Still shopping my closet!

Hello and here we are in February! How are you doing in Lockdown3? Are you coping okay? I'm so pleased to notice the difference in the daylight hours as the evenings start to stretch out day by day. Just that little bit of light adds a ray of hope to our days, don't you think?

It was a year ago since I was last on the mainland and a year ago that I ventured into a (charity) shop.  By March last year I'd bought my last piece of clothing online (see it here) and that was to be the final item I would buy for the next 12 months. The most influential read to spur me on to taking a break from retail therapy came in the form of The Year of Less by Cait Flanders. I'd been feeling overdone clothes-wise for some time prior to that: knowing that I had too much to wear despite it being pre-loved and therefore less of a financial drain, it still bugged me that I just couldn't fit anymore into my wardrobe. But not just that; the minute I dropped clothes into the recycling centre, I was driven to replace them with more. This had to stop.

So here I am almost at the 12 month finish line and I'm amazed at not only how easy this has been, but also I have to admit that I'm still finding pieces of clothing with the shop labels attached that I've not yet worn. My shopping ban couldn't have been more timely as unemployment figures soared with families having to prioritise their spending, leaving clothing at the bottom of the list. Reuse, re-style and recycle and buy less, wear more are the kind of hashtags trending on social media, helping me to feel more in step. As we eventually emerge back into normal life again I fancy that we may all find our buying habits and choices have changed forever due to the impact the pandemic has made on the High Street.

Anyway, enjoying our clothes be they new or recycled is what I'm all about and today's look is gathered from the past few years. The jacket is three years old and was a boutique find in St Andrews (the brand is FDJ). The culottes and boots are both from Zara, again about three years ago and the blouse is from H&M. The retro sunglasses are from Topshop.

The rings are pre-loved and the necklace is from Topshop.

The jacket is a fake suede but isn't lined. I've not worn it often and yet looking at the back view of it, I do wonder why. This is often the story with so many of my clothes. It's only when I see them on the blog that I remember what attracted me to them in the first instance.

These bronze boots look as if they have fishnets over the top of them - I do get that remark often. The colours make them very wearable with lots of outfits.

And finally, I've managed to start on my long term sewing project again. I can't remember how long ago it was (maybe six years ago) that I decided I'd like to recover my old sofa. In the meantime, I've collected some fabulous velvets and other sumptuous fabrics together to add to my initial cache and have a renewed enthusiasm for the task. Today I finished one cushion cover and hope to keep the momentum up over the week ahead. 

The other side of the cushion looks like this. I'm so pleased to get back sewing again - it's a joy to be creative and to improve our surroundings at the same time. 

None of this would get me into the Great Sewing Bee, but it's great to have an indoor hobby at this time of year.

                                                                                       Anna x

Chartreuse and silver Christmas styling

Well hellooooooo! How's tricks? I can honestly say that I'm in full-blown headless chicken mode now. All my plans for Sunday and how many batches of fudge I'd manage to make dissolved into a state of choas with far too much time being taken up with tree installation and the hunt-the-box-of-decorations that ensued. Yes, I did manage to make one batch of fudge, but honestly if I'd been more organised that really ought to have been at least three if not four. And now that leaves me very behind meaning I'll have to get up super early to make one every morning before I go to work. I also seem to have failed to buy enough boxes for packing of fudge and truffles, meaning I'll have to gift wrap old boxes. Ho hum, the best laid plans of mice and men!

I recently promised you a festive month of Christmas dressing, including the obligatory Christmas jumper and here it is! My Elfie Selfie was from H&M a long time ago but is still in good shape as well as being great fun. 

Christmas wouldn't be the same without the odd cheesy jumper would it? Please tell me that you have a couple of these darned things too!

Silver and chartreuse is a new combination for me, but it's rather snazzy don't you think? Sasha bought me this fun fur coat for my birthday in January which was a wonderful surprise. I'd never have looked for this colour of jacket and yet it's a great zesty shade that really perks up my mood. It injects fun to any outfit and works so well with my new-to-me boots.

I'm not sure how well it shows up, but there's silver lurex thread running through the brocade which ties in perfectly with the silver and chartreuse of my ensemble. Oh, what joy that is for me to get these little touches working together!

These brand new ankle boots were a find from my friend Ben who lives in London. He saw them in the window of his local charity shop and suggested I buy them (pre-shopping ban). They only cost me £12 despite being brand new, with labels intact. The funny thing about them is that I managed to lose one of them during my autumn closet changeover - they were the half pair I mentioned when I tallied up how many pairs I owned. Don't ask, I think I've forgotten. 

The toning rings are also both charity shop trophies from long ago. My sunglasses are by Topshop from last year. I love the funky retro vibe of them.

Outfit details look like this: coat and jumper by H&M, jeans by Zara, boots by M&S. Yellow and white beaded earrings are vintage.

My thanks go to Fiona, photographer of the day, purely by default of being in the right place at the right/wrong time. We do have fun on these little stints together. Don't we Fi?

I'll post my Christmas Day outfit on Thursday as I'm sure you'll all be far too busy to be visiting blogs on the big day. Hope to see you all then!

                                                                                             Anna x

White jeans and gingham top

Welcome back!

Hello there! How's your week going? The Monday rush pushed my post back into to Tuesday, but here I am resplendent in my new white jeans. No, I've not broken my shopping ban - I've been rummaging through my stockpile of goodies that I've not worn yet. The last time I was on the mainland was February and that's when I bought these River Island jeans. I picked them up in TK Maxx where they were reduced to £16.99. I'm a late bloomer as far as white jeans go, but have ended up with two new pairs both bought out of season at bargain prices. 

Much as I like how white jeans look on others, I've always struggled with how they look on me. I've not helped myself by choosing wide legged cropped jeans as they can only serve to broaden and shorten the wearer. Oh to be six foot tall and willowy as a beanpole!

That old trick of standing sideways sometimes helps... Nah!

Anyway, moving swiftly on. I've  chosen this checkered top with frilled sleeves as partner today, adding black and white hessian platform sandals as a kind of bookend look. The blouse is years old and was a supermarket purchase from Asda at the time. It's particularly useful as it requires minimum care beyond chucking it in the wash and line drying. I've not had to iron it, ever.

I bought the wedge sandals last year in the Harrogate branch of TK Maxx for £14.99. I love the chevron sole plus the fact that they're a broad fit and therefore all day comfortable. 

I decided to pep up the look with orange as an accent colour by way of these two perspex rings (pre-loved), matching necklace (a boutique purchase many years ago) and these retro sunglasses from Topshop last year.

So this is my second week of being open to the public again and I'm pleased to say that I'm getting used to it. The islands are looking like normal again, which is great for business, but can be tricky as far as remembering that this is our first (potential) exposure to COVID19. Anyone travelling to, from and between the islands must wear face coverings for the journey and I'm seeing people coming off the boats choosing to keep their masks on as they walk around the bay past the Gallery and beyond. The islands offer a carefree, relaxed beach holiday experience and as such are enjoying a veritable stampede for bookings. I've heard that Tresco is fully booked until mid October. Hurrah! Our Tresco visitors are very grateful to be able to come back to the island and as such are happy to comply with our local safety measures and restrictions. We've seen shopping queues on TV for months and now our local supermarket has one every day too. I'm offering appointments for viewings at the gallery and am as busy as ever. Even though the risk assessment for the building is for only two people at a time I'm still managing to keep up with demand. All in all, it's good to be back in the swing of things.

                                                                                          Anna x

Steal her style - our July Style Not Age challenge

Hi there and welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge. Set this month by Hilda, the theme is "Steal her style" and has brought about some interesting results. 

I chose Suzi Grant, blogger, author and broadcaster as my inspiration for this month's challenge. I've only recently discovered Suzi on Instagram and was so sorry to have missed her when she visited the Isles of Scilly in May. Maybe we'll get the chance to meet up another time. Find her website Alternative Ageing here. 

Jacqui is no stranger to this lovely copycat game as she plays it once a month with her very own Style Steal. See this month's edition here (I can't believe I missed this one Jacqui!). Her outfit was taken from that wonderful movie Pretty Woman and doesn't she wear this well? Why not pop across to view her backstory here. 

And in a very sweet moment of snap we also have Hilda sporting her own Pretty Woman outfit. Great minds think alike ladies! 

Don't these ladies look rather fabulous in their spotty dresses and hats? I only wish I'd got the memo as I too have one of these spotty frocks! Join Hilda on her blog Over The Hilda to read all about her offering.

Last in this great creative feature is Emma from Style Splash who is copying a look from Killing Eve. I have to confess to never having seen this series, but if you nip across to her blog there's a link to Villanelle for you to compare. I'll see you over there!

And so back to my copycat look of Suzi's. My paisley print top was a hand-me-down from Sasha some time ago and seemed like the perfect piece for this month's challenge. It was from H&M and is looking good considering how often I wear it. The pink chinos are from Boden earlier on this summer - see here. My Puma trainers were a TK Maxx find when I was in London. I love the fact that they have silk ribbons instead of ordinary laces. I'm partial to a stylish twist. The retro sunglasses are a real signature piece for Suzi - mine are from Topshop.

Many thanks to Polly for this cute hairband which helped to finish off my Steal her style look.

And on a finishing note, I'd like to pass on a bit of advice I was given this weekend - that being not to leave your electrical items running when you go out. We had a small fire in our kitchen this weekend when our dishwasher motor burnt out, eventually bursting into flames. Our local fire brigade tackled the fire and all we were left with was a gaping hole where the appliance used to be, plus some charred worktop and smoke damage around the area involved. Sooty residue and a lingering smell of smoke will take a bit longer to get rid of. Had my husband not popped home when he did the fire wouldn't have been discovered so quickly and things could have been quite different. Washing machines, dishwashers and tumble driers all ought to be used when someone is at home - please pass this on.

                                                                                              Anna x