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Yay, it's Friday!

My blogging schedule has gone a bit haywire this week, but here I am with today's offering. I have a confession to make about this outfit - I've actually worn this three times in a week! Most unlike me I know, but goodness this new frock from The Finery has captivated me to the point that I really can't see past it. I'm managing to leave a space of a day in between wears, but it's a full-on love affair currently. If you click on the link above you'll see that they have a half price sale on at the moment. The British brand is sleek and stylish with a edge that stops it being too conservative. This is the second dress from this brand that I've bought this summer (see the other here) and I must admit I'm a convert.

I adore the various sizes of check, but also the design of the dress itself is just that little bit quirky which reminds me of a Vivienne Westwood piece. I like the nod to the cold shoulder trend too. Rings are preloved, sunglasses are by Quay Australia and the necklace is by Melissa James Jewellery.

I suppose that the other reason this outfit is an all time favourite of mine is the joy of these red sock boots which add a punch of colour to an otherwise monochrome palette. The black and red preloved ring is a sweet tie in too - oooo how I love these little touches!

As I view the autumn/winter season ahead I have the odd slight moment of panic as I wonder if these boots will last another year. Red boots seem to be a neutral for me, working with so much of my winter wardrobe. It goes without saying that you'll be seeing a lot of these again over the next six months. 

The dress is made from a kind of cheesecloth material meaning no ironing is required. I say that as I may have just happened to leave it sprawled across a chair between wears and it looked fine next time on. I seem to have hit on one of those crazy, hectic times on the home and work front, hence the late post from me today. We are about to have three lots of friends coming to visit the island over the next week, so I'll make my apologies in advance for the erratic timing of my posts - I'll be giving you that insiders view of the JD Williams shoot soon though, I promise!

As I twirl off into the distance I'll wish you a very lovely weekend and hope to catch up with you again soon. My final shot is from the other morning when I was out for my early morning swim. The sun was rising over the Eastern Isles and by the time I reached Green beach the sea looked like liquid gold. These solitary swims are made all the more special by images like this.

Anna x

Caution - colour burst!

This was my outfit today, although the photo shoot is from a couple of weeks ago when we were blessed with a golden day that was just too good to miss. I asked Sasha to join me for a photo session at the end of the day which was perfect for this location, bathing the Old Blockhouse Castle in warm, mellow light.

I fear I may accused of overkill, as it seems to be only a matter of days since I last wore these boots. But honestly, I've been itching to pair them with this geometric dress since I bought it. And these fab pink tights, don't they just work a treat? Yes, it may be a case of colour overload, but hey, I just couldn't resist super charging these fiery colours. You know me - more is more!

When I first started blogging I would never have entertained this colour combination! Neither red nor pink were on my radar at that time and yet here I am totally enchanted by this colour marriage. I see this as real progress and can't wait to see what will develop next.

The dress is preloved, from M&S, tights are old, boots are H&M, sunglasses are by Quay Australia and the necklace and other jewellery is preloved.

It was about 6.30pm and look at the quality of light - how perfect for our shoot!

The islands in the background are the Eastern Isles; uninhabited miniature islands that are skirted with a slick of white sand. These are very popular picnic islands, just big enough for a family. The local boating etiquette is that if there's already a boat moored up, then please move right along and find another spot. 

This was a lovely balmy evening - maybe we ought to have brought a picnic too.

I'd like to promise that I won't inflict these sock boots on you again until the autumn, but honestly until summer, or a least a period of consistently fine weather, settles over us I may have to resort to wearing them again. They're just so blooming useful!

It's okay, I'm all done. You can remove your sunglasses now!  

This week I'll be link with -
Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb
Patti of Not Dead Yet Style
Jacqui of Mummabstylish

Anna x

Frills and flounces on Friday

I'm painfully aware that most of the UK is basking, baking or even sweltering in the current heatwave, but on Friday morning this is how things looked here.

The rain was drifting in and out, as was the sun and in an effort to get it right I was in tights and boots as well as sunglasses. Despite having brought all my summer clothes back into play, I somehow am not quite ready to plunge into linen, cotton and sandals quite yet. I seem to be like this at the end of the season - I just can't quite let go of what was and move onto what is. There's always still one more outfit that deserves to be shown and this is maybe it.

Are you sick of seeing the boots by now? Oh, I do hope not! I just wanted to try out this combo of boots and petticoat together with a black and white palette to see how it would look (and feel) and it was all that I had hoped. I can't begin to try to describe the delicious swish and flounce factor of this tutu underskirt. It's the ultimate in feminine dressing, making me smile as I swish jauntily along, the bouncing hemline bobbing around me with every step. 

Time for a little boogie before I start work ...

For once I've managed to have red nails as well as red accessories, hurrah! The belt and all jewellery are all preloved, sunglasses are by Quay Australia. The leather jacket is vintage, so it the underskirt, the boots are by H&M and the dress is from New Look (rather old though).

I've said it before, but I'll say it again, "I dress to please myself". I see every day as another opportunity to be my best, my happiest and my most productive. There's no settling, wearing beige or cruising. My clothes collection allows me to be a chameleon, with colours and styles to reflect my personality and how I want to look (quirky, sleek, retro, understated, on trend) on that particular day. If my outfit is right, then I feel good. It's that simple. And yet I do get it wrong lots of times and have been known to change an outfit completely during my lunch break. As I was chatting to a friend earlier today they summed me up by saying that I wear my clothes as if they're paintings, my very own wearable art, which is very apt. Within my job I meet lots of people every day and if I'm feeling good then that rubs off - we have a positive encounter because I'm confident (in my clothes). And that's the same for all of us. Therefore, what may be perceived as vanity is actually based on the psychology of the feel good factor, and hey we all want to feel good don't we?

My main motivation for running my blog is to show women of my age that we don't have to disappear once we've gone through the menopause. The complaint of feeling invisible in our 50's is very common and as far as I'm concerned all it takes is a splash of colour to remind everyone that you're still here and more importantly still looking great. You really don't have to be an out and out colour freak like me - just a pop of colour by way of a silk scarf, or a bright necklace or handbag can make all the difference. A lot of jobs don't make it easy to show too much personality through your clothes/uniform, but on the way to and from work you can still take some pleasure in a splash of colour. If I'm preaching to the converted then well done, but to those of you who read this because you wish you could, then I say "Go on!". Take a step outside of your comfort zone and let me know how it feels.

Linking this week with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Jacqui of Mummabstylish 

Anna x