Our Style Not Age challenge for May

The last Monday of the month means we're ready for May's Style Not Age challenge. It was Hilda's turn to choose this time and she has asked that we take our inspiration from the Sky and Sea. Obviously this was no hardship for me! I'm keen to see how the others tackled this one though...

Starting with Hilda; she's looking resplendent her bright blue Kimono from Zara which she bought a couple of years ago. See her story on her blog Over The Hilda.

Emma is wearing a vintage dress the pattern of which is similar to light playing on water. She's wearing cloud earrings to tie in with the challenge too. See more on her blog Style Splash. 

Gail has chosen aqua and blue to echo the Sea and Sky theme with a liberal dose of metallics to add that sunny sparkle - a great interpretation! Find out more on Is This Mutton.

Blue sky and white fluffy clouds were the inspiration for Jacqui's outfit. Her latest passion for her white trainers completes this cute look. Catch up with all of her news on Mummabstylish.

How lucky am I to have the turquoise sea right on my doorstep for this fabulous challenge! I'd been swimming on the other side of the island at Cradle Porth only an hour before this and was still buzzing with the afterglow. I swear that sea swimming actually gives me more energy!

I opted for these aqua jeans from Tesco's to reflect the clear sea colour. They're cotton with a bit of stretch which is just as well as I fancy that they're a bit more snug than last summer... The brand of the pale blue and white blouse is Kew159 and was a charity shop find - I thought this was a perfect rendition of the sky. I rummaged around in my jewellery box and found this aqua and white rope necklace to tie in with the theme. My favourite white and black Quay Australia sunglasses work really well with this ensemble.

Both my rings and the necklace are pre-loved. The suede belt was a purchase from Benetton a few years ago.

To complete the look I've added these turquoise metallic pumps, rather ancient though they are, but still very wearable. I bought them from Primark donkey's ages ago and had lost them in the back of the cupboard until recently. 

Thanks for joining us for this month's challenge - I do hope you've enjoyed it. I'll be back on Friday with my long awaited 6 year blogging anniversary post. I'm working on that currently and can't promise how it'll look apart from very colourful!

I hope you can join me for that on Friday!

Anna x

Frilled to bits!

Hi everyone! How are you?

Excuse the pun, but I'm frilled to bits to wear this outfit! A monochrome permutation, showcasing these rather old flamenco inspired trousers, it was a joy to pair them with the frilly sleeved blouse to create an outfit that just cried out "Fun!" and oh, what fun I had!

Four years ago I set myself the Black Trouser Challenge - see here. It was the first time I'd succumbed to black trousers since my school days and I was positively evangelical about these delightfully ruffled ones. To my amazement, the weekly challenge ran for 13 inspired weeks and looking back seems to have been very popular gauging by the number of comments each post received. 

The eagle eyed amongst you may recall that this is an almost identical take on week two of the challenge, apart from the shoes and accessories. But hey, that was in 2017, so maybe I ought not to have even mentioned it!

What wasn't happening back in 2017, was the almost daily photobombing from Nick Halliday, CEO of the island! Nick clearly is up for a bit of fun too and may well become a regular on the blog at this rate.

You know what they say, "Laugh and the world laughs with you..."

And so, to the details - trousers were from River Island, blouse was from George at Asda, belt was charity shopped, shoes by Nine West, sunglasses by Quay Australia.

Rings are both pre-loved and handbag by Bags of Time. We sell these bags at Gallery Tresco. They're upcycled from old leathers and fabrics by Claudine Sear. Jamie bought me this one for my Christmas and it's my fave bag of the moment.

I love the mixture of classy and playful that these two elements combined say.

And just when I thought I'd regained centre stage ...

... this happens! Timeshare guest and friend Mark Rigby managed to edge into the limelight that is Anna's Island Style. Neatly done, I may add, as he keeps his 2m distance!

The silver disc necklace was a purchase from M&S many moons ago and yet still looks very contemporary. 

If this is the 14th feature of these (£40) River Island trousers then that brings the cost per wear down to £2.85. Not too shabby eh?

And one final thing. On Wednesday, weather permitting, I shall be leaving Tresco for a few days on the mainland. I have three health appointments to attend and beyond that I can already feel the siren's call of the shops. This will be my first time off the island in 15 months, a scary thought for a fashion blogger who claims to be ready for a change in retail habits. My aim is to shop responsibly; to buy only what I need or can justify by way of replacements. However, I accept my quest seems almost saintly and therefore am cutting myself some slack as I have a gift voucher left over from Christmas which will see my entry in the Portal of Joy - otherwise known as TK Maxx. Wish me luck!

                                                                  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

Smart and sassy!

Hello lovely readers! How are you today? Well, I hope.

Today's title refers to the outfit, not me by the way. You'll have seen the dress featured previously, but the addition of a jacket just gives it a smart edge. My love of pattern play is truly evident here too, even down to the heart sprigged tights. It felt like a proper spring outfit when I wore it earlier this week. 

The jacket is by Heyton, bought in TK Maxx a few years ago. It really is a beautifully tailored piece, with perfect proportions for my height; flattering cut, neat stitching and lovely sleeve length. I had a search online for the brand, but couldn't find a web page, however I did find the same jacket on eBay if anyone is interested. 

My leather brogues are from Office (very old), but do work so well with this Zara snakeprint dress. I love the mint shade of the shoes although they're quite a difficult colour to tie in with a lot of my outfits. They are absolute heaven to wear, being all day long comfy with no need for that lunchtime swap over as so often happens to me. The Radley handbag was a wonderful charity shop find, a stylish neutral bag for this look.

 

My rings are both pre-loved, charity shopped and blooming perfect for this ensemble. Hurrah!

The dress came with its own self tie belt, so as is my wont I changed that for a different one; yet another charity shop find. It's leather and elastic woven with gilt trim to create an unusual accessory that had earned its place in my collection.

Next month is my 6 year blogging anniversary and I'm inviting any of my readers to send me an email with a photo of yourself in an outfit inspired by Anna's Island Style. Some of my blogging friends have responded to this, but I'd love to showcase readers too. So don't be shy, please step up and let me feature you on my anniversary feature!

                                                                       Anna x

Lovely leopard print!

Hello again! Are you okay? How's life treating you?  I love to hear from you so please add a comment at the end of the post to share your news. This is a hot off the press outfit, taken just an hour ago. 

The look is inspired by a dear friend. We were discussing our plans to clothes shop next month (me in the UK and she in Portugal) and what we hoped to buy. I was bemoaning the fact that I had missed purchasing three wonderfully bright linen summer tent dresses; one in turquoise, one in orange and the other in bright pink. Big, loose and airy for the summertime is how I described them and such a heartache that I dithered over them two years ago when I was in Truro. Her observation was that the voluminous tent dress can swamp me (and her - we're of similar heights). She suggested that I might consider figure hugging styles as they're more flattering for us, giving the illusion of being taller.

Leopard print is one of her favourite patterns, so this one is for you Bo. The skinnies are  indeed figure hugging, but thankfully they do have lots of stretch. Purchased years ago from Zara, the bonus feature has to be the lovely pockets. You can't beat a good pocket can you?

The pre-loved blouse is by Boohoo and is a great match for this vivid outfit. The mix of animal and chain prints in red, black and blue work really well with the leggings. 

The final dose of pattern comes by way of these M&S tartan boots, again not new, but from a few years ago. 

Skinny trousers, fitted shirt and high heeled boots do give a streamline look which does help to quell the voice of the fat woman who lives in my head. Please tell me I'm not the only one to suffer from mild body dysmorphia? My lovely friend Bo has a knack of saying just the right thing to help me open my eyes to what others see. Thank-you darling!

Pre-loved rings, Primark gold chain necklace and Quay Australia sunglasses are today's accessories.

I'll be back on Monday with my fabulous fashionista friends for our monthly Style Not Age challenge. Do come and join us if you can!

                                                                                      Anna x

The feel-good factor

Hello lovelies! How are you doing? And more importantly what have you lined up for the weekend? It's well over a year since I've been on the mainland and I can't imagine what it's like now that restrictions are being lifted across the UK. Have you been clothes shopping yet? And if so, how was it? Do share!

This was a work outfit of mine from this past week. We've had a wonderful run of sunny weather, but with a chilly east wind, hence the need for tights. I long for bare leg weather, but I suppose it's only spring after all. The bell sleeved smock harps back to the 60's from when I was barely a teenager. This one was a charity shop find and as is so often, it has no label. The fabric is a heavy weight jersey, perfect for this time of year. 

A wide smock that barely covers the knee can be a bit challenging. Do I end up looking as wide as I am tall? Am I a bit chunky around the knee area? Is this a style more suited to a young girl? Yes, all of these questions came to mind when I saw some of these photos. The fashion critic that resides in my head talks much louder than any straight talking girlfriend could. The truth is, sometimes it's not about how an outfit makes you look. Sometimes it's about how it makes you feel. And this smock dress always makes me feel good. So hurrah for the feel-good factor!

I chose purple tights to tie in with the floral patterned dress, adding these silver brogues (by Office) for a bit of razzle dazzle. 

Pre-loved rings and a mixed metal necklace finish the look along with my Quay Australia sunglasses. I'm listening to Tony Blackburn's "Sounds of the 60's" as I write this which seems very fitting. The song "What  a wonderful world" by Louis Armstrong is a great way to start my day. 

My thanks go to Fiona again for taking these photos. This post work shoot took place in front of our local church in the early evening sunshine. My first week of being open to the public has rushed by in a flurry of happy hello's from guests who were so grateful to be back on the island. Our numbers have increased staff-wise too with lots of youngsters wearing ear to ear smiles as they can't quite believe their luck at landing on our sunny island paradise - and getting paid to be here too!

I'm just off to the beach now for my early morning swim. The plan for me this weekend is all about housework. A big spring clean is long overdue and I'm ready for it. I love to clean if cleaning is my own chore. If a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well is my motto. And with that I'll leave you. 

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Anna x