corner of Tresco where you can soak up some happiness under this golden mosaic, the creation of Lucy Dorrien-Smith. Smith Square, in the heart of the island, is where you'll find three of these lovely pieces of art, the other two being called Peace and Love. I set up my camera, timer and tripod here the other day and it wasn't without the odd hiccup as well as funny outtakes as I endeavoured to do this outfit justice. 

Colour therapy is my usual answer to anything that ails me, hence this warm combination of orange and bottle green that were the start of this OOTD. The orange gloves by Harssidanzar were a Christmas present from Steve; they are buttery soft Italian nappa leather, lined in cashmere for heat and comfort. Jamie bought me a pink pair by the same brand and both are a really impressive quality of leather as well as being a perfect fit. How snazzy will I be this winter with these two colourful pops to jazz up my outfits! The fun fur isn't new, but is a cosy snuggle-up coat for this time of year. The brand is The Vintage Boutique Collection from TK Maxx from a couple of years ago.

Not only have I gone strong with colours, but patterns too. Fairisle and paisley print for the cardigan and shirt (both by H&M), checked Italian wool trousers by No 21 (see their sale here, wow!) and my rich brocade boots by ASOS. Nothing here is new as I'm still on my shopping ban, month 11 currently.

Jewellery-wise I'm wearing pre-loved rings. The brown leather bag with orange piping is by Gigi and was a charity shop find ages ago.

This cute diamante Scottie dog brooch was a charity shop find also from a long time ago.

Taking photos of boots while you're actually wearing them isn't as easy as I thought...

My Quay Australia mirror sunglasses reflect the tripod as I rush to fix my hair before the capture... 

I'll leave you a shot from my walk around the island yesterday. Tresco was bathed in sunshine with not a breath of wind and honestly it looked just like a spring day. How grateful I am to enjoy the big outdoors on days like this.

Take care and see you soon!

Anna x