Black trouser challenge 7 and my #instarant

Another week and another variation based on these fabulous frilly fancy pants by River Island. No, this isn't a sponsored post, just my personal style challenge to see how many outfits I can create by building on these wonderful ruffled trousers. This week's offering is here -

I was toying with the idea of nude shoes to tie in with the nude and eau de nil shell top, but decided on these wedge sandals as they feature both colours and also are comfortable enough to wear all day long. I bought the silk top in a second hand store in Ireland quite a few years ago and still deem it as a special find. Costing only 20 euros it's down to less than 4 euros per wear now. The sandals were from TK Maxx: the brand is Refresh. The sunglasses were in the sale at Sainsbury's last year, rings are charity shopped and the pendant I bought when I was in New Zealand.

I'm gonna change gear a bit now as I'm brewing a bit of a rant. It's a #instarant in fact. For those of you on instagram I want to ask this question - "Since when did instagram become a dating site?" Blogging and instagram have proved to be a great way for me to build new friendships over the past couple of years. I follow all sorts of interests from yoga and fitness, healthy eating, fashion, sewing, swimming, holidays, all things Cornish, all things Scottish and generally anything interesting that takes my fancy. But recently I've been getting message requests from men of all ages and frankly I find it a bit of an intrusion. "Hello beautiful, how's your day?" may be an acceptable introduction if I were touting my wares on Match.com, but here I am posting fashion shots for the over 50's or pictures of the sunset from my garden. I deliberately include my marital status in my instagram profile in the hope of deterring this kind of encounter. What kind of guy would hassle a married woman? 

Just the other day I noticed that an instafriend changed her setting to private explaining that she's fed up getting inappropriate messages from men. She's baffled as to how her posts on sewing and food can be construed as encouragement for these stalkers. I decline and block these message requests as she too has in the past, but I'm annoyed to think that we are the ones who have to change our instagram lives to avoid this kind of attention. 

I can only imagine that these men are weirdos, a conclusion that I draw from the fact that they don't avail themselves of the convention dating routes. Why chase a married woman who lives on the other side of the world when you could pop into your local bar and chat to a single woman who has joined up for a bit of speed dating? Why indeed. Maybe because the man in question doesn't really want a relationship. Maybe he gets his kicks from chasing the unobtainable. Maybe he's not got the social skills to interact under normal circumstances? Maybe he's got two heads and six fingers and toes? Goodness knows! It's a blooming mystery to me.

Anna x

Black trouser challenge 6

Here we have week 6 of my black trouser challenge featuring these fabulous frilled lovelies from River Island. You don't often see me wearing red - last time was at Christmas with this red skirt- but today I've rediscovered this M&S linen top that I bought in a charity shop last summer and this is its first showing.

Red and black may well be everyday wear for most of you, but this is a giant step out of my comfort zone. Having said that, I realise that finding the right shade of red makes my skin come alive. I've previously shied away from reds thinking that they didn't suit me, but that's because I've been trying reds with a blue tone in them as opposed to this which is a tomato red that veers towards orange. The vintage handbag doesn't come out much for all the previous reasons so this is a great excuse to showcase it once again.

Outfit details - trousers: River Island, top: M&S, belt, bag,bangle and rings: all charity shopped, necklace: gift, shoes: BCBGeneration.

On Sunday I'll be featuring my outfit for our first summer show so please join me to see how I kicked things off this year.

Anna x

Black trouser challenge 5

Yep, it's week five of my self-imposed black trouser challenge and I'm still going strong. I thought it was about time to inject a good ol' dollop of colour this time by way of this floralfest of a blouse. One of my favourite stylings of this fabulous blouse was featured on the blog here. Cost-per-wear for my trousers has dropped down to a comfortable £8 so I'm a very happy bunny. Let's take a look at this week's offering shall we?

So what can I say about this five week love affair? The ruffles still make my heart somersault, the fit is still good after lots of wash'n'wear, and I'm finding black such a dream to partner up with the contents of my wardrobe. This morning I found another clutch of tops which could easily have made an appearance here and not looked out of place in the least. I do wonder if I would have been quite so inspired if I'd chosen a plain, basic cut pair of black trousers for my style challenge, but hey, you know that I wouldn't have fallen for anything less than wonderful to convert me to the joys of black breeks! My sole concern is that you, my dear reader, are tiring of the repeated exposure to these fancy pants. Please whizz on by if this doesn't enchant you as it does me - I'll understand.

Trousers: River Island (still available here), blouse: Next (charity shop find, so may be quite old), shoes: New Look, rings: charity shopped, sunglasses: Quay Australia, heart pendant: boutique find, but no idea of the name, sorry!

This is a non-sponsored post.

My next post will be on Monday when I feature the #5Over50 challenge - hope to see you then!

Anna x

Black trouser challenge 4

Week four of this challenge brings the cost per wear down to £10 which is a figure that I like, and I've not run out of ideas yet either. This is a non-sponsored post, done for the sheer joy of testing myself to see how many variations I can come up with over the next few weeks.

You could say I'm getting into my stride with these now. (Sorry.) But anyway, I'm having fun and that's what it's all about isn't it? This jacket is an old favourite of mine and Angela's too (hello!) but the fact that the top button doesn't close means I might have to get on the bathroom scales again to see what's amiss. 

Classic cream and black could sound a bit unadventurous, boring even, but the ruffle hems and mini pleats put paid to any nonsense like that. And just to ensure there's no trace of the mundane these lovely leopard print courts are a winning move. As the day warmed up I removed the jacket to reveal this pretty lace top. Lots of textures and fancy embellishments is what this outfit is all about and it has me in my element. Every time I stride out in these fancy pants I get a real spring in my step. They're a great blend of classy, stylish and a tad sexy too - what a winning combination! 

Details are - trousers: River Island, jacket: S'NOB, lace top: charity shopped (no label), shoes: Salord Jover, all jewellery: charity shopped, sunglasses: M&S (old).

I'll be back on Sunday so do swing by for the latest.

Anna x

Black trouser challenge 3

Here it is, the third variation featuring these fabulous black trousers from River Island. I wonder how many of you will see the appeal of black and gold done this way?

What's interesting about this offering is that much as a chic, more sophisticated styling was maybe lacking, I still felt this outfit was more fun than ever. This just seemed to bring out the high spirits in Polly and I. I felt playful and the shoot did spiral downwards...

Now, it may be that ankle boots and cropped frilled trousers are not a marriage made in heaven for some of you and that's okay. I wasn't really sure about this move when I put these together, but I was drawn to at least give it a go. I'm completely on the fence now. The first person to tell me they don't like it, and I'll be agreeing. I think it's that flash of bare leg. Polly, on the other hand, loves this look. These boots are new and I just couldn't bear to pack them away for the winter without at least one outing. 

Details - sweater: H&M, trousers, boots and sunglasses are all from River Island, necklace: gift, rings: charity shopped.

My next feature will be Ping Pong Piece on the 20th so please do pop back to see what the subject of the day is.

Anna x

Black trouser challenge 2

If you missed the start of this self imposed challenge then rewind here to see what's driving me. This week I've added another trend from this summer, the never-out-of-fashion gingham. The blouse encapsulates another two current trends, those being frills (oh, I can't get enough of these) and statement sleeves. All of this in one supermarket scoop! 

The beauty of these trousers is that they're the perfect canvas to add a playful touch to. I've combined a bit of pattern play to today's version by way of checks, stripes and the sunglasses, and yet I still feel this has a restrained look (by my standards anyway). No riotous colours or florals here, just plain ol' black and white and yet without dropping into the boring zone. Last week Samantha commented that she thought black trousers would equate to mega yawns and zzzzzzz's but how wrong could she be! These ruffled hems could never be mistaken for boring and certainly lift these black trousers out of the ordinary.

So that's my second version which brings the cost per wear down to £20. I have no idea what I'll dream up for next week, but that's the inspiring bit for me. Creating the new look, surprising myself with a random selection of pieces that somehow bond together to make an outfit. I fancy that I may take another gentle step forwards, nothing too dramatic yet. I'd really like to think that I can entice you to try something a little out of your comfort zone too. For some that may be just popping into River Island to try these trousers on in the changing room. For others, you may send for a pair to try at home so that you can play around and see what outfits you could create. Or maybe you'll just enjoy seeing me playing dress up - well that would be lovely too!

Outfit details - trousers: River Island, blouse: George at Asda (sold out I'm afraid), shoes: New Look, belt, rings and pendant: all charity shopped, sunglasses: Quay Australia.

Please note, this is not a sponsored post. 

Anna x

Black trouser challenge 1

If you're a regular reader you'll be aware that my favourite places to shop are charity shops and vintage stores. That doesn't mean to say I abhor mainstream fashion, it's more that I enjoy finding individual pieces that make a unique statement as well as getting a bargain. The trousers I'm wearing today are from the high street, from River Island (see here), and to my mind they deliver the individual style that I love. 

Before we go any further let me say that this isn't a sponsored post. I've set myself this personal challenge to justify the £40 I spent on these trousers - not an extortionate amount I know, but still more than I'm used to compared to charity shops. Over the next few weeks I plan to wear them once a week to see how versatile and cost worthy they are. What can I drive the cost-per-wear down to?

I'm not a huge fan of black trousers, particularly in synthetic fibres as they remind me of school trousers or office wear. In fact I don't own many pairs of plain black trousers as frankly I do find them totally uninspiring. I have forgiven them and the fabric here however, because of these fabulous frills. These trousers are ticking a lot of boxes. The fit is great for my hour glass figure with this high waist and the cropped length is also perfect for my height. And last of all let's not forget to mention the side pockets to give full comfort factor.

To complete the look I've added a black retro vibe shirt from Sainsbury's (in the sale, sold out, sorry) and the apple green jacket was a charity shop find (Precis brand) along with my much loved black sandals from New Look a couple of summers ago. I've cinched the waist of the trousers in with a stretch belt to add definition and slipped on a couple of gold toned rings - all of these are from charity shops. 

I fancy that I may be preaching to the converted here as I suspect that the majority of my readers wear black trousers far more often than I do. For you, this feature will be a chance to observe me (hopefully) discover how versatile these will be in my wardrobe. I don't think I could enter into this challenge with bog standard plain black trousers as the very thought of that has me loosing the will to live, but the flamenco frills add fun and hence Anna appeal. 

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Anna x