Farewell to summer!

Much as it pains me to say it, I realise that it's probably time to admit that summer is nearly over now. This is my final nod to the dizzying days of twirling and laughter and general sun-induced madness that takes hold of me for a few short months of the year.

Hoping that the clouds will part.

This lovely handbag is from my dear friend Suzy who lives in New Zealand. It's an authentic bag from the South Island featuring pieces of Paua shell which are recognisable by their myriad of colours. 

Maybe I'll just give you one more twirl before we call it a day?

I've had such fun sharing my summer wardrobe with you all. The feedback and comments have been a great pleasure for me to read when I return to my blog at the end of a working day. I work hard and play hard, and it's so rewarding to share some of my memories with you knowing that you're enjoying them too. Autumn will bring changes again: Polly, my gorgeous photographer, will be leaving my employ as her contract finishes in a few weeks time. We're going to be busy capturing as many outfits as we can before she leaves me. I'm hoping that she will be able to stay on the island until November by which time I might have filled my draft box with lots of autumn offerings. We've already done a shoot for a December feature and we may even get a January one in the bag too before she heads off to the mainland. But the good news is that she plans to come back to work for me again next season - roll on March I say!

My dress is from H&M (many moons ago), shoes are charity shopped, both necklaces are by Charlie Dodge, watch is by Michael Kors, bangle and rings are charity shopped and sunglasses are by Quay Australia. Handbag as mentioned is from New Zealand.

Linking with 

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Jess of Elegantly Dressed and Stylish

Thanks, Polly for doing such a great job x

Anna x

#Ping Ping Post no 7

Hello again and welcome to #Ping Pong Post no 7. The aim of #PPP is to recreate a girls night in where I and my two blogging friends, Ann of Kremb de la Kremb and Samantha of Fake Fabulous, choose an item of clothing and then style it up in our own way. In theory this is a simple enough idea, but the practicality of it is a bit more difficult as we all live so very far apart - Ann lives in Hong Kong, Samantha in Scotland and I live in England, on an island 28 miles to the west of the Cornish mainland. Now in its 7th month, the series started like this - see here. This time Ann has offered up her striped Breton top, so let's see her interpretation first.

Ann has run with the nautical theme here by adding hooped earrings, pirate's scarf, dark eyeliner and lots of gold bullion. Her girl-goes-pirate look is softened by the silky gold skirt that echoes the gold of her socks and tennis shoes. I love her authentic touches of the harbourside backdrop with all the right props. Ann's photos always have a humorous slant, but that never takes away from her skill in finding a story and telling it well. Cute as always, Ann carries off this ultra feminine pirate look with casual ease.

Details are:

Kerchief--second hand shop

Gold Hoops--very long story....but now from Hong Kong
Necklace--Hong Kong
Thumb Ring--Mumbai
Striped Crop Shirt--H&M hand-me-down from my sister
Gold skirt and socks-- Forever 21 
Tennis--Lacoste

Follow Ann on Instagram here.

Both ladies have featured a full skirt. Samantha, however, has given the outline a more pared down look, thanks to some very clever illusionary effects. By tucking the top in and adding a big belt she really changes its shape. Her chunky boots tie in beautifully with the patent belt, and the the pop of blue she introduces by way of accessories is a clever move. Samantha says she really enjoyed this challenge and I think it shows. The cool, funky outfit she created is the work of a true fashionista.

Details are:

Dress: Asos (from a Charity shop)

Boots: Vagabond

Glasses: Tkmax

Necklace: eBay

Belt: Coast (old)

Bag: Linea

Nails: Barry M

Tights: Gypsy

Follow Samantha on Instagram here.

Yes, and here's the top again, but as a skirt. I have to admit that this wasn't my favourite #PPP. I'm not keen on boxy shaped tops and this one swamped me, so I had three options: to wear it as a turban, a skirt or a poncho. Well, as you can see I opted for the skirt version. The length did of course, bring it's own problems which is where the dress came in.

Once I'd pulled the skirt over the dress, the belt was needed to cinch everything together. Cue matching shoes, and once I'd got that far, I thought the whole look was begging for a finishing touch. By topping the outfit off with a hat Polly thought the ensemble was very St. Tropez. What do you think?

Details are -

Striped top - Ann's

Dress - J at Jasper Conran

Hat - Mila Sehon

Belt - TK Maxx

Shoes - BCBGeneration

Handbag - thrifted

Sunglasses - Quay Australia

Watch - Michael Kors

My Instagram link is here. 

Once again, I think we've all had a bit of fun creating our own particular style with the selected item of the month. Next month will bring another challenge, this time from my wardrobe. I do hope you'll come back again on the 20th October to see what's up. And just for a change, our line-up will look a bit different...

Linking with - 

Catherine of Not Dressed as Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Cherie of Style Nudge

Jess of Elegantly Dressed and Stylish
Judith of Style Crone

Anna x

Summer show: 6 of 6

Ah well, as the saying goes "All good things must come to an end", and so it has with my summer exhibitions. We've had an amazing run of shows this summer including this last one featuring three fine artists all so very diverse in their styles. But more about that in a moment as I really have to point you in the direction of the star of this particular evening, yes it's Polly! My darling assistant saved the best 'til last, making a dazzling entrance in this gold seqinned skater dress which sparkled and shone.

I'm so happy for Polly to have knocked me off my perch for the last evening.  She looks radiant from that gorgeous smile down to every last sparkling seqin. A passing boatman commented that she could be seen from Bryher! (The island opposite the gallery)

And as the evening sunshine dazzled these guys, let me introduce the attending artists, Alasdair Urquhart on the left and Stuart Kettle on the right. See Alasdair's work here and Stuart's can be seen here. The third of the trio, Anthony Garratt, couldn't make the opening night but you can view his striking paintings here. I love the fact that these three artists, more than ever, have managed to portray these islands so very differently. Their interpretations are as unique as the islands; full of character, individual, unrivalled in their beauty.

And for one last time this summer I'd like to say a very big thank you to the team who have held things together behind the scenes as well at on the frontline. Thank you Max, Polly and Heather!

Well, if we had to finish, then let it be on a perfect note like this. These two guests had spent an evening with us, enjoying the art, chatting to the artists and finally sipping wine as they watched the sun drop below the Bryher. We couldn't have laid on a better entertaiment than that I say.

My dress for the event was an absolute find from Tesco of all places, although the label denotes AX Paris, a concession I've previously found at New Look. Shoes are from H&M (sold out), necklace is from Dorothy Perkins (similar), my old faithful watch is by Michael Kors, bangle by Kate Spade New York and the rings are charity shopped.

This week I'll be linking with
Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb
Cherie of Style Nudge
Patti of Not Dead Yet Style
Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Anna x

Something simple

Sunday, and for my third post in three days, I thought I'd serve up something simple. Well, simple in my eyes, anyway. Yes, I may have a bit of pattern clashing going on, and a pop or two of bright yellow, but that's tame by my standards. Today's look is more classic than wow, more everyday than party, but sometimes we have to take a breather. This slight lull is giving me time to rally. For what, you may ask? Well more of that later...

Sunglasses by Quay Australia. Photography by Polly x

I'm not a huge consumer of magazines, but I do like to pick one up as a treat most months. Red, Elle, Grazia, and the occasional Vogue are all great for both fashion and features. This month's front cover of Good Housekeeping caught my eye, thanks to the fab shot of Mary Portas. Mary is a woman after my own heart. A great business woman, with huge verve and energy for her cause, be it reviving the high streets or rejuvenating charity shops, Mary is above all things a true style icon. The biggest compliment I've had recently is to have been likened to Mary by client when we were discussing fashion for the older woman. I was enthusing about my latest shopping coup, explaining how you can find absolute gems in all sorts of unexpected places on the high street. I was bubbling with details of my favourite charity shops in Cornwall, giving her hints and directions, hands flapping and gesticulating when she said "I know who you remind me of - Mary Portas!". I'm not usually very good at accepting compliments, as they often fly past me as if they must be aimed at someone else. This time however I managed to capture it and respond with a "thank-you".

So there we go. I've survived my three day, self-imposed, madness of daily posting. Yes, I know of bloggers who somehow manage to post almost every day of the week, but I'm not them. This weekend was the exception, but it has been fun, none the less. Wednesday will bring a very unique post to the blog, something that by its very nature can only be a one off. Expect a whole lot of imagery. I'd love to tell you more, but don't want to spoil the surprise.

Jacket is old, by Zara. Trousers are Topshop from their summer sale (final reduction here). Top is old, by H&M. Shoes are old, by Topshop. Pendant is Vivienne Westwood (sim). Rings are charity shopped. Watch is by Michael Kors. Sunglasses by Quay Australia (these are nice). Candy bag by Furla.

Linking this week with

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Cherie of Style Nudge

Jess of Turning Heads Tuesday.

Anna x

Too much colour?

I wonder if there can ever be a case of too much colour? If so, might this be it? Is there any point in me trying to apologise? I've just trawled through my album of photos from the past few weeks looking to find the right outfit to feature and despite my best efforts at trying to tone things down have opted for this colour fest today. I do have some more sober (well, less punchy) offerings to show you, but not this time. Here on the Isles of Scilly we're about to be hit by a gale and a huge, wet weather front this weekend. In light of this, I thought I'd inject a bit of colour to give myself a lift as we batten down the hatches. Summer lives on - in my little world at least!

These wonderful sweetie-like rings were a gift from my friend Wendy who follows my blog avidly. She saw them in a local shop in Cornwall and immediately thought of me. They were the start of today's outfit which I built around the stripes and colours - what fantastic inspiration! Thank you so much for this fun element - you know me so well Wendy x

Early mornings are always busy on the road to New Grimsby quay and this morning brought Rob, one of the engineers on the island, trundling along in his tractor, happy to be the photo-bomber of the day.

Today's post is the first of three that I will be publishing over the next three days. Friday and Sunday are both my regular posting days, but Saturday is also the 20th of the month which is Ping Pong Post day. I do hope I can keep up the pace, and that you won't be sick to death of me by the end of the weekend! See you tomorrow?

Back to the ensemble - the skirt is by Boden (similar), top is from Coast (charity shopped), cardi is from Pure (similar), sandals by Refresh (similar), rings and necklace are gifts, watch is by Michael Kors, bangle by Kate Spade New York and sunglasses are from Quay Australia.  Finally my pink glitter nail polish is called Pink Crystal by BINKY

Anna x