My 60's vibe

Hello again! 

I'm writing this as the National Anthem plays on the TV and my ever hopeful husband sits transfixed as The Football Match of the Year (The Euro Cup Final) commences. Will England bring it home? I do wish them the best of luck for this historical game. Oh heck, they've scored! A goal within the first two minutes!!!!!

Anyway, here we go with the outfit of the moment. I wore this to work one day this week and honestly have no idea what day that was. Early starts in joggers and jumper at 5am are followed by breakfast at nine and a quick change of clothes ready for serving the customers. The days are passing in a blur of hello's, lovely to see you again's and yes, of course I can ship that you to. I love this time of year when the culmination of my artists efforts are rewarded by brisk turnarounds, sometimes with a painting only on the wall for half a day before it sells. 

Last week was a bumper week for quite a few of my best selling artists which makes me so happy that we're getting it right. The best art for our clientele at this time of year is something I've been fine tuning for years and this summer is looking like another winner for us all. So far the women are selling well; Marie Mills, Lizzie Black and Amanda Hoskin have all had a great week, selling over a dozen paintings between them. See the entire line up on offer at Gallery Tresco here. 

As I was saying, this was an outfit of the day last week. The 60's ensemble was created around this wonderful vintage top by Diane Freis in polyester georgette. The bold print is typical of this designer who embraced colour and pattern through all of her ranges. I picked up this top a few years ago in a charity shop and this is the first time I've actually worn it. Unable to bypass a bargain (this was only £2.50) I knew that it would be a useful addition to my wardrobe at some stage.

Teaming the psychedelic blouson top with straight yellow chino's (again charity shopped) and white kitten heel boots (New Look) completes that 60's vibe.  The look is fun and funky and makes me feel good, which is surely what it's all about, eh? I can pin down the day to when one of my readers, Tessa, popped into the gallery to say hello. It's a rare treat to have the chance to meet up with my followers and she enjoyed a day on the island, finishing with an appointment to visit the gallery. We had a speed catch up about all manner of things which was lovely. She scooted off to catch her boat without much time to spare, so much so, that her husband rang to tell her to hurry up in case it left without her! On the mainland another bus would follow in due course, but here if you miss the last boat there won't be another until the next day.

I added persex rings and a 60's plastic and metal geometric necklace to compliment the look, along with these fabulous yellow sunglasses by Quay Australia.

Being time challenged at the moment, today's photo shoot was located in my back garden which will look much more pretty when the Agapanthus burst into bloom. I decided to ignore the glimpses of phone lines and Sky dish that festoon our back door. Within the next week these flowers will be looking at their best so I'll revisit this again to show you. Thanks so much for dropping by. I'll be back soon!

Wishing you a fab week!

Anna x

Rocking 60's fashion in my 60's

What a glorious day we had here on Tresco yesterday! Hurrah for the signs of spring too. These daffodils have been greeting me as I cycle to and from Appletree Bay for my daily swims and what a wonderfully joyful sight they are.

It's cause for celebration for me today as it's exactly 12 months since I bought my last item of clothing. My year of not buying clothes or shoes, bags or accessories, be they new or pre-loved, is over! Ta-dah! I know that for many of you this may be pretty much a reflection of the current restrictions and how you're responding too, but last summer when lock-down finished and the shops were back trading I felt a terrific draw to have a retail splurge. But hey, I didn't and to my doubting sister-in-law I hope she is duly proud of my restraint.

I had a good old rummage to find something to party in and came up with this homage to the 60's. The vintage psychedelic top is not dis-similar to one I had at the end of the 60's. It's a charity shop find, but goodness knows when or where I bought it. Oh to be organised and keep a record of these things!

The orange satin disco pants are from the Conscious Collection by H&M from ages ago. And the groovy white boots are from New Look and were a ridiculous £5 in their sale a couple of years past.

The Lulu Guiness Union Jack purse was an amazing thrift shop purchase one time I was shopping in Harrogate. I love the fact that it opens up and converts to a shopper. That said, I daren't use it for shopping as I cherish it too much! I have a big collection of colourful plastic rings that are great 60's jewellery. My round framed sunglasses are from River Island and the two tone metallic necklace was a boutique purchase.

I popped out during Sunday lunchtime to take these shots, convinced that it would be a quiet time to set up my tripod in the middle of the road... In the space of the first 5 minutes, I had encountered two golf buggies (3 passengers, 2 dogs), 4 joggers, a young couple having a romantic stroll and the local Church Warden. So much for a peaceful session! But hey, you can't really blame them as it was such a beautiful day! We're due for another dose of wild winds and wet weather soon so it was probably a good idea to top up on our vitamin D while we could. 

Hope you have a lovely week!

Anna x

Zara's "It" dress of 2019

Hello again!

Hi there, and thanks for joining me. It's been a glorious few days of weather here on the Isles of Scilly and this was my outfit of the day yesterday for another scorching day. As the mercury rose I did have to abandon the belt and change the boots for sandals as it became uncomfortably hot later in the afternoon. Thank goodness for living only 100 metres away from work!

This Zara dress was the It dress of last year, but I was oblivious of that when I bought it. (Google Zara It dress 2019 and you'll see umpteen photos of it.) For me, it was merely a pleasant departure from my usual bright and colourful plumage. I wore it for one of my summer exhibitions during the summer (see here) and again dressed it with boots. I laughed when I went back to find those photos as I discovered how similar my styling was both of these times. I clearly like silver and boots with this frock!

The material is light and airy and even with a belt it's very comfortable and still wafts about in a floaty manner, perfect for a summer's day. Increasingly I seem to be drawn to black and white outfits and do wonder if it might be a sign of my tastes maturing at last? Will I ever stop dressing up like a clown in garish, over-the-top garb? Probably not, but I do enjoy a touch of black and white sometimes to help me feel elegant and stylish. I feel well put together, cool and in control when I'm sporting a monochrome look which is no bad thing when you want to give off the right vibes at work.

My New Look boots were bargain basement finds at only £5. Ridiculous, I know, but I couldn't resist buying my first pair of white boots as an adult at the age of 60. Since then, I've gone on to buy another white pair of Doc Marten type boots to make up for a lifetime of lack. After decades of avoiding white trousers and white boots, I'm suddenly making up for the hunger years. They may not be to everyone's taste, but I'm all about pleasing me!

The silver chain mail belt and rings are all second hand.

My sunnies are fab retro round framed ones, this time from Radley London. I've just checked out their website and to my dismay they now have a pair called Anna and they're gorgeous.  I say dismay, because of my self-imposed 12 month shopping ban. Booo-hooo!

I'll be back on Friday. Until then, take care!

Anna x

Easter chick

Happy Easter!

Dear readers, I hope you're having a happy Easter - well as happy as it can be under the circumstances. Steve and I stepped outside our house yesterday to capture these shots of my take on being your Easter chick (forever tongue in cheek, that's me!). As you can see, it was a beautiful sunny, hazy day. 

In the midst of this, our local Church Warden, Rachel came along with some palm fronds on her way to decorating the outside of St Nicholas Church. Rachel was also working alongside the Easter bunny, helping to scatter some chocolate eggs around the churchyard for the island's children. 

And not to be outdone, our local delivery driver turned up keen to photobomb our session - Hi Barek!

I've been busy this week doing my clothes changeover, dragging bags and suitcases out from under the beds to bring my spring and summer clothes out again. The remit this time has been a bit different as I'm not actually at work, therefore lots of my clothes are redundant at the moment - particularly my opening night party clothes are still unpacked for the moment. 

Yesterday was supposed to be the first exhibition of the year, our Easter Show, at the gallery and this was the outfit I would have been wearing during the day for our first phase of the meet and greet. The trouser suit is by JD Williams, one of my favourite buys from them last year. I love wearing it, love the sunny colour and the instant togetherness of wearing a trouser suit. The trousers may be a tad snug, but they do have a bit of stretch which does help. I've linked through to a similar suit on their website currently, modeled by the gorgeous Andrea who I worked with during my stint with the brand. Happy days!

I styled the suit with these New Look kitten heel boots for a bit of a retro look. I bought them a couple of years ago and they've been so useful, lending a real statement to any outfit. The white ruffle shirt was from TK Maxx. I've added a stretch belt which was a charity shop piece. 

Bangles, rings and necklace are all pre-loved and much loved by me too.

These long time favourite sunglasses are by Quay Australia - note they reflect my reluctant photographer. Poor Steve, has ended up being my one and only photographer by default currently! 

He may be reluctant, but he still does a very good job. Thank you darling!

This is the view from my washing line and it's often remarked that I have the best vista ever for such a mundane chore - I have to agree.

Thanks for joining me again today. I hope you're all having a chocolate-fest kind of a day and that the sun shines on you during your exercise break! And in the words of the great Crosby, Stills and Nash - "If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with..."

                                                                           Anna x

Monochrome Monday

It's great to have you join me today, especially as we're all a bit preoccupied with other things. So let's just talk (briefly) about the elephant in the room. We're currently in the middle of a terrible piece of history and it's rather scary. The arrival of the Coronavirus has shaken us and we've only just begun. Depending on which country you're living in, we are either ahead of you or behind in the development of the disease, but we're all finding the reality quite worrying. My thoughts go out to the NHS workers who are going to see the worst of it. These everyday hero's will be stretched to the limit in the forthcoming weeks, if not months. I've suffered some anxiety attacks over the past few days, feeling vulnerable at times and then being annoyed when others don't feel the same. But today something that someone said made me stop and see things in quite a different light. A friend told me "I just want to get on with catching the virus so that I can recover and then volunteer at my local hospital, pushing beds around and helping to support the staff." What an amazingly selfless attitude! Her comment has helped me to see the current situation as less of a personal threat and more as something that we're all in together. 

This was Monday's outfit, and all the better for having a bit of sunshine when Lora and I popped out to take these shots. A new week, but nothing new in the outfit at all. I'm happy to be shopping my closet, mixing up high street and pre-loved items to create this homage to the 60's.

The two sizes hound's tooth skirt is pre-loved, as is the black roll neck sweater. I was pleased to unearth these matching tights to pair up with the skirt as it's the first time I've worn these together. 

My New Look ankle boots are a year old now, but still holding out well, considering they only cost me £5 in the sale.

My Michael Kors jacket was at the other end of the financial spectrum, but has been well worth the investment. It's a real showcase piece, weighty, thanks to all of these metal studs and a bit of genuine rock chic (or chick depending on your thoughts).

All of my accessories are old too, as are my favourite sunglasses from Quay Australia.

More than ever, I'd like to think that today's offering has acted as a cheery escape, even if it's only momentary. Please look after yourself and try not to worry too much.

                                                                                   Anna x

Flower Power - February's style challenge

Welcome to our style challenge for February!

Hello and welcome to our monthly challenge with the Style Not Age Collective. As we hurtle towards March the promise of spring is in the air echoing this month's theme of Flower Power. As usual we've managed to come up with varied offerings, ranging from elegant through to playful as we showcase our very individual style. I do hope we're going to inspire you!

Style Spash Emma has created a chic look with this black and pale pink dress, topped with a stylish felt hat and fur scarf that looks soft and cosy. The big blowsy blooms of the frock are offset by the teeny dotty pattern play. Do please keep me in mind when you're ready to pass this one on Emma!

Jacqui from Mummabstylish looks lovely and also very summery in her offering this month. She carries off this pastel hued outfit with a girlish flair - adorable eh? 

It was Hilda's turn to choose a theme and how fab this choice turned out to be. We're seeing a fair bit of the 70's influence amongst us and Hilda's embracing the look perfectly. See more of her backstory on the her blog Over The Hilda.

This month we're welcoming back the familar face of Gail of Is This Mutton blog. If you're a regular reader you'll remember she was involved in our monthly style challenge called 5Over50, the last one of which is shown here. After spending some time away doing her own thing, Gail was keen to rejoin our monthly collaboration and we are very happy to have her back on board. Gail is featuring her favourite floral bomber jacket with an almost identical print top underneath. Do swing by her blog for a catch up when you get a moment.

Fiona and I had to take refuge indoors this week to capture these photos, out of the wild weather that storm Dennis brought to the island. Bright sunshine was at least a help to lift the atmosphere as we made use of the space within the Pavilion in the middle of its face-lift. 

Even though the wind was blasting across the sea, the view from here was still stunning.

With no musical backdrop, I hummed some inane tune to counter the echoing of my footsteps, dancing around creating fun as is my way. Fiona struggled with fluctuating light levels, blurry shots and backlighting slowing down the process as I sashayed around, oblivious. Point a camera at me and I'm in my element!

Flower Power to me stirs up thoughts of those teenage years when I was enjoying my first forrays into fashion, spending my hard earned pocket money on mini skirts and skinny rib tops, hot pants and suede long fringed waistcoats and tent dresses worn with knee high wet-look boots. This homage to those days was quick to pull together from my wardrobe; the dress was a second hand buy last year, the New Look ankle boots were in the sale last spring and the tights are from a huge cache I have of all sorts of colours and designs.

I've featured this floral tent dress (Zara) on the blog before (see here) and I must admit it is indeed a thing of joy to wear. I recall wearing a similar dress - white cotton in a light waffle fabric, with discs of pink, yellow, orange, purple and lime green with three quarter length sleeves and a ring pull zip up the front -  when I was only about 10 years old. We were going to a family wedding and the psychedelic dress was one of the first fashion buys that embedded itself into my memory bank. It captured my imagination and fired up a lifetime of passion for clothes.

All of today's accessories, including handbag and floral necklace and matching bracelet are second hand. 

The finishing touch for today's look was this ditzy print coat (pre-loved) by Kew. The 3/4 length sleeves and thigh high hemline make this a versatile jacket that looks equally good over jeans.

I'll leave you with this final shot of the view across to Bryher and Samson islands. White tops on the sea show how wild these sheltered waters have been lately. We must count our blessings however, that we're not suffering floods like so many regions of mainland UK are. Let's all hope for an improvement this week!

                                                                                     Anna x