Drinks party

Wednesday evenings are our drinks party nights at Gallery Tresco and this was my outfit from the latest one. I have a quick break after the dayshift, drink a cuppa and then I search for inspiration as to what to wear for the evening do. My outfit is usually led by the weather, in particular the temperature as I hate to be cold, but also dread to overheat. 

It had been a beautiful sunny day which turned into a golden balmy evening so that formed my decision to opt for this lightweight duster coat. I altered it two years ago (see the full post here) and don't seem to have worn it again since.

I was about to say, I can't imagine why I've not worn it, but really I think it's because it's so dressy and I really don't have many occasions to swan about in it - apart from Gallery parties! Anyway, I've set myself the challenge to get more wear out of it this year.

Underneath the coat I'm wearing a pair of nicely fitted (Primark) trousers that I was about to cull, but I decided to try them on first and - they look absolutely fine! The only problem with them is that they're a manmade fibre and have to be ironed on a cool setting plus they were very creased from sitting packed up in a suitcase for months on end. All in all, it took amost 25 minutes to get them smoothed out enough to wear. Maybe that's why I was getting rid of them...

The cream lace bodysuit was a Vinted purchase from either last summer or the previous one, but whichever it has been a really useful addition to my wardrobe as I wear it lots. I added a stretch beaded belt, very old from Tu, as the colours seemed to tie in well and I seem to be partial to a stretchy belt to pull a look together. None of my jewellery is new, but the necklaces were spot on colourwise to wear with the shimmering coat. The short one with cowrie shells is by Julian Warrender (bought from the Gallery) and the long one is my much loved Dancing Girl from years ago, by Charlie Dodge, also from Gallery Tresco. Both my rings are by Emily Nixon. Sunglasses are old, from Radley London.

I was delighted to pair the jacket with my MOMA fabric boots as one of the toes has the same fabulous turquoise shade as the coat. All in all, the outfit is very me and therefore I rated it as a success, and that's all that matters. I don't rely on compliments or feedback from others - of course, that's lovely and a bonus - but all I need is to see something in the mirror that makes me smile (or sometimes even dance) and I know I've got it right. 

And finally, I must thank Rachel for taking my blog photos after the party was over. We'd had a successful evening with not too many guests and most of them were happy to stand outside with a drink in hand, chatting and enjoying the view. It was a lovely end to the day - happy guests and Rachel and I wandered off home to bask in the afterglow of a job well done. Oh, and here's that view...

Thanks for swinging by and do come again!

Anna x

Summer Whites our SNA challenge for May

Hello and welcome again to our monthly Style Not Age challenge! Summer Whites was my theme of choice after what's been a brilliant start to the summer. I would normally hold off wearing white at this time of year, not having faith that the morning sunlight would last all day long, leaving me looking a bit tragic in bright white summer clothes on a dull old day, but the steadiness of the weather meant that I jumped in with both feet and wore this outfit to work last week. But first, let's catch up with the ladies of the collective to see what they've been wearing...

Wowee, doesn't Emma look fantastic in this white lace dress! The brand is Pretty Little Thing and was gifted to her a few years ago when she collaborated with the company. See more from Emma on Style Splash blog. 

Hilda's white skirt is from Cos, a purchase from last year, and her top is old, from Topshop. Catch up on her latest on Over the Hilda. 

Jacqui's dress is by Nomads, gold shoes are from Vinted and matching jacket is from Matalan. Find out all the latest from Jacqui on her blog Mummabstylish.

I don't often wear all white and today's look is no different. The orange and turquoise shimmery coat was a Vinted purchase last year and can be seen here on its first outing. I clearly like to pair this summer duster with my Sunny Days MOMA boots, probably because of the tiny toe end being turquoise too. 

My jewellery is mostly in turquoise hues: the bracelet is a reworked piece from lots of vintage necklaces which I bought from the Gallery last year after coveting it from ages. My dancing girl necklace was another Gallery Tresco purchase from years ago - I love the sparkling beads and the silver dancing girl in a green mini skirt. My gold coloured chain was bought in Accessorize last year and has retained its shine despite not being real gold. The large turquoise ring was a charity shop find and I'm also wearing my birthday ring from Emily Nixon Design. My sunglasses are old, from Radley London.

My white trousers were a recent purchase from Number36 boutique in Penzance. I seem to have a love/hate relationship with white trousers having bought endless pairs of both jeans and trousers over the years and none of them delivering the look I was after. The concern about looking trashy is probably my issue and white jeans always cause me concern. I tried on these loose linen trousers in the shop along with a beautiful pistachio green sweater and fell in love with the whole outfit - I promise you'll see that soon. The trousers have an elasticated back making for a good snug fit, along with the essential deep pockets and I do love the tapered cuff finish at the ankle. I paired the trousers with a white top, newly purchase from Primark and tied the two pieces together with my old faithful stretch belt.

The outfit of the day attracted a lot of attention, particularly from one lovely lady who was here on holiday for the week and made her way to the Gallery every day just to see what I was wearing. One day she even took a photo of the OOTD to send to her daughter. She and I both agreed that the summer duster coat was a mighty fine piece. I really must make an effort to wear it more often this year. Likewise with my fabulous peapod trouser suit which I wore on Friday and had such a great response to it. I'm increasingly aware that I won't be working forever and really must make the most of the opportunity to dress up while I can. 

Many thanks for joining us for this month's style challenge. As ever, I'm so happy to have your comments and feedback about this or any other outfit of mine. So do please let me know your thoughts or even requests to see something again. 

Have a great week!

Anna x

My new River Island summer duster coat

Hello! As promised, here's another of my sewing successes, this time a fabulous River Island lightweight summer coat that I bought on Vinted for £15. It arrived and despite saying a size 12 it was much too big generally and badly fitting most of all around the shoulders. I was so thrilled with the colour and fabric that I decided to set about fixing it. Well, I must admit that I had to enlist help of a local guy who, on retiring, took up sewing and now makes his own jeans and most of his clothes. Dave Inch has lived on Tresco since the 70's, working first of all in the New Inn and then moving on to become Propagator at the Abbey Garden, retiring some five years ago.

Over the course of four sessions, Dave and I worked away at solving the fitting issues of the coat. He pinned and advised and then left me to sew, regrouping the following Saturday morning when we'd review what I'd achieved and then puzzle over the next step. I took fabric out of the centre back seam to reduce the overall size of the coat, then we pinned the shoulders first to amend the outline and finally adjusted the sleeve seams where they joined the body. This took a month of gentle adjustments as each bit of sewing impacted on the overall shape. Without his guidance I couldn't have worked this out.

The final flourish was for me to create button holes where there weren't any before and then make fabric buttons to match. I'm delighted with the completed item. I'd just returned from the hairdressers when I took these photos (with Fiona's help) and was a bit like the cat who got the cream.

The rest of the outfit is a chiffon blouse (charity shopped), orange tights from Snag and the shorts are a recent purchase from Vinted.

 

Jewellery comprises of new rubber necklace (from Vinted) and rings, both pre-loved and sunglasses from Radley London.

The overall styling is one of exhuberance and excitement and on reflection, maybe not the best footwear as the coat would maybe benefit from higher heels to balance things out a bit better. The boots are from MOMA New York, created from recycled sari fabric and are an absolute joy to wear as they not only look fab but are super stylish and comfortable too. And hey, I'm delighted to have this coat as part of my summer wardrobe and you'll defintely see it again!

                                                                        Anna x