Sadly, summer is over

Much as it pains me to say, summer is indeed over. But before I descend into autumn/winter dressing I thought I'd leave you with one of my much-loved outfits; the peapod trouser suit which I wore just a couple of weeks ago.

For the past four years this trouser suit has been cropping up not only on the blog but regularly in my workplace, Gallery Tresco, much to the joy and admiration of many of our customers. If you missed the introduction of this dazzling co-ord then see the first post about it here.

This latest iteration sees me adding my summer holiday hat with pleasing results. The colours work very well together and the addition of a hat adds style and sharpness that's appealing too. Do you agree?

My Oliver Bonas sunglasses work nicely with the outfit, as do my very old beads which suddenly came into their own here. 

My other accessories are: dragonfly brooch (a present from my daughter), vintage recycled jewellery repurposed into this rather fabulous bracelet, my old bejewelled leather belt is still going strong and the finishing touch are my Emily Nixon sapphire and diamond rings. 

There's nothing understated about this look. My shiny silver boots finish everything in true show-off style. I make no apologies here. This look is one of my most complimented at work, so clearly I'm not alone in my appreciation of all things bling. The peapod trouser suit is statement dressing at its best and I'm very proud of it. 

Dressing up gives me the opportunity to take on another personality, one who has supreme self-confidence. But surely that's the point of clothing after all? Clothes are our armour, our vision of ourselves that we offer up to the world. I choose to offer up my best self every day, for who knows when our last day may be? If I'm remembered for being that woman on Tresco who wore her best every single day, then that's fine by me.

                                                                            Anna x

Holding on to summer

Mid September and I'm grabbing the chance to air another summery outfit. We're at that seasonal change aren't we; the sun is gradually shifting in the sky with sunrise and sunset creating shorter daylight hours. I'm always sad to see the end of summer and am guitly of squeezing every last summery outfit out of my wardrobe before the big changeover.

This easy to wear ensemble was my work outfit from yesterday. The white ruched top was a purchase from Primark earlier this year. It's a wash and wear top that requires the minimal of maintenance - the collar is the only part that I iron. My River Island trousers have been featured on the blog previously, but are so very summery that they deserve one more go before being packed away.

My summer sandals were from Vinted, maybe even last year but I don't think I've showcased them on the blog before. They'e uber comfy as the soles are padded making them all-day wearable - perfect for work. 

There's nothing new with my accessories. My Emily Nixon rings are everyday wear, the blue sunglasses from Oliver Bonas have risen in popularity overtaking my old faves from Quay Australia - they have become a signature look for me, and I love that. The pearl and heart necklace was a present from my sister a couple of years ago and very useful it is too!

Many thanks to my dear friend Fiona for acting as photographer of the day. Our post-work sessions are always designed to take into account weather, light and who's the most tired therefore how far we wish to roam to find the right location. This post-work session was taken just a stone's throw from the Gallery. We did more chatting than photography enjoying a catch up on each other's news; a win-win for both of us. 

                                                                            Anna x

Wedding Wear, our Style Not Age challenge for July

Hello again, and welcome to our monthly style challenge! Jacqui's come up with Wedding Wear for the theme this time and this was what I wore, not to wedding, but to recent event here on the island. But more on that later...

Jacqui's dress is by Girl In Mind, and is what she wore to her daughter's wedding shower the other day. I could see this would definitely work for a wedding too! Catch up on all her latest news on Mummabstylish. 

Hilda's Rixo dress is what she wore to a wedding, and she looks sleek and elegant as always. See more from Hilda on her blog Over The Hilda. 

Emma's pretty blue and white summer dress is by the brand Izabel and her pleated shoes are from Calla Shoes - catch up with her holiday news on her blog here. 

This is what I wore to a fundraiser we held in the Gallery on Saturday night. The co-ord is by Zara; I found it on Vinted last year and for some reason I keep forgetting about it. The pyjama suit always gets me lots of lovely compliments - I suppose it's quite different from my normal loud colours and yet I do love the botanical design. The cream mules are by Zara too, found in a charity shop some time ago.

The giant moth is fab isn't it? All in all, it's a bit more of an understated look than I usually opt for, but I do like it - I just need to stop hiding it in the back of my wardrobe!

My rings are preloved, rather ancient too, but work well with the look I thought. I need to remember to change things up from time to time as far as my jewellery goes.

The silver heart and pearl necklace was a gift from my sister a while ago and works really well with this. The blue sunglasses are my go-to of the moment - from Oliver Bonas last year.

Our fundraiser was in aid of the Woodlands Recovery Project, set up since storm Goretti left its mark on the island, causing devastation and uprooting over 300 trees. Our fundraiser was thanks to the generosity of the Gallery artists who donated artworks to be auctioned for the cause, raising over £28,000 in less than two hours! We had a great evening with lots of tension and laughter along the way.

It's a massive project, one that my husband and son will be working on for a long time to come, but it has to be viewed as an opportunity for change; a chance for new planations of different species creating a fresh perspective on Tresco's woodlands. Read more about the project and how you can help here. 

                                                                            Anna x

We're having a heatwave!

Hi there! Oh my goodness, how wonderful it is to live by the sea in the middle of a heatwave! A sea breeze makes the high temperatures so much more tolerable and for that I'm very grateful. I'm managing to fit in my daily swims around work; the water temperature is also a blessing as it's still cool, with the odd warm spot. I'm currently swimming along the length of Appletree Bay and back which takes just over 30 minutes. This year I've ditched my previous routine of wearing earplugs, cap and goggles where I would swim out on breast stroke and back on crawl. But this year I've swapped that for a heads-up breast stroke and the simple reason is that it gives me a more relaxing swim as I'm not always checking for boats, paddleboards etc - this way I'm seeing everything all the time and can swim around/away from any interruptions.

And so, on to the outfit of the day. The dress is broderie anglais, light as a feather, therefore perfect for the current heatwave. The buttons don't go all the way to the hem therefore I added these colourful shorts underneath. The brand is called Budgy Smuggler and these are booty shorts - see them here. The print is called Techno Parrot.

Orange and blue are a fab pairing and the multicoloured shorts add another wonderful pop of colour. 

I found these fab fluffy sandals on Vinted last summer, but somehow they didn't get many wears. We have a holiday coming up soon and I thought these might work as crazy slippers. When I wore them to work recently Rachel greeted me with "Morning Barbara!", aka The Good Life. Consequently I'm veiwing them as more like posh slippers rather than funky sandals.

The blue sunglasses are from Oliver Bonas, bought last year. They're my go-to glasses currently as I just love the cheery colour which really makes a statement. My beaded necklace with gold discs was bought a few years ago from the Charlie Dodge jewellery range which we stock. 

I'm suddenly a convert to shorts under dresses. No worries about inadventently flashing one's knickers; instead these booty shorts show that I have nothing to hide!

Steve and I had a bit of downtime here on Saffron Bay after work the other evening. There's a magic hour between 6 and 7pm when the beaches empty as everyone is making tea for the kids or getting ready to go out for dinner. It's the best time to find an empty beach to call our own. A bottle of beer for Steve and a bonus swim for me before we head of home and we've rounded off a working day nicely!

                                                                            Anna x

Summer colours

Hi there! Many thanks for dropping by. My previous post was rather curtailed by a technical hiccup between my phone and my computer. Long story short, I have new phone and all is well. My summer outfit was captured by my friend Fiona just before she took off for a summer break abroad. I do wonder why she went as the temperature is crazy-hot here on Tresco this week. 

Our photo sessions are always a mixture of catching up with each other's news plus the obligatory telling off by her as I'll be speaking as she's trying to take blog photos. My speaking face isn't as acceptable as my smiling/laughing face so I really don't mind her telling me to shut up.

And so, on to the outfit of the day. The jumpsuit was a charity shop buy sometime last year - it's by Boden and is a great summer piece. I think the shirred neckline is actually meant to be worn off the shoulder, but that just doesn't work for me, so I wear it comme ca and it looks fine as far as I'm concerned. It's a lightweight cheesecloth fabric which is perfect for the current heatwave. The paisley print in orange and pink would have been a personal design choice if I'd made it - it's fabulous!

The jumpsuit does have a shirred elastic waistline too but I'm always partial to adding a colourful belt whenever I can. This pink stretch belt was an Amazon buy for some time ago. 

Worth mentioning of course are the pockets! What's the point of a jumpsuit if it doesn't have pockets? Anyway, as a work outfit it really comes in at a 10/10 for comfort. 

And talking of comfort, these Rocketdog sandals are well up there too for all-day wear. I fancy these will pop up (yet again) purely for that very reason.

Jewllery-wise I'm all about Emily Nixon this week. My first birthday ring has been joined by my second birthday ring - both are 18ct gold with sapphires and diamonds. See her full collection here.

My necklace is also by Emily Nixon, but is now a vintage piece, bought over 10 years ago before her latest reinvention. It's rose quartz and amethyst with silver flake spacers. I recently had it cleaned when I was visiting Emily's new studio in Penzance. The spacious three storey building has recently been remodelled to house all of the aspects of her jewellery business and it's well worth making an appointment to see the stylish showroom if you're in the vicinity.

My sunglasses are by Oliver Bonas and are my go-to pair regardless of the colour of my outfit. I do love the pop of blue! So that's just about it for this week. As I sign off there's a bit of bustling about in the kitchen as Steve gathers together his essentials for watching England playing in the semi-final of the World Cup. I fear it all may be for nothing and consequently I'm about to scoot off for my second swim of the day - it's always a joy to have high and low tide at 5/6/7 am and pm meaning I have the chance to fit in two swims! It's truly been a scorcher of a day here meaning the gallery was like an oven despite both doors and skylights being open. But hey, I'm really not complaining!

Enjoy the wonderful weather!

Anna x

Summer loving, having a blast - our SNA challenge for June

Hello again! Here we are with our monthly style challenge and this time it's all about the summer outfits that we wear over and over. It'll be no surprise that my most worn summer outfit is my beachwear! Every day I scoot off to the beach for my daily swim and this is my uniform for those summer months - shorts, shirt and flip flops are de rigeur for me. My city dwelling friends have a different take on this so let's not waste a moment in seeing how they tackled this one.

Hilda's stylish offering is this lightweight co-ord of balloon trousers and matching top - a great way of keeping cool in the recent heatwave. Read more of her news on Over The Hilda blog. 

Another keeping-cool outfit comes from Emma in this lemon fresh dress from Vinted. Emma shopped her closet for this look - see all the details on her latest blog post Style Splash. 

Jacqui chose this loose summer dress for keeping cool this summer, and very pretty it is too! Read all her latest on her blog post Mummabstylish.

This easy-to-wear outfit serves my purpose for a quick change on the beach - the orange linen shirt is by Ichi, a recent purchase from TK Maxx, the floral linen shorts have an elasticated waist, perfect for ease of changing; they're by Papaya, bought from Vinted last summer and have proved themselves to be a summer essential.

My beach bag was a purchase from my trip up to the top of Table Mountain when I was in Cape Town over eight years ago. Who'd have thought that there would be a retail opportunity at the top of a mountain! My sandals are by Rocketdog.

I managed to drag Steve away from his Sunday chores to be my photographer of the day. We stopped for a while after my swim to enjoy having this tiny beach to ourselves. It's called Cradle Porth and is one of my favourite places to swim. The view looks across to St Martin's on the left and out to the uninhabited Eastern Isles to the right. I love the sense of getting away from it all, despite being only a 5 minute cycle from home.

I've recently come across a new brand of swimwear, Ceacea, an Australian brand, but featured in a local shop in Penzance, called Mor Swimmy. These long sleeved swimsuits offer great coverage across the back as that's where I'm prone to getting small areas of skin cancer. I've bought three of them as they were in the half price sale, so that's me set up for the next couple of years. 

The suits are described as surf suits and work well as swimwear as they're bodyhugging, and don't let water up the sleeves or down the neck as so many of this type of suit do. Best of all they sit snug around the top of the thigh and don't disappear up one's derriere!

This was from yesterday's early morning swim on Pentle Bay. I'm lucky to have so many fabulous beaches to choose from; this one is slightly easier to access than Cradle Porth with lots of entry points along the beach. Many thanks for joining us once again for our monthly challenge. I do hope the heatwave isn't proving too challenging for you too!

                                                                            Anna x