Animal print jumpsuit

Hello again my lovelies! Today sees the start of my transitional dressing - that tricky time when the weather fluctuates during summer and autumn or winter and spring causing havoc with one's outfit choices. Last weekend I had big plans to do my seasonal wardrobe changeover, but life as they say, rarely goes to plan. It was our Ruby anniversary (yes, 40 amazing years of marriage) and although the celebrations were decidedly low-key, I still couldn't find time to do the deed that needed to be done. One thing of note from the weekend was the arrival of my long-lost friend Caroline who was my accomplice on our Thelma and Louise adventure which brought us to Tresco 43 years ago. We had a few catch up sessions together, visiting the site of the Island Hotel where we spent our summer working together and we also had a lovely sea swim at Cradle Porth followed by tea and lots of reminiscing. Happy days!

Anyway, on to the outfit of the day. This animal print jumpsuit is on sale on the ASOS website currently (see here). I've had a small trickle of new purchases recently for which I'll make no apologies. Each new item has been actioned by a moving out of something old to free up space in my closet. If I had time to spare I'd be selling these things on eBay, but for the moment I have no such luxury. 

As you can see, the main feature of the jumpsuit is the wonderfully wide legs. It looks like a maxi dress unless you make exaggerated poses like this. The fit is relaxed with a v neck and button front. The loose fit is perfect for layering a thin thermal top underneath for this time of year, easily whipped off if the temperatures suddenly rise during the day.

Made from 100% viscose, the fabric is drapey and elegant. 

For those of you who have been following the pink trouser suit saga - well the suit arrived, but turned out to just be a jacket in one material and trousers in another meaning that the colours and fabrics were too different to say trouser suit in my book. And so the search continues. I fear it may be next summer before another rash of pink suits hit the market.

Rings in neutral tones were both charity shop finds from a long time ago.

Retro sunglasses are a few years old, from River Island and the necklace is positively ancient, from goodness knows where!

Very soon I'll be packing my Puma white trainers away in favour of white patent boots, although my black patent boots will work fine with this ensemble too.

I'll finish with a couple of anniversary shots from my Instagram page. This was Steve and I in the pony and trap on our way to the wedding reception at the Island Hotel in 1981. We were married on St Mary's and our guests had endured a rather bumpy boat trip after the ceremony, some of them loosing their breakfast along the way. 

And this is the painting I bought for our Ruby anniversary. It's by Lizzie Black, one of our popular artists at Gallery Tresco. See more examples of her work here. These are the Blockhouse Cottages at Green Porth. Steve spent most of his childhood living here and we also had our first year of marriage at Blockhouse no.3 while we waited for work to be completed on our home at Cliff Cottage over at New Grimsby. The row of cottages is due to be rebuilt over the next 12 months, so it's good to have this as a reminder before construction begins.

Many thanks for joining me again. I'll be back after the big clothes changeover and hope to have found all sorts of inspiring clothes to share with you. 

                                                                    Anna x

Cornflower blue dress from Fat Face

Hello lovelies!

Yes, you may recall I left a little teaser at the end of my last post about a cornflower blue dress and here it is! This is the Margot daisy patchwork midi in cornflower which is still in the sale, but is going fast (see here). I saw this on Instagram on the very day I was leaving the mainland and it really set my heart a flutter. On getting home I did a search online, but my size was sold out. I rang the local branch in Truro and they kindly offered to hold one for me until I could get in to collect it. A dear friend hot footed it down to the store and popped it in the post. Isn't it lovely?

My summer wardrobe feels complete now with this lightweight frock in such a super colour. It was a really windy corner of the island that Steve and I chose for our shoot, so some of these photos are less than perfect. My belt is askew and the clasp is drifting off-centre. My new hairstyle is being blown all over the show and the dress is behaving like a cling-on in most of the shots. Ho hum.

Side pockets are a bonus feature. The frill above the bust does draw the eye to that area which isn't really my thing, but I can live with it. The dress has elasticated sleeves and waistband, but I thought the addition of a belt was a better finish.

Next time I shall wear my midi length net underskirt with this. 

Rings and belt are all pre-loved.

Sunglasses are Quay Australia and my disc necklace is by M&S.

My white patent Puma's are ideal for wearing on the beach.

And last of all, here's the new haircut (and colour) without the windswept look. It's great to have a healthy mop of hair again. Hurrah!

Thanks for dropping by!

Anna x

Primark trouser suit; a summer gem!

Hello again my lovelies!

May has arrived and for the past little while it's been glorious weather without that dreadful sharp easterly wind. On Friday I braved it in what is one of my favourite summer trouser suits - I say braved it because it's a lightweight summer fabric and wouldn't withstand a chilly breeze. However, all was good and I even managed to do my own blog photography before I started work!

I bought the checked co-ord from Primark two years ago and it's still looking sharp - see it previously here, here and here. I often get asked where it's from and my response is always met with surprise. The unstructured jacket hangs loose without any buttons making the paperbag trousers the focal point of the outfit. 

The button back sleeves and shorter length trouser work well for my build as I like to show some wrist and ankle. My only minus point would be the lack of pockets, especially trouser ones, but on the other hand it was a brilliant purchase at only £30 for the whole suit.

The Karl tee shirt was a TK Maxx purchase about three years ago. You can't go wrong with a white tee, can you? Sunglasses are from Quay Australia.

My gold coloured chain was another Primark purchase. The rose gold watch is by Michael Kors, worn with my wedding ring and a russian three gold ring. Simple jewellery for this clean cut ensemble.

This is a great outfit for running around. I had to pop out to move art from one holiday cottage to another, so I chose practical footwear by way of these white patent finish Puma trainers. The ribbon laces for once aren't my adaptation, but they do add a touch of femininity don't you think?

It's so lovely to have you swing by again today. My readership is looking healthier than ever, so thank you if you're a regular and a very big thank you if you're spreading the word about Anna's Island Style!

                                                                           Anna x

Summer jacket no. 1

Hello again and thanks for swinging by! 

It's half way through September and I'm on a mission to show you four new-to-me summer jackets that I've never worn before. Shame on me for hoarding these for so long! Anyway, here's the first of four. I was drawn to it because of the patchwork fabrics as well as the colours and patterns. It's such a cute little jacket and the first time I wore it was last weekend on a jolly jaunt to the beach. Steve and I cycled to the south end of the island to stretch our legs and get some photos for the blog - a two for one morning.

The outfit was built around the jacket, a lightweight cotton piece which I found in a charity shop in February.

Sorry about the blurry shot. I've never heard of Foul Fashion, so I did a search for the brand and had to laugh when I found a similar jacket, classed as suitable for fancy dress or hen party! Not that it'll stop me wearing this. I think it's great fun and all the more so when I came across this (pre-loved and unworn) long sleeved top (by East) which was lurking in the back of my cupboard. They look great together, don't you think?

I love the floral print and turquoise colours that tie both top and jacket together beautifully. My stretch jeans are from Tesco, a few years old now.

These satin ribboned Puma trainers have really come into their own this summer. They're perfect for being on my feet all day long and after a quick cycle in the washing machine come up good as new!

Today's rings are both charity shop finds, in keeping with the shopping my closet theme of late. 

Good ol' faithfuls, my Quay Australia sunglasses.

Check out the fabulous colourful lining of this too!

The back of the jacket is just as fancy as the front!

My next quest is to find a block colour shift dress from my closet to go underneath this for work. I surely have one of those don't I? In the meantime, I'll be looking at those other three jackets, trying to find some new outfits to go with them. It's 7 months since I last visited the shops and I've surprised myself how easy it's been to shop my closet instead. Are you inspired to give this a go?

                                                                                 Anna x

H&M silk jumpsuit

Hurrah for August!

Hello again. Like the rest of the nation, if not the world, we here on Tresco are trying to establish this new regime as normal and hopefully August will see things continue in the right direction. However, one thing far from normal is that last week the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were here on the island on holiday. It was a private visit, a family time for them to enjoy a bit of anonymity and it seems that not one photo of them was taken or leaked to the press. Four years ago the couple were here for a day trip and at that time we all hoped that they might return. Last week Tresco proved to be the most idyllic place to spend a family holiday without having to leave the country.

If you're a long term follower of mine, then you may remember the last time I wore this fabulous jumpsuit was at a summer exhibition five years ago. My current break from shopping has me working hard at reviving old clothes that I've dismissed or overlooked for years. This jumpsuit hasn't had an airing throughout these five long years and I'm so happy to find it again. I wore it to work yesterday and these shots were taken the day before when Steve and I popped along to Saffron Bay for a quick photo shoot.

The silk jumpsuit is beautifully lightweight and floaty as you can see from this series of shots. I wore it with a short sleeved tee and white pumps for a practical look. The wide trousers were a challenge to begin with, tripping me up as I dashed upstairs for the first time, but thereafter I just treated them like a maxi skirt, grabbing handfuls when I was bobbing up and down the staircase or even hanging art. 

I suppose the low cut back is mean to show off a young and firm back view, but I overcame that with a skinny ribbed tee shirt (very old) which fitted perfectly under the slim cut bodice. The jumpsuit has a side zip as well as the tie back feature.  I pulled the whole look together with this ornate buckled belt which draws the eye to the waist as a good counter to the voluminous trousers.

"Old lady jelly arms" alert here!

These ribbon tied Puma trainers have become my go-to shoes during my busy working life of late.  They're squashy and comfy and perfect for climbing both stairs and ladders and generally being on my feel for 12 hours a day. My working role has expanded to me becoming cleaner at the start of the day, to Gallery Manager, administrator, art curator, packer and unpacker of goods as well as shipping co-ordinater. There's something very satisfying for the control freak in me to know I have my finger on the pulse of every aspect of the business for the first time ever. Ask me any question about our website, artists who have been to stay, art stock both in the Gallery and the 100 cottages, new works about to arrive or paintings en route to a client and I'll know it without having to ask an assistant or refer to files. It's a satisfying position to be in and one that I'm relishing despite the longer hours.

Today's jewellery is all old too, so much so that I can't recall where I got the rings. The necklace came from the Gallery and I fancy it's made from some African bean that's coloured naturally... My sunglasses are by Radley London.

And this was yesterday's early start. I bumbled into work at 4.30am while the moon was still high in the sky. That may seem ridiculously early I know, but once I wake my brain just starts whirring away making notes of all of the jobs pending for the day ahead. At that stage there's no point in trying to roll over and go back to sleep. Much better to just get up and get going. Thank goodness I love my job! 

                                                                                                                                     Anna x