Spring Sweaters for our Style Not Age challenge

Hello and welcome to this month's challenge! It was my turn to choose a theme and I've gone for the functional Spring Sweater. We in the UK are still being battered by another beast from the east, making the sweater more vital than ever. So without further ado, let's see how the my style buddies approached this shall we?

Gail of Is this Mutton wears her snuggly mohair cardigan in a lovely spring shade of green offset by pinks in many hues. I'm more than a little envious of her new haircut! Do swing by her blog to find out more.

The eternally cool Hilda is happy to share that everything she's wearing, including her sweater, is over two years old - a woman after my own heart! See more on Over The Hilda blog. 

Jacqui's orange sweater is a super burst of spring colour. Styled with white jeans and knee high boots she has created a lovely weekend look. Catch her back story on Mummabstylish.

Emma of Style Splash wears a beaded collar sweater which she has paired with a dash of spring green too. Always one for a statement handbag she has chosen the perfect colours to tie in with her outfit.  

My own sweater is a vintage cotton Laura Ashley number, a happy find in a charity shop some years ago. I picked it up because it reminded me of a similar Laura Ashley one that I had the first time around, back in the 80's. I so regret getting rid of my original one, probably during one of my zealous clear-outs, but hey, at least I've got this replacement.

I love the pretty pastel colours which work perfectly with jeans for a casual look. I chose two floral rings in neutral shades, pre-loved, to compliment the jumper. 

The flower sprigged jeans were also charity shopped some time ago. 

Shown here for the first time is an exciting second hand purchase. The leather across-the-body bag reminds me of a postie's bag. I paid £20 for it - the quality of hide and work involved meant value for money to me. It's a great size, perfect for holding both my mini tripod and camera as well as lipstick and hairbrush.

My pink lattice work trainers are Sketchers, bought on sale at TK Maxx two years ago. I wear them on my lunchtime walks and are cool and comfy for the couple of miles I clock up every workday. They have air cooled memory foam insoles that make for easy mileage without blisters or overheating.

The sun was very obliging for this shoot, in fact it's been sunny for weeks and weeks here on the Isles of Scilly, but the easterly wind is relentless and very chilly. I managed to drop down out of the wind here in the corner of the beach on the south end of Tresco and had the entire bay to myself.

Today's blue framed sunglasses are by Radley London.

Showing the view here from Bathing House beach across to St Mary's and St Agnes. The islands look as glorious as ever.

I hope you've enjoyed this month's style challenge. Do let me know if this inspires you to emulate something we've done!

                                                                                   Anna x

Shameless, Reckless and Legless

Now that summer is truly upon us, we on the islands find our numbers greatly increased by visitors. These guests are, for most of us, our livelihood and are therefore vital. For me they are also a source of light relief and often friendship too. Enter, stage left, the two Anna's. These lovely ladies (and their families) have been coming to the islands for years and as such have become regulars at the gallery where they have made many a happy purchase from me. Most recently we did indeed have a moment of light relief when I was asked to pose for a photo by Anna R (my brooch pile jacket see here was the object of her admiration, not me exactly). This I did without hesitation which incurred a bit of heckling from her husband as to how brazen I was. "I'm utterly shameless" was my retort. There followed a brief ping ponging of comments regarding the complications of having three Anna's in one place and how it would be useful if we all had nicknames. Hence we now are Shameless (me), Reckless (Anna R) in the centre and Legless (Anna N) on the right. We each of us proffered our own nicknames therefore no-one was in the least offended.

Notice we're all sporting the very same, fashionable windswept look available only on these wild, windy islands. The messy tresses style is absolutely de rigeur this summer daaahling!

  

Today's outfit comprises of trousers from Boden, linen blouse is by Laura Ashley via a charity shop, as is the fab crochet bag. My retro print espadrilles are by Spanish brand Gaimo which I bought from TK Maxx see the same style here but in a different colourway. Sunglasses are by Quay Australia, rings are old, small seed peal necklace is from a charity shop and my dancing girl necklace is by Charlie Dodge. Worth a mention too has to be this fab orange (Tangerine Tent) nail polish by Rita Ora for Rimmel.

Hope that you too are enjoying the start of summer and that you have some great plans for the weeks ahead. See you soon!

Anna x