Smart and sassy!




Hello lovely readers! How are you today? Well, I hope.




Today's title refers to the outfit, not me by the way. You'll have seen the dress featured previously, but the addition of a jacket just gives it a smart edge. My love of pattern play is truly evident here too, even down to the heart sprigged tights. It felt like a proper spring outfit when I wore it earlier this week. 




The jacket is by Heyton, bought in TK Maxx a few years ago. It really is a beautifully tailored piece, with perfect proportions for my height; flattering cut, neat stitching and lovely sleeve length. I had a search online for the brand, but couldn't find a web page, however I did find the same jacket on eBay if anyone is interested. 




My leather brogues are from Office (very old), but do work so well with this Zara snakeprint dress. I love the mint shade of the shoes although they're quite a difficult colour to tie in with a lot of my outfits. They are absolute heaven to wear, being all day long comfy with no need for that lunchtime swap over as so often happens to me. The Radley handbag was a wonderful charity shop find, a stylish neutral bag for this look.

 


My rings are both pre-loved, charity shopped and blooming perfect for this ensemble. Hurrah!




The dress came with its own self tie belt, so as is my wont I changed that for a different one; yet another charity shop find. It's leather and elastic woven with gilt trim to create an unusual accessory that had earned its place in my collection.






Next month is my 6 year blogging anniversary and I'm inviting any of my readers to send me an email with a photo of yourself in an outfit inspired by Anna's Island Style. Some of my blogging friends have responded to this, but I'd love to showcase readers too. So don't be shy, please step up and let me feature you on my anniversary feature!

                                                                       Anna x

Share:

Summer pattern play


Hello again!

Great to see you again! This was my work outfit from the other day and as you can see it was all about that playful bit of fun called pattern mixing. Sometimes I like to clash my patterns, but this outfit was more about complimentary patterns and colours and how they work well when they have this common thread of lemon to tie them together. 




I'm having great fun shopping my closet, finding clothes that haven't been aired since last year. I've never worn these pieces together before and so this really is like a brand new outfit to me. I was very pleased with myself when this all came together - a new ensemble without shopping or spending a penny - hurrah! Who knew that being thrifty could look so good.




I bought the skirt in the Zara sale last year whilst in the shop in Oxford Street. I didn't have time to try it on and it's a tad small for the size on the label. I've been missing the odd meal, working late, swimming longer and faster on each outing and this is the pay off - I've dropped a few pounds and everything fits so much better. I have to revel in this fact now as I know how easy it'll be to drift in the other direction as winter descends.




The summer sandals are by Europen brand, a TK Maxx find from last year too. This neutral colour works with everything and goodness, they have a lovely squashy insole making them really all-day-long comfortable too!




My friend Fiona lives just around the corner from the Gallery and did the honours with my photos. It was just like the old days with Polly - lots of heckling and telling me to stop talking!




This jacket by Heyton is joyful piece. I love the 3/4 length sleeves, the tiny leaf pattern, the crisp clean colours and especially the overall quality of it. It'll be no surprise to you that I bought it from TK Maxx. The white vest top has an element of stretch to it and is also quite thick fabric. It was £3 in Topshop sale last summer - result! My resin and flowers necklace is an old piece that I've had for almost 20 years now. It's by Daisy Dunlop, a Cornish jeweller. I've just checked out her website and she's working in silver and gold now. My rings are pre-loved pieces and the sunglasses are by Quay Australia.




My oh my, haven't our lives changed so much in the past six months! Who'd have thought we'd all be making and wearing face masks? My sister made this one for me from a template she created. Here's a few things to keep in mind when you're buying or making a face mask - 
  • Make sure it's big enough for your features. I've got a long face with a big nose and some masks are simply too tiny to cover my nose, mouth and chin.
  • To be effective against the virus our masks need to be 4 layers thick. This one has two layers of interfacing as well as the inner and outer fabric. Government guidelines suggest 3 layers, but the scientists are recommending 4. 
  • The fabric needs to be a tightly woven non-stretch type, ie cotton or linen. If you have a stretchy jersey fabric one then they won't provide sufficient protection making them ineffectual. 
  • You need to be able to talk with it on. Again, some masks can be really pretty, but if they fall off your face when you talk then they're not providing you with the safety needed.
  • Wire across the top of the mask to tighten it over the bridge of the nose is essential. Without wire, when you talk the mask will simply slide down over the nose. I see this a lot with clients constantly readjusting their masks. 
  • The more you touch the mask, the more chance you have of introducing the virus onto its surface. Keep washing your hands and keep your hands off your mask. Again, this is a good reason to wear a well fitting mask.
  • Disposable masks can't be carried around in your pocket or handbag for days on end without becoming laden in bacteria. Medical masks are meant to be thrown away after use, not used as if they are fabric ones with a long life.
  • When taking the mask off, remove it by the loops to avoid contaminating the face covering.
  • You ought to wash your mask after one wear, that means daily. In other words, you're going to need more than one mask for the forthcoming months so that you've always got a clean one. 


I've got some fabric that may also match this jacket and plan to make another mask or two this weekend. 




Running the Gallery alone is proving to be both challenging and rewarding. I'm working longer hours, but finding that the job satisfaction is greater as every time I sell a painting it's through my own efforts. The appointment system means that I take only two clients at a time for half hour sessions. This really is personal service, giving me time to share stories about each painting and the artist who created them. 




I sold this pair of paintings the other day. Created by artist Rosemary Trestini, they do look stunning together, but were actually painted some 12 months apart with no cross referencing to each other. The client had requested to view all of the work I held by this artist and we moved them around, rotating them to see which looked best as stand alone pieces and together. On placing these two side by side we both witnessed a little bit of magic as it was like a beautiful homecoming for them. They truly look like they ought to be together and within a minute the client had decided she must have both.  It's such a joy to make this happen. We all deserve beauty in our lives and if I can find the right thing, be it a vase or a necklace, a sketchbook or a fabulous oil painting, I'm thrilled to be part of the process.




                                                                                     Anna x

Share:

Summer in September?


Hello and how are you this fine weekend?


So the question is, can it still be summer in September? Well, when the sky is as blue as this, then I say yes! I was keen to share this outfit with you before I cave to the pressure of autumn fashion. The white linen skirt with embroidered silver and gold dots (by M&S, preloved) has languished in my closet for the past few summers but is rarely given an outing. The yellow top is rather ancient (picked today for those raised dots which tie in beautifully with the skirt), maybe also M&S, but definitely preloved. Today's look came about because of the introduction of the rather swish little jacket which I finally purchased last month after seeing it on three separate occasions over the summer. 



The leaf print jacket is by Heyton at TK Maxx. Each time I saw it, I asked myself if I needed it. Note I say needed, not wanted. I'm trying to reign in my hoarding tendencies, not because I really want to, but simply because I don't have room for much more in my summer wardrobe. My hangers are jammed side by side with barely an inch of movement between them all and my tops, sweaters and trousers are piled high in towers that demand the gentlest of handling lest they will topple over. Clothes are my passion, my addiction and blogging somehow helps to justify this. Please don't judge me.



I crumbled and decided to buy the jacket on the third occasion as it had been reduced to £15 which really did seem to be a bargain for this navy lined, perfectly fitting cute little number. The shape fits my frame well and I particularly like the shorter length sleeve. I seem to recall reading somewhere that the wrist can be a great focal point, particularly for older women - that seemed to be a bit ageist, but still stuck in my mind.



Some of you may think this to be a fairly sober ensemble for me, but sometimes I do like to wear a conservative piece to which I add my own twist - the gold sandals here for example. It's good to underplay things one day as more often than not I find it feeds my imagination for the following day. The blog post coming up next time is the perfect example of this. Today's jewellery goes like this: necklace - gift from Sasha, frilly ring by Emily Nixon, broad gold ring  is preloved, rose gold watch is by Michael Kors, and let's not forget my so-perfect-I-seem-to-wear-them-every-day-sunglasses by Quay.



So you can see the metallic dots on the skirt much better here which were what informed my choice of sandals. Kitten heels or courts might have been more chic, but adding a bit of quirkiness was what I was aiming for. 

And finally, further to my news about my modelling job with JD Williams I'd like to share this link with you to the website. Over the summer months I've dodged back and forth to the mainland for casting sessions, wardrobe fitting and finally filming and throughout it all I've tempered the whole thing with the idea that my contribution would end up on the cutting room floor (such is my lack of self belief). A friend stopped by the gallery yesterday to tell me I was featured on the website as "one of the stars" of the "I AM" campaign. Pinch me, I think I'm dreaming!


Anna x

Share:
Created by bo design