Tickled pink

Hello lovelies!

As you can see, normal service has been resumed today. My all black look was a token gesture from me as to what is a very common colour choice for so many women. I remember when I was in Sicily five years ago the streets were full of women wearing black from head to toe, a look that for me seemed very drab and depressing. Their reaction to me was almost a mirror to my confusion. We viewed each other as some strange other worldly vision. 

Today's outfit ties in with an Instagram prompt from my blogging friend Jacqui of Mummabstylish who has been posting #tickledpink over the past week. She's had a brilliant response and has extended this for another week. See some of the outfits here. 

The pink top was a Zara purchase from a few years ago, but today is its debut on the blog. I bought an identical orange one at the same time, but it too hasn't been aired yet. They are a very fine cotton yarn more suited to the summer, but ideal for this warm spring day.

The oyster satin trousers were gifted to me by my daughter (ages ago). I must admit that I've been a bit biased against them due to the lack of punch colour-wise, but today have discovered the joy of them when paired with this double dose of fuchsia. This is another test drive of an outfit for work next month. I'm quite excited to wear it.

Taking the lead from the oyster shade I've chosen rose gold rings (pre-loved) as my accessories.

I love the contemporary shape of these Quay Australia sunglasses. 

The final flourish has to be my fabulous bubblegum pink sock boots from H&M. 

I hope my tickled pink offering has brought a smile to your face or better still, acts as inspiration for a pink day for you sometime in the future. 

Take care everyone!

Anna x

A touch of sparkle, our Style Not Age challenge for November

Hello and welcome once again to our monthly style challenge! Never one for understatement, I'm kicking off this month's challenge with a very liberal dose of bright orange sequins as my touch of sparkle. However, you'll see that I'm not so out of step with my fashionista friends with this month's quest as we all limber up in readiness for Christmas.

Hilda has plumped for the glitter option of sparkle in this pretty bronze blouse with black trim to match her black chiffon skirt. Catch more from her on Over The Hilda here.

Jacqui's black and silver sequinned top dazzles in the sunshine, but teamed with these velvet trousers epitomises evening elegance. Read her blog Mummabstylish for her style story.

Gail's take on this month's challenge could be called Glitter, Sparkle and Shine as that's how wonderfully she has embraced the theme! Find out more from her on Is This Mutton blog. 

Emma's interpretation is an eye-catching mix of damson sequins and emerald green chiffon frills. What fun! Do please scoot across to find out all of the details on her blog Style Splash.

As you'll all be aware, I'm on a 12 month shopping ban currently and despite the odd wanton browsing of the Zara website (see this rather stunning bit of sparkle available at the moment), I'm happy to say that this tightening of the belt has only served to show me how much my wardrobe holds. The orange sequinned jacket was from TK Maxx a couple of years ago and the brand is Anothereight. I last wore it almost a year ago (see here) and this is the 4th time I've shown it on the blog. 

And what does one wear with a bright orange sequin jacket? Why, bright orange satin pants of course! These are from the Conscious Collection at H&M, but are quite old. Thank goodness, however, that they're not so old that they don't fit. I have a friend who used to say that some of her clothes tend to shrink in the wardrobe if she doesn't wear them for a year or two ... I know exactly how that goes!

The skinny satin trousers called for statement footwear and these old beauties came to mind. By Office, the chestnut suede ankle boots are far from new, but the towering heels and platform soles still give me buzz regardless. 

Accessories read like this: the gold framed mirror sunglasses (they were just begging to team up with this burnished ensemble!) are by Quay Australia, rings are pre-loved and the rose gold heart pendant was from a boutique in Truro some time ago.

My jewel bright cashmere sweater works so well with today's orange sparkle. In case you missed it last time I was gifted this beautifully soft two ply cashmere jumper by Cashmere Specialist, a mail order company in Slovakia. Please do check out their extensive website and if you quote ANNA10 you'll get 10% off your order, but be quick as this ends on the 2nd of December! 

Many thanks to the ladies of the collective for their joyful contributions and also thanks to Sasha for being the photographer of the day. I love how she managed to capture the reflection of these exotic palm trees in my sunglasses.

Take care and see you next time!

Anna x