I want to share a secret with you




Hello again! How has your week been? Here we are, suddenly in May and I can't account for where April went. I've been so busy of late, both at work and home, dashing back and forth to the mainland three times in four weeks for various health checks and honestly it's been hectic. I'm off to the mainland again tomorrow for my Glaucoma check-up which has been delayed since 2020 and then hopefully things will settle down.




Anyway, I do want to share a secret with you today, and it's a website called Secret Label - please click on the link to see more. This family-run online clothing outlet has made it its business to save clothes from going into landfill sites by taking on the excess from designer brands such as Karen Millen, Coast and Reiss as well as high street brands Zara, M&S, Phase Eight, Warehouse, White Stuff and Monsoon to name a few. All clothes are brand new with the only concession Secret Label makes is to remove the labels meaning they can then offer huge discounts on all of these brands. 




I've been a customer of Secret Label for some time now, buying clothes for both my husband and son for Christmas as well as finding bargains for myself last autumn. More recently the brand invited me to become an ambassador for them. Their ethos is one that I can honestly support as diverting fashion from landfill surely has to be a commendable way to run a business. To recycle clothes in any shape or form is a good thing, one that I have advocated on the blog for years, and this intervention is another way to keep clothes in the loop and best of all, at a discounted price. And never has there been more pressure on the retailer to keep prices down as the consumer is on the brink of one of the most difficult economic times in recent history. As energy prices continue to soar and food prices rise we'll all be looking for ways to save money when buying clothes. 




My frock today is from Joules via Secret Label. I do pop into the Joules branch in Truro but the prices are what hold me back rather than the clothes themselves. I'm thrilled to be gifted this to showcase to you as part of this promotion. The dress is 100% viscose and has a lovely, weighty drape to the fabric that lends itself to the odd twirl or two. The shirt front opening, buttoned sleeves and fabulous fit and flare skirt are all finished to the high standard you'd expect from Joules. It's an utterly feminine shape.




The navy and pink colourway is classic and so pretty too. I chose to accessorise in pink and purple - the stretch belt in purple is an oldie but goodie as are my pink sock boots from H&M.




My mini pink Candy bag by Furla is the perfect ploy for this fun look today. My pink ring was a present from a friend and the white one was a charity shop find from years ago.




Pink fishnet tights are my way of adding my own unique style to the look - essential for me if I'm basing my outfit on high street fashion. God forbid that I might look too ordinary!




My necklace is from Zara and sunglasses are my old favourites from Quay Australia. 





Ooops, I almost forgot to mention that if you use my code ANNA15 you can get 15% discount on your online order with Secret Label. That's pretty much the icing on the cake when you see what bargains can be found on their site!




Thanks for joining me again today. Later this month I'll be celebrating my 7 years of blogging and I already have a rather fabulous outfit to share with you for that. Now that's sorted I simply have to alight on the perfect photo shoot location on this tiny but diverse island. Not too terrible a chore, eh?

Wishing you a great week!

Anna x

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Pretty in Pink, our Style Challenge for September




Hello and welcome to our monthly Style Not Age Challenge! We're back again and this month my style sisters and I are all Pretty in Pink, thanks to the theme choice from yours truly. I've recently purchased this glorious pink frock from Hush - it's called Kloe and is still in the sale here. I've been having a pink moment, searching for the perfect pink trouser suit which then led me to find this loose and airy summer dress which is an absolute joy to wear. More of that later, but first, let's catch up with the others shall we?




Jacqui from Mummbstylish has been shopping recently too, buying these fab pink trousers and animal print shirt, both from M&S. Such a cool look! 




Gail from Is This Mutton has embraced the pink theme completely. It turns out that pink is her favourite colour and therefore wasn't too hard for her to find in her wardrobe. Those metallic pink boots are right up my street! 




And here's Style Splash's Emma sporting the most fabulous dose of pink! The trousers and jacket pulled together make the most pretty trouser suit indeed leaving me green with envy.




Hilda has brought out an old faithful pink coat for this month's challenge. The maroon handbag and pale pink are a very pretty pairing aren't they? See more on her blog Over The Hilda




This was me, last Monday on the beach just below The Old Blockhouse Castle on Tresco. We'd had a lovely run of Indian Summer weather making my day off perfect for this photo shoot. I've been wearing this lovely pink dress to work at least once a week since I bought it about a month ago. I'm smitten with the bright fuchsia colour as well as the flounced shape. The fabric is Hemp, making it cool and yet not flimsy; I usually wear an underskirt if the fabric is very see-through, but that's not necessary with this dress. 




I love the self-coloured spots too.




Colour therapy at its best is how I see this kind of dressing. It gets me lots of compliments, but more importantly it makes me feel happy and self-confident. As you know I primarily dress for myself and it's a bonus if that earns approval from friends or family. As I said I've been searching for the ultimate pink trouser suit ever since I saw the gorgeous Louise Minchin on Breakfast TV wearing a rather fabulous version. I've found a similar suit on the ME+EM website - see it here. Stocks of this are low due to it being in the sale and I've ended up ordering the jacket and trousers in different sizes which may be a stupid idea. I'll let you know how that pans out...




Lots of lovely pink accessories here today. The pink Candy Bag gets aired whenever I can justify it and this was the perfect excuse! Pink pre-loved rings and a pink and silver bangle from a girlfriend all add to the pink lusciousness of the look. My silver hooped necklace was from Melissa James at Gallery Tresco and sits perfectly in this neckline, don't you think? And last, but my no means least, are my long-term favourite Quay Australia sunglasses.



 


Another joyful purchase from this summer has been these floral Converse boots. They're super comfy thanks to a cushioned insole, and of course they're just the most pretty pair of shoes I have at the moment. Paired with this flamboyant frock the whole effect is pure fun.




As usual, you'll find me hanging on to summer here on the blog. I've got another lovely summer frock to share with you next time taken during the recent balmy golden weather, so please do drop by again soon.


I hope you've enjoyed this month's challenge and that you'll find time to check out the blogs of my fashionable friends too.


                                                                    Anna x

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All the pinks and polka dots




Hello lovelies, how are you?




Saturday's work outfit here, in all the shades of pink that I could muster up. Not exactly matchy-matchy, more a bundle of fun in this summer outfit. If I'd left the Candy bag out of the equation this would have been a sleeker style, but honestly it wouldn't be such fun. 




Some of you may recognise this as the It Dress of 2019 from Zara - see it here. I fell for its charms way back during a London trip when I visited the Oxford Street branch. Today's twist is a new one for me and one that is maybe a tad sugary sweet for some...




Last year I showcased the frock again, but that time with silver and white accessories - see here. Today's effort may well be saccharine sweet, but it does still say summer to me. The addition of my H&M sock boots add an elegance despite the bubblegum Barbie shade, echoed in the eBay elasticated belt. 




It's a joy to bring out my little pink Candy bag again. The jelly bag by Furla is one of two that I have; the other is a larger yellow version. See the rainbow bright collection here. The silver rings are both preloved, as is the wooden beaded necklace.




It's quick confession time now. I'm a day late posting the blog as my latest obsession has gripped me, causing me to spend hours yesterday hunched over my sewing machine. Yes, I'm trying to make a toile of my yellow linen dress. Despite the fact that I've bought a paper pattern, I'm hell bent on trying to make a pattern of the dress from scratch, something that, of course, isn't really advisable for someone of my limited sewing abilities. But, I'm possessed, obsessed and driven into trying. Logically, I know that the only way to make a pattern from an existing item is to take it to pieces and use them as the pattern, but no way am I relegating my gorgeous frock into pieces!




I've been watching YouTube tutorials, learning how to make gathers in fabric and unpicking the old sheet that is to be the trial run before I even venture into measuring up for the linen. I wish I could just conform, open up the shop bought pattern and get on with it, but it's not the exact shape of dress I want. I know I'm not the only one who has been smitten with the sewing bug since the Great British Sewing Bee has been on our TV screens. This sewing frenzy has gripped me and there's no getting over it until I've achieved something akin to a frock. If I'm not sewing, then I'm watching the previous series, trying to pick up tips to improve my skills. Practice, practice, practice is all I can do!




Wishing you a fabulous week everyone!

Anna x

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