Pairing yellow with pistachio...

Hi there! This was my favourite work outfit from last week. An unusual pairing of yellow and pistachio, one that I've not tried before, but I think I like it. What about you?

The pistachio cotton velvet coat is by White Stuff and was a Vinted purchase a little while ago. I'm going off to the mainland on Tuesday this week and think I'll wear this in an effort to look 'mainland smart'. Living on a tiny (car free) island tends to impact on what constitutes smart in real life. We dress here in response to the weather and most of the winter that means wet-weather gear or cosy coats to buffer one against the gales and cold weather. And so a trip to the mainland is always a style challenge for me as I try to anticipate the weather needs and my idea of style.

I'll be hanging around on drafty train platforms a lot of the time so a full length coat seems like a good idea. I'll add a scarf too and will pack a brolly in case of showers and that ought to cover everything. Having a car seems to negate the need to think about the weather - well that's how it looks to me when I see women dodge out of their cosy motors and pop into the supermarket wearing only a sweater. 

The rest of the outfit reads like this: skirt is a charity shop find, by Laura Ashley, sweater is old, tights are by Snag Tights, boots are by ASOS (from Vinted) and yellow necklace was from Vinted too. 

My rings are old and my sunglasses are old too, from Radley London. My orange felt bird brooch was a fabulous Christmas present from my sister Sandra.

The yellow boots are genuine suede and were brand new, never worn, costing me £20. I know yellow's not for everyone, but for a colourist like me, they're a great addition to my wardrobe.

Another feature of island life is our obsession with the weather whenever travel is on the horizon. Wind, or rather too much of it and fog can both impact on travel plans and it looks like my return on Friday hangs in the balance. At this time of year there's no sea link to the islands so flying is the only option and flights are often delayed or cancelled when there's bad weather. I probably won't know until Thursday if my flight is confirmed or not so I may be spending Friday night in the Premier Inn, which normally wouldn't bother me but as Friday is my birthday I'm rather keen to get home. Wish me luck!

                                                                    Anna x

Jazzing up January

If you're a regular reader of mine then you'll know that January is one of my least favourite months of the year. It's not so much the post-Christmas/New Year slump, more that the grey and cold weather tends to get me down. But hey, cold weather is a green light for bringing out a fur coat again, so here we go -

The orange fake fur is quite old now, was from TK Maxx and yet is still a firm favourite of mine. The scarf was a Christmas present and is beautifully soft, also big enough to act as a shawl when required. I have, in fact, reached the stage in my life when I'll happily go to bed early simply to have more time with my book of the moment which also means I enjoy draping a cosy shawl around my shoulders as I sit up to read. Plonk a frilly bonnet on my head and I'd probably look like an ancient grandma, but hey, since when did I care!

Orange and yellow certainly pepped up my working outfit the other day, although not many people saw it as I was working alone. This does support my ethos of dressing up for myself, not to please others. 

Preloved orange perspex rings are my only concession to jewellery that day and my sunglasses from Radley London are quite old now too.

My sweater is by Heyton, a brand-new-with-the-labels-on purchase from Vinted in the run up to Christmas. I'm having a rather intense love affair with fairisle patterns on sweaters and waistcoats currently. I bought a rather fab one from M&S last month but it's probably not going to appear on the blog for two reasons - the first being that it's brown and second because it fits so well and is so blooming cosy that I've worn it to the bobbling stage already. 

The corduroy skirt was a charity shop find in December, but has no label. My rather fabulous Argyll tights are very, very old but seemed to be the perfect ploy for this outfit. My orange leather boots aren't new, the brand is River Island and yet they too work very well with the look.

A final word or two before I sign off. I spent this morning thinking it was Tuesday, but it is in fact Wednesday - but not just any Wednesday, it's Wednesday the 15th of January which just so happens to be my daughter's birthday. Shame on me - one of the locals whizzed past me on his bike at lunchtime and called out to ask it it was Sash's birthday today. No, said I with confidence, it's her birthday tomorrow, Wednesday. It is Wednesday he replied, stiffling a laugh as he continued home for lunch. I could blame it on my working alone, or that I've already sent her money or that she's off-island at the moment, but honestly I'm simply a failure of a mother!

                                                                Anna x

Catch up

Hello again and thanks for dropping by! I've been away for a week, primarily for a business meeting but Christmas shopping came in at a close second. I visited the studio of Emily Nixon so that we could discuss an exciting new project. Gallery Tresco has had a very good season selling Emily's jewellery resulting in the team asking me to visit so that we could brainstorm a bespoke range for 2025. 

The studio is like a twinkly Aladdin's Cave, full of all sorts of gorgeous silver and gold pieces just begging to be tried on. And try on I did! The range we're creating will be based on the sea colours around the islands using sapphires gathered from across the globe but always ethically mined from dealers that Emily herself meets to check the authenticity of the stones.

These gemstone rings were hugely popular over the summer which alerted Emily to this new retail opportunity for our Tresco clients. We hope to have the island collection in place by March which will be a great way to start the season.

So apart from this I also had a haircut while I was in Truro. Much as I'm enjoying having longer hair it really was in need of a tidy up. I went to Afina Hair Salon and had an appointment with Billy. See my before and after photos below -

Before...

...and after.

Before...

...and after. I'm very happy with the cut and just wish I could replicate the styling and glossy finish now that I'm home. I have endless products but not a lot of know-how about achieving this level of finish.

And now for my outfit of the week - 

It's turned terribly cold here after being blasted by the recent storm, but this has proved to be a blessing in disguise allowing me to bring out my fur coat from the depths of my wardrobe. This cow print full length coat was from River Island either last year or the year before - sorry to be so vague, but the fact is, I still love it!

I'm wearing an old sweater and new cream jeans from Vinted along with new Zara boots from Vinted too. I paid £10 for these brand new cow print boots - what a great bargain!

The boots almost had an airing with last month's SNA challenge but this was one of the outfits that didn't make the grade. The boots however are definitely winners! (Not that the skirt wasn't - it was simply a styling issue).

My mainland hairdo is a thing of the past already. As for jewellery - the gold coloured chain was a Vinted purchase earlier this year, the gold flower ring was a gift from a friend some time ago and the silver and enamel ring was a charity shop find. Sunglasses are from Radley London.

And that pretty much winds things up for the moment. I'm suddenly in full fudge making mode now that it's December and I've made a double batch yesterday to send to my relatives in Scotland. I'll pack this up tomorrow and get some off in the post before the Christmas rush starts.

Thanks for swinging by! I'll see you again next week - I promise x

Anna x

My joyful jacket

Hi there! How are you? I'm showcasing this, my joyful jacket, again today as I've reworked it with different boots and trousers this time. Sometimes I get hooked on a certain item in my wardrobe and this shaggy jacket is one of those things. I'm now calling it my joful jacket as it really does spark joy for me as Marie Kondo says. 

I remember being hugely influenced by the Fabulous Fashionista's TV show - way back in 2013. Jean talked about having no qualms about wearing the same dress for an entire week if it was her current passion. This comes back to me often when I'm having a love affair with a certain item of clothing.

I've recently bought these pink Zara trousers which are the same as my yellow ones worn with the same jacket a couple of weeks ago see here. I love the fabric and hang of these wide legged trousers and the length is good too for me as I'm not that tall. The pink version have two back pockets though which is a bonus point.

I've added my pink floral Converse boots to change up the look this time. I've had these for yonks and only came across them stored in a box recently where I'd packed them away for the summer and forgot to bring them out - better late than never eh? The cream lace bodysuit is one of two that I bought this summer from Vinted. One has long sleeves, the other short and both have proven to be very useful when worn with trousers - I love the sleek fit without the fuss of tucking in or hems and edges of fabric showing through. 

I dodged across to Old Grimsby for this photo shoot. This beach path is a favourite backdrop of mine. I'm featuring my new orange velour handbag here again along with my old pink and orange necklace from Zara and preloved rings. My favourite Radley sunglasses are back again too.

Now that the clocks have changed I'm going to have to plan things better to capture shots during good daylight. This weekend just past was grey and dull which wasn't the least bit inspiring. Luckily I'd taken these photos last weekend when it was bright and breezy. I used my tripod and timer for these shots and felt a bit of an idiot when someone walked past and I was sitting down posing for this shot - they said nothing, simply raised their eyebrows as they walked on by, hence this reaction from me. Yes, that me's - that crazy lady from the Gallery!

                                                                Anna x

Autumn Hues our SNA October challenge

Hello again! And welcome to our monthly Style Not Age challenge which comes from Hilda this month. Autumn Hues are very much my colours, as in what's recommended for my skin and hair shades but the season of autumn isn't one of my best. I begrude the dimming of sunlight, the shortening of the days and the general decline into winter gloom. But, hey, as you'll see from my shots, the day was golden when we captured this outfit so let's just leave it there shall we? 

Hilda has shopped her wardrobe for this stylish look, one that I'd happily wear myself. I love the pattern clash of cardigan and leopard print pumps! See more from her on Over the Hilda. 

Jacqui too has shopped her closet for this month's challenge, and very successfully I must say! The faux leather culottes in particular are very much to my taste. Catch up with all the latest news from her very busy life on Mummabstylish blog. 

Emma's following the trend of recycling her outfit apart from her new snazzy jacket from Jenerique, a brand I've not heard of. See all the other details on her blog Style Splash. 

Gail has just completed a seven day skirt challenge on her blog and continues to style it up with this cute mini here. Loving the brogues and belt Gail! See her back story on Is This Mutton. 

My outfit comprises both old and new (to me). The faux suede bomber jacket was a recent Vinted find as was the floral turtle neck sweater. I do like a thin knit turtle neck for layering up in the cooler months and this flowery version will be very handy in the months ahead.

The wide legged brown trousers were from TK Maxx many years ago and I was pleased to find that they still fit. The older I get the more I battle with an increasing girth, but I fancy I may not be the only one to struggle this way. To be honest, the latest setback for me has been the influx of purple stinging jellyfish that have been swarming across our shores for almost two months now. 

I'm staying out of the water as their stings have to be treated with a get normally used on chemical burns. I've been walking the beaches to try to find a clear beach to swim in but honestly as the tide washes in and out every six hours, well it's almost impossible to predict where they'll turn up next. That cold water blast to my metabolism has surely helped to keep my figure in reasonable shape but I'm noticing the difference lately. Hey ho!

My cream boots are old, from ASOS, I think. The handbag was a purchase in Rome when we were on a cruise there many moons ago - see that post here. Anyway, the strap broke and only recently Sash borrowed it when she went away for a wedding and very kindly bought a replacement one. 

Suddenly this little bag is back in the mix again! Nothing new jewellery wise though, one preloved ring and the other is an Emily Nixon Scribble ring (see here for similar) and old sunglasses from Radley London.

Steve and I dashed off to capture these shots one evening just before sunset. The golden light is very flattering and ties in perfectly for this challenge too. See below for the view in front of me  - what a fabulous sight that sunset is!

I do hope you've enjoyed this month's challenge! I'll be back next week with another dose of colourplay for you. In the meantime, take care!

                                                                    Anna x

Another blast of colour!

Hello-ha! How are you? As you can see, I'm still holding on to my summer colours and my only concession to autumn is that I'm wearing tights. You'll have seen everything before, apart from my rather fabulous new handbag...

My hand knitted velour handbag is a recent find from Vinted, costing a mere £15! Being orange meant pretty much love at first sight. It's always exciting when parcels arrive and this was part of a rather large influx last week. At this stage I feel it might be fitting for me to say "Hi, my name's Anna and I'm an insomniac shopper!" 

Honestly, I have these spells when I fall into an online retail vortex and can't escape until I feel replete. Currently, I'm over the latest episode, until the next time of course... 

Anyway on to the handbag. When it arrived I discovered that it really would have benefitted from two handles as it didn't hang straight. Customising was the only answer and so started my endeavours to fix it as best I could. The result is that it now hangs fine and looks even more quirky. I threaded a gold chain through the handle and clipped it off to one side to stabilise the balance. The resulting gape in the stitches was covered by my Carmen Miranda brooch.

The tweed shorts co-ord is from Primark, bought last year and the boots are old too, from the MOMA shop, but found on Vinted. Sunglasses are from Radley London. The ruffle front blouse was also a Vinted buy and the orange tights are from Snag.

As you can tell, as long as the sun keeps shining I'll be wheeling out another burst of colour for you. The end of the season is fast approaching so I'll be snapping away at my outfits of the day to store up for the dark autumn days in the hope of spreading some joy via the blog.

I'll add another shot of this from a previous week, taken in the Gallery this time - I think it shows up the vibrancy of the outfit much better. Different accessories and top, but that's only what you'd expect of me isn't it?

Somehow I feel much more in context within the workplace. I may be a bit flamboyant, but against this colourful backdrop it all seems pretty normal eh? My wearable art ties in my surroundings as I'm often told.

                                                            Anna x