Another shorts co-ord from Primark!

If someone had told me 12 months ago that I'd be wearing shorts next winter I'd have laughed in their face, and yet here I am in another fab two-piece from Primark. I've recently bought this one from Vinted and it cost me £18. Vinted has become my guilty secret of late. I seem to have become a insomniac shopper, using the app to fill the dreary hours when I can neither sleep nor read. Speaking about this out loud is my first step in controlling things before they get out of hand. Rest assured my purchases aren't yet breaking the bank, but I'm finding the bright colours and interesting pieces quite a lure. Even if I stopped buying right now my blog will still be littered with jolly purchases for the next while. Anyway confession over, let's talk outfits shall we?

As I was saying, shorts and me are not really a happy marriage. I still carry my teenage angst about my athletic thighs and wouldn't normally choose to show them off, but the magical powers of 80 denier tights inspire enough confidence in me to step out in style. I've always loved bright coloured tights and it seems that by adding them to the equation I've overcome years, if not decades, of hang-ups. Even at my grand old age it seems we can still surprise ourselves! I'm even going to give you a quick look at the back view which is pretty brave of me, I can tell you...

The shorter length jacket works well with the slighter shorter shorts too, compared to the pink and orange two-piece I've been raving about. (See it here in case you've missed it.) I wore it to work in the last week of the Gallery being open and loved this green and white colour combination. 

I've opted to wear my mint green brogues (old from Office) with this new suit. Again, I surprise myself that I'd wear flats with shorts! What on earth is going on? Anyway, I brought various shoe and boot options together for the initial try on and strangely these chunky brogues gave the best balance to the outfit. High heeled boots really were too much, (even though that worked with the other suit) as were various ankle boots that seemed to shorten the leg, leaving these as the winners. Not only did they look the best, but they're all-day-long comfortable - hurrah!

The pale colour means that the slightest mark shoes up, but I'm learning to live with a bit of wear and tear too. Goodness, is the perfectionist in me drifting away I wonder?

I teamed the suit with this fine knit roll neck sweater that I bought from TK Maxx this summer. I've been waiting to find the right opportunity to showcase this funky top and love the pattern play it creates. The belt is old (from Primark) and the Tree of Life pendant is very old too. One silver ring is by Emily Nixon and the other enamel and silver one was a lucky charity shop find.

The finishing touch is these old Radley London sunglasses. I'll sign off with a local view for those of you who might be in need of a dose of Tresco bliss. 

Have a great week and I look forward to reading your comments. Your feedback is so very welcome, letting me know you're out there and enjoying my latest offering. So please do drop me a line! Thank you.

                                                                       Anna x

Stripes and Spots, our Style Not Age Challenge for November

Hello again and thanks for coming along today to see our Style Not Age Challenge for November. This month Emma chose Stripes and Spots as our theme which certainly caught me on the back foot - at the time of writing I only have one outfit to hand, so this is what my offering looks like!

Starting with Emma, she has shopped her closet for this M&S striped jacket and spotty top from Coast, along with trousers from River Island. Her cute little spotty bag is old, from Mango. See more on her blog Style Splash.

Jacqui from Mummabstylish is sporting a very patriotic outfit of blue/white striped top with white jeans and a sweet little red spotty scarf. It's a great casual look for the weekend!

Another stripey top comes from Hilda worn with a spotty scarf too - great minds think alike eh? She's added her new Primark faux leather trousers and M&S boots to complete this chic look. Read more on her blog Over The Hilda.

Completing the threesome with another striped sweater is Gail from Is This Mutton. The top is a recent purchase from M&S as are the diamante leggings. Both spotty belt and boots are old.

I'd stepped outside work for a change of scenery with today's outfit, but the blustery weather and seaweed strewn road wasn't the best backdrop after all.

There's nothing new with this outfit at all, not jewellery nor clothes nor boots, but it's the first time these have been pulled together to make an ensemble. The velvet trousers came from my daughter last year but this is the first time I've showcased them. I think they'll be perfect for the festive season, don't you?

The spotty top was a TK Maxx find from last year or maybe even a couple of years ago. The rose cut out necklace is very old indeed and was a purchase from the Gallery. Both my blue rings are charity shop purchases.

My brocade boots (ASOS) may be old, but do work perfectly with the jewel bright colours of the velvet crops, eh?

My outdoors wear comprises of blue leather gloves (charity shopped) and my pink and red checked coat (very old).

Quay Australia sunglasses finish off the look. I'd say that month after month these challenges do make me review my wardrobe in a way that I wouldn't otherwise which results in many a surprise. I'd bypassed these trousers often because I thought I didn't have anything to go with them, et viola, I do! And this led me on to seeing that my black top in a similar combination of stretch body and voile sleeves would look equally good, in fact it might be a good option for our Christmas day drinks at the pub.

Thanks for popping along today and do please nip across to see the back stories from my blogging friends. I'll see you next week with my first December outfit.

                                                                          Anna x

Our Tutti Frutti Style Not Age challenge for June

Welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge! We're all very Tutti Fruitti this time thanks to Emma and her very summery theme. I love how we've each interpreted this differently, but oh-so-coulourfully too!

I felt I just had to start with Gail who's set us off in the right vein with her tee shirt which is actually called "Tutti Frutti". The top and skirt both come from Kettlewell, but not from the same years. She has shopped her closet for the rest of her outfit. Read her style story on Is This Mutton. 

Jacqui's rendition of Tutti Frutti comes thanks to her daughter whose dress she borrowed - how blooming lovely is this? Her cute Steve Madden handbag and strappy green sandals finish off the look to perfection. Catch up with Jacqui's news on Mummabstylish.

Emma's fruity shirt and bag are from Fabienne Chapot - a brand I've not heard of before. Paired with zingy green trousers from Asos and lots of bright orange accessories she really has embraced the colourful theme. Find Emma's blog Style Splash here. 

Hilda has opted for this stunning kimono from Zara as her main featured piece, complimented by a Hugo Boss dress and Clark's shoes - none of these are new and yet are all totally fabulous! Catch up with her on Over The Hilda. 

The Tutti Frutti element of mine surely has to be this vintage Jaeger skirt. A customer of mine recently declared this a very Christian Lacroix design, which I suppose you could say is true. I've featured it on the blog before, but that doesn't detract from its charm. It was a charity shop find from a few years ago and gets an airing at least two or three times over the summer months.

The net underskirt is always a bit of fun and works really well with this look, although I must admit it does make me prone to flashing a bit of net from time to time without any warning or particular reason. Not sure if an ol' gal like me ought to do that, but what the heck!

The voile spotty sleeved top (from TK Maxx, old) adds to the flamboyance of the outfit. I have a black version which works equally well with this. 

Rings and pink Candy bag by Furla are all old too, but still pretty as ever. 

My black buckled and studded belt was a gift from a girlfriend many moons ago and is ideal for sleekly pulling a skirt and top together - great for those days when back fat and tummy bulge are in danger of becoming the focal points!

My dear old faithful (H&M) sock boots are still wearing well. Also going strong as these floral sunglasses which came from Sainsbury's years and years ago. This work outfit sparked lots of chats about women of my age making a style statement in the workplace and also earned me compliments from quite a few men too. So far, I'm still not invisible and hopefully never will be!

Thanks for joining us for this month's challenge. Do pop over to read the back stories from my friends if you have a moment!

                                                                            Anna x