Squeezing the last drop out of summer

I'm the kind of person who likes to squeeze the last drop of juice out of a lemon, force that desultory dollop of ketchup out of the bottle and push the final slick of conditioner out of the tube. It'll be of no surprise to you then, that I've got one final hurrah before I say goodbye to my summer outfits. The defining line between summer and autumn for me is the lack of, or need to wear tights. That sudden bit of chill heralds the extra comfort layer for me. And golly, do I love my tights - patterned, tartan, lacy and every colour of the rainbow - I love them all! However today, here we have the (probably) final bare-legged offering of the year. And with that, a slightly formal, secretarial look too, I fancy.

The smallest of things give me such pleasure: these striped rings from my friend Wendy which work so well with this shirt and also the cuff links that I found in a charity shop.

This wonderful satin striped shirt (by Hawkes & Curtis, Jermyn Street, London) was a charity shop scoop from my last trip to the mainland. I thought the full spectrum of colours could stand an understated look, which brought to mind this simple grey pencil skirt. Black shoes and handbag would have been a classic way to take this, but hey, since when did I conform like that? My yellow, jelly, Candy Bag tones in beautifully and the wild card had to be my leopard print heels. 

Friday brought not just Polly's last day working with me, but also our final show of the year. The evening was a resounding success. The show is a platform for the emerging talent from Falmouth University's Drawing students - see the full exhibition here. We had a fantastic turnout for our drinks party, despite the wind and rain that descended just as we opened. Our normal photo shoot was a wipe out consequently so you'll have to make do with a couple of indoor shots. My (other) new boots had an outing along with a dress bought for the occasion from H&M. I was all ready to proudly link to something new for a change, but it turns out that the dress must have been so popular, it's all sold out! I can however let you see the boots from ASOS which seem to be still for sale here.

And I can't finish without giving a huge thanks to the team of helpers who have made the exhibition period run so smoothly. Thank you ladies - (LtoR) Ruth, Heather, Polly and Max - brilliant teamwork from you all. Please come back again next year!

Anna x

Brooch pile

I've shown this jacket on Instagram, but not with the same configuration of brooches so here's the new and improved version. A blogging friend, Suzanne Carillo (see her blog here), had featured her brooch pile jacket around the same time and we had laughed about our creative efforts being so similar at times.

I couldn't say which particular one of these is my favourite, but I do love the crammed full effect the brooches all create. I saw a fashion feature recently that showed a denim jacket with brooches which were sprinkled all over the entire thing. It was pretty in its own way and I might try it if I tire of this.

I really like this bag and shoes combo. Ostrich and leopard print are great partners in my eyes.

I can see that this brooch collecting could be addictive. Another blogging friend of my Kezzie (see her blog here) features her brooches often and each one has a story. I'm not sure if brooches might ever replace my passion for clothes, but it's another little offshoot which will be a joy I'm sure. 

The denim jacket was a £5 bargain in a charity shop and the brand is GAP. My orange top is by Coast (charity shop) and skirt is from Boden. Shoes are by Salord Jover and handbag brand is L Credi from TK Maxx. Watch is by Michael Kors, rose gold bangle is by Kate Spade, rings are old, as are the pearl necklaces.

Wishing you all a great weekend and hope you can drop by again soon!

Anna x