Recycled fashion styled for a winter's day

Hi there! I'm blanched in the winter's sunshine this morning, but don't be deceived - the second Beast from the East has hit us here on the Isles of Scilly and according to the forecast we could be experiencing a wind chill factor of -4 degrees today. Yikes! As I write this I'm watching the clock as it's only an hour away from high tide, the time that I'll be heading off to the beach for my daily swim. Brrrrrrr!

For the moment however, I'm suitably wrapped up in this snuggly chocolate brown velvet and sheepskin collared coat (pre-loved by Karen Millen) and a chunky gold woolly sweater from H&M with a thermal layer underneath. The tan leather trousers are vintage, from Next but discovered in Truro Oxfam in 2020, although this is their first viewing.  They cost me £20 which I thought was a very fair price for this sleek leather pair of flared jeans, fully lined too. 

I've finished off the look with a pair of snakeskin ankle boots which were gifted to me by JD Williams many moons ago. 

I like the zig-zag pinked edges which creates a feature of the seams.

Not much jewellery today, only a couple of charity shopped gold coloured rings.

I was nearly sabotaged here by a couple of cats having a scrap. I'm not sure who was most suprised - them or me!

This is the victor smugly taking his place in his territory beside me. Are you a cat person? I'm a dog person myself. And on that note, I must go and get my swimsuit on...

                                                                                           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