Farewell to summer!

Much as it pains me to say it, I realise that it's probably time to admit that summer is nearly over now. This is my final nod to the dizzying days of twirling and laughter and general sun-induced madness that takes hold of me for a few short months of the year.

Hoping that the clouds will part.

This lovely handbag is from my dear friend Suzy who lives in New Zealand. It's an authentic bag from the South Island featuring pieces of Paua shell which are recognisable by their myriad of colours. 

Maybe I'll just give you one more twirl before we call it a day?

I've had such fun sharing my summer wardrobe with you all. The feedback and comments have been a great pleasure for me to read when I return to my blog at the end of a working day. I work hard and play hard, and it's so rewarding to share some of my memories with you knowing that you're enjoying them too. Autumn will bring changes again: Polly, my gorgeous photographer, will be leaving my employ as her contract finishes in a few weeks time. We're going to be busy capturing as many outfits as we can before she leaves me. I'm hoping that she will be able to stay on the island until November by which time I might have filled my draft box with lots of autumn offerings. We've already done a shoot for a December feature and we may even get a January one in the bag too before she heads off to the mainland. But the good news is that she plans to come back to work for me again next season - roll on March I say!

My dress is from H&M (many moons ago), shoes are charity shopped, both necklaces are by Charlie Dodge, watch is by Michael Kors, bangle and rings are charity shopped and sunglasses are by Quay Australia. Handbag as mentioned is from New Zealand.

Linking with 

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Jess of Elegantly Dressed and Stylish

Thanks, Polly for doing such a great job x

Anna x

#Ping Ping Post no 7

Hello again and welcome to #Ping Pong Post no 7. The aim of #PPP is to recreate a girls night in where I and my two blogging friends, Ann of Kremb de la Kremb and Samantha of Fake Fabulous, choose an item of clothing and then style it up in our own way. In theory this is a simple enough idea, but the practicality of it is a bit more difficult as we all live so very far apart - Ann lives in Hong Kong, Samantha in Scotland and I live in England, on an island 28 miles to the west of the Cornish mainland. Now in its 7th month, the series started like this - see here. This time Ann has offered up her striped Breton top, so let's see her interpretation first.

Ann has run with the nautical theme here by adding hooped earrings, pirate's scarf, dark eyeliner and lots of gold bullion. Her girl-goes-pirate look is softened by the silky gold skirt that echoes the gold of her socks and tennis shoes. I love her authentic touches of the harbourside backdrop with all the right props. Ann's photos always have a humorous slant, but that never takes away from her skill in finding a story and telling it well. Cute as always, Ann carries off this ultra feminine pirate look with casual ease.

Details are:

Kerchief--second hand shop

Gold Hoops--very long story....but now from Hong Kong
Necklace--Hong Kong
Thumb Ring--Mumbai
Striped Crop Shirt--H&M hand-me-down from my sister
Gold skirt and socks-- Forever 21 
Tennis--Lacoste

Follow Ann on Instagram here.

Both ladies have featured a full skirt. Samantha, however, has given the outline a more pared down look, thanks to some very clever illusionary effects. By tucking the top in and adding a big belt she really changes its shape. Her chunky boots tie in beautifully with the patent belt, and the the pop of blue she introduces by way of accessories is a clever move. Samantha says she really enjoyed this challenge and I think it shows. The cool, funky outfit she created is the work of a true fashionista.

Details are:

Dress: Asos (from a Charity shop)

Boots: Vagabond

Glasses: Tkmax

Necklace: eBay

Belt: Coast (old)

Bag: Linea

Nails: Barry M

Tights: Gypsy

Follow Samantha on Instagram here.

Yes, and here's the top again, but as a skirt. I have to admit that this wasn't my favourite #PPP. I'm not keen on boxy shaped tops and this one swamped me, so I had three options: to wear it as a turban, a skirt or a poncho. Well, as you can see I opted for the skirt version. The length did of course, bring it's own problems which is where the dress came in.

Once I'd pulled the skirt over the dress, the belt was needed to cinch everything together. Cue matching shoes, and once I'd got that far, I thought the whole look was begging for a finishing touch. By topping the outfit off with a hat Polly thought the ensemble was very St. Tropez. What do you think?

Details are -

Striped top - Ann's

Dress - J at Jasper Conran

Hat - Mila Sehon

Belt - TK Maxx

Shoes - BCBGeneration

Handbag - thrifted

Sunglasses - Quay Australia

Watch - Michael Kors

My Instagram link is here. 

Once again, I think we've all had a bit of fun creating our own particular style with the selected item of the month. Next month will bring another challenge, this time from my wardrobe. I do hope you'll come back again on the 20th October to see what's up. And just for a change, our line-up will look a bit different...

Linking with - 

Catherine of Not Dressed as Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Cherie of Style Nudge

Jess of Elegantly Dressed and Stylish
Judith of Style Crone

Anna x

Applique and lace

I promised you bare legs and summer outfits for as long as possible, and so here we have another September offering. I love peach and aqua, I love lace, and a bit of applique can't do any harm either. As a mid-week outfit I'm pleased with the overall look, especially with the shoes and bag adding that certain je ne sias quoi. 

My magpie nature furnishes me with all kind of random items, which when put together with a creative eye can lift the everyday out of the ordinary. You've no idea the pleasure it gives me to pull pieces of clothing in many colours and styles onto the bed in the morning challenging myself to find a new look out of these (often) second hand clothes. The lace top is a recent purchase from Tesco, and the shoes were also new, but the bag, skirt and bangles are all on their second time around. Pre-loved they call them, and still loved by me. 

This hobby of mine is not only creative, but enduring - I've been hooked on clothes since my early teens. It's also proving to be a wonderful connection with so many like minded women across the world who love dressing to impress no-one but themselves. I also like to share how being middle-aged doesn't have to mean boring, dull, frumpy or beige. Shape or size has no bearing on this frame of mind either. All it takes is a bit of trial and error, adding a belt here, a splash of colour there until you can find a signature that is yours. My own signature style is constantly evolving. I have my favourites, like my brogues, and pattern play, but I'm always ready to try something new. For me there's a real joy in clothes, the right clothes, worn the right way - seek out that joy and you too can have that daily pleasure in your life as I do.

Top from F&F at Tesco (sold out), skirt French Connection (thrifted), shoes TK Maxx, handbag thrifted, necklace old, rings old, watch Michael Kors, bangles thrifted.

Anna x

Joy is a jumpsuit

I hope that you've got the measure of me by now. I love my clothes, I gush, I enthuse, and I'd like to think that's why you keep coming back for more. Today's offering was from last week when the sun still was like me, making an effort to impress. The big sky during my lunch break was an amazing sight. See it at the end of the feature or scroll down now if you can't wait. Anyway, joy is indeed a jumpsuit and this one was from the H&M sale last summer. I wore it the first time around for an exhibition evening see here, and yes it's pretty much a repeat showing, but worth it none the less, I think.

I wafted about feeling rather lovely in my jumpsuit, while the sun shone, the sea sparkled and the islands looked idyllic. Giddy with the sheer excitement of being alive, I smiled at the wonder of how the weather could transform and uplift us all. These perfect days are to be locked away in our memory banks, fodder for the long winter ahead when the sky will turn the sea to gunmetal rather than the brilliant blue of today. 

But for the moment, all is bliss. We are becalmed, and I for one, am joyful in my jumpsuit. 

A note to any new readers. These beautiful islands where I live are the Isles of Scilly which are part of Cornwall in the UK, not to be confused with the island of Sicily which is, of course, part of Italy. On a day like this, the islands here could pass for somewhere much more exotic, but in fact they lie some 28 miles off the Southwest of England where they are bathed in the warm wash of the Gulf Stream. The five inhabited islands are part of a larger archipelago comprising of over 140 uninhabited islands which are a draw for tourists who want to experience a slower, more relaxed pace of life. For them the most important decision of the day is what boat to catch to which island. For all you need to know about coming to stay click here.

Outfit details are - jumpsuit H&M (old), shoes Dune, shrug thrifted, necklace and rings old, sunglasses are by Quay Australia (these are similar and are on offer too) and bracelet in green amethyst is from Morocco.

Anna x

September's shift

And suddenly it's September! Not only September, but according to the weather guys, we're now in autumn. Well, just hang on there! I'm so not ready to pack up my summer clothes yet. In my world, summer continues until the weather breaks and that's usually October here on the islands. Expect prolonged periods of sleeveless tops, drifting into summer frocks with outbreaks of bare legs and the occasional silky jumpsuit in this corner of the UK. Any isolated areas of raincoats or heavier wet weather gear will not be making it onto the blog this month, oh no.

I wore this shift dress to work yesterday in an attempt to style a shift without looking like I'm off to a wedding. Maybe it's ended up looking more like a clubbing outfit this time? As you can tell I'm pretty extreme in my judgements of myself - my protective instinct I'm afraid, to say the worst thing before anyone else gets the chance to. A terrible insight into my psyche at this time of the morning, but let's not open that particular can of worms today eh? I do in fact like this combo of matchy-matchy bag and shoes with my default setting of pattern clashing to give it my own stamp of approval.

I wish you all a happy Friday and hope that you have a great weekend. I'll leave you with a couple of images from my Instagram this week showing the view from my backgarden one evening as the sun set and the other from the deck at the Ruin Beach Cafe where I joined Sasha and Polly for cocktails. These islands are idyllic during the summer, hence my inablility to give up on my favourite season despite what the the forecasters say.

Dress from F&F at Tesco (old), shoes and bag by Roland Cartier (thrifted), sunglasses by Quay Australia and all jewellery thrifted.

Anna x