Debenhams bolero jacket

Hello again. How was your weekend? The mercury rose here at the weekend and Tresco became thoroughly tropical for a couple of days. On Sunday I took cover for most of the afternoon as it really was too blooming hot for me. I spent a couple of hours indoors doing clothes management. If this is a new term to you then I decided to name the constant chasing of laundry around in circles as such. Not only laundry though as I've been putting away some spring outfits and bringing lighter summer clothes out. The chore is complete for this weekend at least!

This was Saturday's work outfit. I'm so pleased to showcase this yellow linen bolero jacket. I love it! The brand is Debenhams Collection (Petite) and was a pre-loved purchase from my recent mainland trip. I paid £4.50 for this pristine jacket and am thrilled to have this as part of my wardrobe now. The cut is great, the fit is perfect and I do like the notch front too.

I paired the jacket with these silky wide legged trousers from H&M which I bought way back in 2018. Have I worn them on the blog before? I honestly don't remember - (yes, shame on me Sheila!). I've had them hung up alongside a lemon and grey striped jacket for over a year now and I do know that the combination never made it to the blog last summer or the one before. I think the jacket was too long, whereas this cropped length is a much more flattering fit for this high waist Oxford Bag style of trouser.

The cream lace top was a charity shop find from ages ago and has certainly been aired on the blog many times already.

The cream hessian weave sandals are by Europen, bought from TK Maxx, but not recently.

Nothing new jewellery-wise: the gold chain necklace was from Primark, the yellow stone ring was an airport concession purchase and the silver and gold seaweed ring is by Emily Nixon.  

The lemon and cream combo has a lovely fresh feel to it and not only that, but the jacket gives the outfit a sharp edge which garnered a few compliments too. Dressing in lemon and yellow shades are akin to wearing portable sunshine and always earn me a smile or two along the way. Hurrah for summer!

Wishing you a great week ahead!

Anna x

Christmas fashion inspiration

Hello lovelies! Here I am strutting my stuff on the island catwalk aka The Flying Boat Club slipway. Fiona and I grasped our opportunity of fine weather on Sunday to show you my latest offering of Christmas dressing. 

I promised you fur and lurex and here they are together with these fabulous paisley print flares with gold thread running throughout. The bell bottoms are from H&M and are quite old, but are perfect for festive outings. These hipster trousers have just the right amount of stretch to allow an extra mince pie or two.

Velvet and fur are fabulous Christmas fabrics, beautifully combined in this second hand Karen Millen coat which I bought a year ago when I was in London. If you missed that post you can see it here. The two fabrics combine to say luxury at its best. 

The lurex polo neck sweater is old (from H&M too). It comes out every year at this time and is a real workhorse of a piece. You'll probably have noticed that polo necks are essential winter wear for me. I love the simple figure hugging lines of this kind of sweater which also provides warmth and a physical barrier against the cold. The sparkle yarn of this one lifts it out of the ordinary and works with so many separates, so you'll no doubt see it featured again this month.

I've piled pattern onto pattern with these amazing black and gold brocade platform boots from River Island (old). To say that the colour palette is rather restrained today, the overall effect still delivers the wow factor. The richness of the fabrics counter what could be read as a brown outfit and God forbid I'd be seen in boring old brown, especially as this claims to be a post about Christmas fashion inspiration!

My mirror Quay sunglasses were a gift from a friend a couple of years ago. 

Both golden rings are pre-loved.

Coming up next time will be the second hand kilt that I bought in a charity shop for £5. I'm styling that up for Christmas to add a flavour of festive fun to what might be perceived as rather staid traditional national dress. It really is just a case of our imagination being the only limitation of our style. I do hope you'll join me on Friday for that one.

In the meantime, take care!

Anna x

Purple Reign, our Style Not Age challenge for August

Hello lovelies! Can you believe it's four weeks since we last did this? Anyway, welcome once more to our Style Not Age challenge which was set by Emma this month. And honestly, I found this a terrible one to do! I have so few summer clothes in purple. Purple is rich and sumptuous and velvety and brocade-y and oh-so-very-wintery to me. So what was my dear friend thinking of by setting us this now of all times? Emmaaaaaa!!!!!

At least I've managed to change my face from that quizzical look to feigning pleasure at this crazy quest. I'll talk you through the outfit in a mo, but let's see what the others make of it, shall we?

First to drop into my inbox was this stunning suit from Hilda of Over the Hilda. My heart sank at see how stylish purple could look. What can I say? She nailed it! Do pop over to her blog to get the full story of this gorgeous ensemble.

Next up was Mummabstylish's Jacqui who has this casual look taped. Purple suits her dark hair and complexion to a T. Such a cool look Jacqui - well done!

It's no surprise that Emma of Style Splash chose purple as this month's theme when she had this chic outfit lined up. Another great get up here Emma, full marks!

So, here's the truth about this outfit of mine. This is my only purple summer top currently; I picked it up in a charity shop earlier on this year. It's by Per Una and has that vintage vibe being stretch lace and reminds me of tops I used to wear many moons ago. 

My favourite piece of this outfit is without a doubt the fabulous Oxford bag style trousers by H&M in collaboration with William Morris. Read more about that here. I'm rather pleased that Vogue recommended these as one of the best pieces to buy. Not only that, but I picked them up in the January sales when I was staying with my sister in St Andrews in January.  St Andrews may be more famous for its University and golf course, but I found it very accessible for shopping, being neither too big nor too small and a great mix of high street shops like H&M plus a great selection of charity shops. I ended up posting three boxes of shopping home to myself! 

The pre-loved theme continues from the lace top, to the white leather belt through to the rings. My gold coloured bangle is made from brass and the brand is Almost Perfect. The gold chain necklace was a Primark extravagance at £3.99.

New sunglasses here today, by Superdry for a change. 

The perfect neutral summer sandal by Europen from TK Maxx. Soooo blooming comfortable and all day long wearable. Hurrah!

Steve and I were on Cradle Porth for today's photo shoot. The views behind capture the Isles of Scilly at the end of the day in high summer when the tourists have retreated leaving the islands to ourselves. This year we seem to have missed those end of day picnics that we used to do. Life has been particularly busy with more boat mending to do and also the two new additions to the family -

The two new puppies are from left to right Gilly and Brigg with our old timer Jack . Pink nosed Gilly belongs to Jamie and Brigg belongs to Sasha. Everyone has their hands full with all the basic training going on at the moment. I'm steering clear (not that I don't love them, but too many cooks...) as most of my spare time is being spent in the sea - but more of that another time.

I do hope you've enjoyed this month's challenge and please pop over to the other blogs if you get a moment. My next post will feature the final summer exhibition which took place on Friday. Do join me for that later on this week!

Until then, have a great week!

Anna x