Vintage frock goes out to dinner

Hi there and thanks for dropping by. As promised, here's some pics of our staff outing where I was joined by Emily (centre) and Mel for our dinner at the Ruin Beach Cafe last week. 

Emily has worked in the gallery for the past two years as my admin girl. It's probably no surprise to you to learn that in a previous life she was a catwalk model after being approached as a teenager, continuing for three years before moving on. 

Mel and her boyfriend Pete have lived on Tresco for a couple of years making it their base while they've been touring Europe. They come from New Zealand, land of the travellers, and have just left Tresco for another jaunt abroad. Next year Canada beckons them.

This was the view from our table for our lovely dinner . 

The photos are a tale of two halves. This and the following were taken by my daughter before I met up with the girls and as you can see, I had the prettiest pair of shoes on (old from Primark) to match my vintage dress. I had teetered up to the top of the hill where she and I met, and afterwards decided that I ought to carry my shoes to the venue and wear something more practical, hence the first photo shows me in red cowboy boots. In the flurry of changing footwear and reapplying lipstick I somehow managed to leave my shoes behind!

I added my very old green Benetton jeans jacket to the floaty frock along with my orange stretch belt. I've had this dress for some time now, but it was only recently that I decided to customise it by adding some silk flowers to the skirt. If I ever stop working then this customising of old clothes would be my ideal past time. Upcycling unwanted items and turning them into unique pieces would be a great environmental and creative project.

  

The dress was much admired and I must admit it felt gloriously feminine to waft about in this gauzy frock for an evening out. I'm not much of a party girl, but it was so good to cross the island and enjoy great food in an idyllic setting.  We really had a super time.

My fab leather handbag was a vintage find many years ago when I was on holiday in Ireland. Red and green aren't the easiest of colours to weave into an outfit so this was the perfect opportunity to give it an airing. My rings are all old, not charity shopped for a change, but various gold rings plus my engagement ring bought by my husband over the years.

The gold floral necklace is also very old, a purchase from Gallery Tresco when we used to stock Magpie Vintage jewellery. The jury's out as to whether it was too much for this summer look, but hey, that's what I wore! Sunglasses are by Radley London.

I go away on holiday later this week so will be off-grid for a wee while. I'm going to spend time with family and will be back with all the news soon. Until then, look after yourself!

                                                                       Anna x

Friday means dressing up!

Hurrah, it's Friday!

Hi there! How are you? I'm ready for the weekend, aren't you? I worked right through last weekend, getting the Gallery cleaned and prepped for re-opening on Monday and it's great to be back. I've loved seeing all of the familiar faces of our regular visitors, and it's also good to have that sense of control that working gives too. I'm offering viewings by appointment only and in between times am trying to catch up on the admin as well as unpacking the new artworks being delivered. It looks like this summer will be hectic as ever. The great thing about that is that the days simply fly by - in fact I can't believe it's Friday already! 

Steve and I took these photos a couple of weeks ago and already I can see how my hair has become much more unruly since then. I'm at the stage of having to wash it much more often so that it looks presentable. Have you been to the hairdresser yet?

I'm taking part in the Dress Up Friday feature again this week, but decided to opt for this much loved and pre-loved trouser suit for a change. I adore the deep midnight blue colour and it's also got massive deep trouser pockets and oh goodness, I do love a deep pocket! It's a man's suit, hence those pockets and the reason I have to roll up the sleeves - but hey, that salmon pink lining looks okay revealed doesn't it?

You'll remember seeing these shoes last Friday (see here) when I wore them with my colourful vintage frock. From Primark these babies cost me £5 - I just can't help bringing up the price of these bargain beauties!

My other feminine addition is this heavily beaded top (from Next). Like lots of my clothes it's a charity shop find and actually came in under a fiver! It even still had the dry cleaning label on it. One or two of the longer beads were loose, but it only took a few stitches to repair and now it's good as new. Sunnies are by Quay Australia.

Today's blue rings are recycled too.

Are you back at work again now or are you still working from home? I must admit that I did love to have the focus of Dress Up Friday when I was at home. Searching through my wardrobe, trying on clothes and finally taking the photos was all a great reminder that there was more to life than just housework! I'm a glass half full kinda girl however and did love my time at home, becoming more domestic with every week that passed. Already my house is looking a bit neglected and forlorn. I plan to have a big blitz on Sunday, although if the weather forecast is correct, we may have high pressure about to bring a sunny spell our way. Gardening may well take priority in that case.

Thanks for joining me again today. Do leave me a comment if you like the outfit or even drop me an email if you want to chat - it's great to have your feedback.

In the meantime have a super weekend!

Anna x

Vintage frock for a fun Dress Up Friday

Welcome to another dose of Dress Up Friday!

It's great to have you back again for Dress Up Friday. I love the excuse to get dolled up for this Friday feature and hope that you enjoy the results too. Today I'm wearing a vintage chiffon frock from Borghese by Toplet which was one of my first vintage buys when I started buying pre-loved fashion. The fitted bodice and drop waist style are form flattering and the generous skirt was showcased to its best in the breezy day.

The frock epitomises old fashioned glamour and romance.

Sunglasses are from Sainsbury's (old), rings are pre-loved and gold chain is from Primark (old).

These floral fabric shoes with gold high heels represent my most exciting Primark find over all the years I've been shopping there. I found them in the sale corner at the end of one summer and they were marked down to £5. They're the least Primark looking pair of shoes ever!

This is the perfect posing frock!

As of next week, Friday's will be a normal work day for me. The gallery re-opens for business on Monday with me holding the fort on my own for the first time ever. We'll be trading by appointment only with on-island clients being my priority. This weekend I'll be brushing up on my risk assessments, putting everything in place to make sure we all have a safe retail experience. If July 4th signals a return to your new working schedule I wish you good luck and keep safe!

                                                                                   Anna x

Summer show 5

Hello and welcome to the reprise of Tuesday night at the gallery where Tom Rickman was our artist in attendance for the opening of his summer exhibition with us. I'm not sure who was the most delighted with the outcome as Tom sold 6 of his 10 paintings. We're both grinning madly here at the end of the night and for good reason! Tom has been showing his work with us for many years now and his passion for the North End of the island hasn't faltered over that time, nor has our guests appreciation for the subject either. Thank you Tom, for making the effort to come across the water from mainland Cornwall to attend the party. The other two contributing artists are Jenny Ulyatt and Alasdair Urquhart. The entire show can be viewed online here. 

I've shopped my closet this week for my exhibition outfit, purely because I love this frock by Finery and have only worn it once before. I fancy that I probably paired it up with the same shoes that time too, but goodness why on earth not? I'm a big fan of Finery as a brand because they do a great job to what you'd call grown up dressing. The cut is always stylish and flattering (see this other dress in the sale currently for more of what I mean). My orange frock was a TK Maxx find last year, so I picked up a bargain there too.

The satin floral shoes are my favourite summer stilettos meaning you'll have seen them many times before I expect. The always earn me lots of compliments, especially for those shiny gold heels. I'm learning to keep it zipped when someone says they love these (and yes, a few ladies did the other evening) as my default setting would be to blurt out the fact that they cost me £5.99 from Primark. Sharing that here somehow doesn't seem to count. Mad, eh?

This frock is all about the f's - flouncy, frilly and fun!

I'm hoping to round up my lovely helpers during the next and last summer show to get a photograph of them all together. The girls are always in a rush to go off for a celebratory meal together at the end of the shows and I seem to get caught up in saying farewell to the artist of the day, missing my chance of a group shot. Needless to say, I'm so grateful to them for all the hard work they put in to make these nights a success - especially Polly who helps to hang the show too - I couldn't do it without you, so thank you all ladies!

I usually have a swoosh factor shot, but this is the best I can do given my limited resources this time!

The rose gold ripple necklace was a purchase in a tiny side street boutique in St Andrews earlier on this year. I've added a rose gold ring (pre-loved) to that along with this bejewelled contemporary ring which I bought at an airport concession during the same trip. Both bangles are in rose gold, the sailor's knot is by Kate Spade and the other was from the gallery in the basement of the Barbican. The sunglasses of the moment are by Guess. 

Thanks so much for joining me again. I'm dreadfully aware how busy we all are at this time of year, all the more so when we have to make the most of these precious last few weeks of the summer. I've come to accept that my readership drops off around now, so I do appreciate those of you who are able to make the time to follow the story of my island life. It would be lovely to have your comments, good or bad - I love a bit of constructive criticism - to let me know you're out there, especially if you've never spoken to me before. I write my blog for you, each and every one of you and it's wonderful to create a connection to you. I'm always happy to widen my circle of friends. And a final thank you to those who comment regularly x

                                                                                         Anna x