Ping-Pong Piece no 2

Yes, it's the 20th of the month and time for this regular feature with my blogging friends Ann and Samantha. It's my turn to choose a piece for us to style and I've chosen the most ordinary of jackets, the blazer. My reasons being that a) most of our readers will either have or have once had a blazer, b) I wanted to alter the preconception of this conservative article of clothing (I'm surely not the only one who thinks navy and nautical when you mention blazer?), c) it's a chance to show you all sorts of interesting versions of the blazer, d) to offer up a variety of ways to wear it that aren't in the least mundane. Also, I've invited my friend and fellow blogger Julia to join us in the style challenge. 

Julia is a breath of fresh air in the blogging world: exuberant, fun and refreshingly honest that her body type doesn't conform to the norm as far as mainstream fashion goes, but will be damned if that means she's to be excluded from the party. She champions all the lovely ladies who, like her, are apple shaped as well being generously blessed in the bust department. I love her for all these reasons and more. I've know her since she started her blog last year and am so happy to see her blossom as time progresses and her confidence grows. Julia is wearing a longer length blazer in cornflower blue. The blazer and her gorgeous coral handbag are artfully tied together with the floral dress. The one constant throughout Julia's blog is her dazzling smile - she just exudes happiness! See Julia's blog, When The Girls Rule here and follow her on instagram here.

Details -

Jacket - Calvin Klein

Dress - Worthington

Shoes - Franco Sarto

Handbag - Liz Claiborne

Samantha is also sporting a blue blazer, hers being a striped version. Never one to miss the chance to mix her patterns, Samantha has added a spotty print mini skirt to ensure this look won't drift into the boring category. And as if the pop of red in brooch and handbag aren't enough to drum the point home, she adds a final punch with those stellar boots! Find Samantha's blog Fake Fabulous here and follow her instagram here.

Details -

SHOES: Topshop

TIGHTS: Gipsy

SHIRT: Urban Outfitters

BLAZER: Primark

BROOCH & EARRINGS: Gifts

BAG: FIORELLI

SKIRT: Boden

Ann's pink blazer has done a bit of Ping-Ponging itself - once handed over at a clothes swap party, the remorse was too much for Ann who instantly regretted it. A couple of years later it appeared almost as if by magic at another swap party where she snatched it back and isn't planning on letting it go again! Ann's styling is anything but conservative here. Trainers, micro mini skirt, tee shirt and pretty pink sunnies all say casual with a capital C! Find Ann's blog Kremb De La Kremb here and follow her on instagram here.

Details -

Sunnies--Thailand Night Market in Hua Hin

Earrings--Betsy Johnson (and one sadly just broke!)

Necklaces--TJ Maxx

Tank--Florence Market

Blazer--H&M and then a swap!

Denim Skirt--DIY from second hand shop

Trainers--Adidas

This beautiful blazer was a Christmas present from my husband (guided perhaps by my daughter). It's been too cold to wear it until now, so the timing couldn't have been better. I've ended up all Great Gatsby meets New Romantics, wearing pleats, frills and pearls to compliment the intricate pattern of the jacket. Lace tights and burgundy Oxfords finish the look.

Oh dear! How disappointing that I've ended up with Nora Batty tights on the last shot. This really wasn't the image I was after.

Details -

Blazer: Vila Clothes

Blouse: Jo-Ed Sophisticates

Skirt: charity shop
Belt: charity shop

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell, California

Tights: Topshop

Pearls: Debenhams

Rings: charity shop

Linking with -

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Laurie of Vanity And Me

Anna x

Ping-Pong Piece No 1

Hello and welcome to our monthly offering previously know as Ping-Pong Post and now rebranded as Ping-Pong Piece. After 12 months of posting our clothes around the world to be styled by myself and my two blogging friends Ann and Samantha, we decided to make life a bit easier. Now we're merely ping-ponging ideas back and forth, with each of us taking it in turns to suggest an item for us to wear in our own particular way. Easier too for us to invite a guest to take part. Ann has started the ball rolling with fishnet tights and has invited Mary to join in the fun...

Ann has chosen a large fishnet to add a bit of funk to her shredded jeans to brilliant effect. The mix of leather, denim, fishnet and those Stella McCartney patent beauties deliver all that's needed for today's hottest rock chick. See Ann's blog Kremb de la Kremb here and follow her on instagram here.

Details -

Sunnies and Tee--Forever 21

Earrings--H&M

Leather Moto--a swap

Jeans--Zara

Fox Bag--Hong Kong Salvation Army

Shoes--Stella McCartney

Tights--Hong Kong Ladies' Market

Ann's guest is Mary of blog Miss Mary Powers see here. Mary has taken black and tan as her palette giving a stylish edge to her street cool. Her accessories of black felt hat and suede booties are a real touch of class. Follow Mary on instagram here.

Details -

Jacket - BlankNYC

Dress - Shop Missa

Shoes- Sam Edelman

Hat - Rag and Bone

Samantha's love of colour and pattern is ever evident here. I love her pattern clashing as well as the khaki fishnets and toning brogues. See her blog Fake Fabulous here and follow her on instagram here.

Details -

Earrings: H&M

Top: old…can’t remember where from (I cut the label out as it was scratchy)

Skirt: Boden

Tights: 50p in a charity shop… M&S ones from about 100 years ago!

Shoes: Clarks

Bag: Vintage

When Annie came up with the suggestion of fishnet tights I was rather pleased as I'd been saving these blue ones for the right outfit since I bought them before Christmas. Finding the right outfit was to be the challenge however. Amidst the flurry of reopening the gallery on Friday and doing my sewing homework for Saturday, I was pretty pushed to find time to do much trying on. I took the easy option and was led by the blue trim on these gorgeous courts. This green and blue vintage dress was a no brainer that only needed a cardi to finish the look. The final hurdle for Polly and I was the gale that was blowing down from the north across the front of the gallery where I pose. Crazy hair day? Yes!

Details -

Dress: Peekaboo (vintage)

Cardi: Phase Eight

Tights: Topshop

Shoes: Roberto Gil 

Necklace and rings: charity shop

Ping Pong Piece is no more a competition than Ping Pong Post was - it's all about showcasing an item and hopefully doing so differently enough to give you lots of inspiration. I think we've pretty much filled the remit then don't you? I'd love to hear that you think of our new variation on the theme.

Linking with -

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Anna x

Ping-Pong Post no12

Hello and welcome to the 12th edition of Ping-Pong post, the monthly collaboration between myself, Samantha of Fake Fabulous and Ann of Kremb de la Kremb. To see the background of this style challenge read here. This month Samantha proffered her black drapey top which almost flummoxed me completely. Despite being simple in shape, it was still one of my least favourite of colours to work with. Let's start with Samantha who certainly didn't seem to struggle -

The black top has a scoop neck and cross over front, but very cleverly Samantha has chosen to wear it back to front revealing a stunning strappy feature below. Wet look leggings, and patent boots lift this plain cotton top into the realms of fabulousness. She has finished this off with a statement bag and necklace leaving no room to doubt that she is indeed a true style icon. Follow Samantha on Instagram here.

Details -

TOP: Yong Kim

NECKLACE: Oliver Bonas

LEGGINGS: Pamela Mann

BOOTS: Vagabond

BAG: River Island

Ann has given the top a more casual spin with her snakeskin jeans, biker boots and striped shirt, but hasn't forgotten a dash of glamour by way of her diy ostrich handbag (see the link below). A roll neck and gloves give a nod to the cooler weather Ann is experiencing in Hong Kong this week when she took these shots. Black doesn't look very difficult to wear when you've got the right hair colouring does it? Fab styling Ann! Follow Ann on Instagram here.

Details -
Outfit Details

Earrings--my guy Ben in Jardines Bazaar, a great ladies market in Hong Kong

Turtleneck--heat technology, Uniqlo

Striped Shirt--Zara

Black Top--Sam's

Gloves--market in Shanghai

Ostrich Bag--Kremb de la Kremb DIY

Snake Jeans--Bershka

Moto Boots--boutique on Houhai Lake, Beijing

Those who know me will recognise my default setting here - when in doubt, dress it up! Glitter tights and glitter boots, seemed like a great way of detracting from the pallor-inducing colour of the top. Adding some softer, more neutral tones against the skin also helped. One feature I did like was the pockets and by adding a belt the tunic took on a bit more shape. A splash of silver jewellery and studded clutch were the finishing touches. Samantha - I gave this my best shot, but heck it's been my least favourite of our challenges so far!

Details -

Top: Samantha's

Dress: H&M

Belt: Dorothy Perkins

Tights: H&M

Boots: Topshop

Necklace: M&S

Rings: old

Handbag: charity shopped

The news on Ping-Pong Post is that having completed a whole year of this style challenge we're going to evolve the series a little next month, so do come along to see exactly how on the 20th of March.

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Anna x

Velvet + embroidery = my perfect jacket

This gorgeous jacket was a Christmas present from my husband, albeit with a bit of guidance from me. I love embroidery on most things and on this velvet jacket it's a great addition. I have lots of bomber jackets, each different, but all so useful as that extra layer at work for when it's a bit chilly.

I bought this nude pleated skirt in Tesco in December, but have been waiting to find the right pieces to style it up. I also had another (Christmas jacket) in burgundy that would work just as well, so may redo this another time. The blouse was from Topshop (sold out but this is pretty), the vest is from River Island (charity shopped), and the jacket is by Glamorous from ASOS (it's in the sale here). The shoes are from my favourite supplier of brogues, Office, but currently they have nothing similar. And last, but by no means least are my silver glitter socks by ASOS.

I'll apologise in advance if these links don't work. I seem to be having a technology blip at the moment. Instagram decided not to work for the day on Tuesday. Then yesterday my camera went all huffy on me when I was out and about, supposedly to take some shots of the island. The blog links have been a challenge for the past week, meaning I've fought shy of posting a blog in case it keeps happening. Fingers crossed it'll be OK!

News on my staycation is that I'm having a lovely time, thank you. I've just ordered a new filing cabinet to set to with the dreaded task of sorting out my paperwork; filing, shredding and dealing with all the collected clutter along the way. Next week will herald the start of the big clothes cull. I'm going to group into jumble, which will go to the clothes bank on the islands, eBay for anything that's worth selling, and finally the keep pieces which will be checked for any mending or dry cleaning needed. 

Running parallel to all of the bigger jobs are the daily swimming, shopping, tidying etc as well as batch cooking for the freezer so that I don't have to cook at the end of the working day. Yesterday I also went to yoga and had a walk around the beaches as I tried to find the perfect spot for my swim - we've had some wild weather recently, and that means big ground seas leave the beaches awash with huge reams of seaweed (yuk) and also there is a big run of tide that sucks in and out of the beaches, sometimes a 15 foot drag that feels quite threatening when you get caught up in it. 

I've just read Leap In by Alexandra Heminsley which has been very inspirational. The story of her determination to crack open water swimming resonated with me, and best of all she shares so much of what she learnt. Alex traded up her strong breast stroke for a hard-earned front crawl which took her out into the sea as well as tackling river swimming and finally a crossing from Kefalonia to Ithaca. Inspired by Alex I too want to trade my strong breast stroke for the less labour intensive front crawl. My daily efforts at this streamline stroke are handicapped by a poor breathing technique which impacts on the smooth glide and rhythm. All of this is covered in the book and fills me with excitement that I too, may conquer this challenge. The book is a great read, not just for those who swim or want to, but it's more about her dogged determination that shows her true spirit. 

Anna x

Winter woollies

I know there are parts of the UK which are being hammered by sleet and snow currently, but thank goodness we in the far southwest are not. Still, we do have a bitter north wind blowing across the islands and I'm taking cover with my favourite woollen coat. 

The coat was a holiday purchase when Steve and I were on our cruise last February see here. The colours pack a punch and it's a real lift on the dark days of winter. Like lots of people I suffer from the winter blues and tend to drift into wearing gloomy shades of grey and black in the winter, so this coat is a brilliant antidote to the blahs. My handbag is a brand new addition, a great find in a charity shop in Penzance. It's ostrich hide, but best of all, it's a perfect match for the bright pink tone in my coat. I've been on the lookout for a stylish bag to take away when I go to the mainland in this fine coat and I found this bag in the very first charity shop on arriving in Cornwall in December. The bonus feature is that the bag is dual purpose acting as both a conventional handbag and a neat backpack. It's great to have a classy bag that I can pop on my back for hands-free shopping.

My other new purchase worth mentioning has to be these glitter boots. I can take no claim in finding these, as I stole the idea from my utterly sleek, style icon of a niece, Kate. We all spent some time together over Christmas and the first time she turned up wearing these wonderful boots I knew I had to have a pair too. By the time I came to buy them, they were in the sale at Topshop see here which was double the joy for me. I don't plan to pack them away until next Christmas. No, I'll be wearing them as and when I think the outfit warrants. You can wear a sprinkling of glitter any time of year in my book!

The rest of my outfit comprises - cashmere polo neck: M&S (charity shopped), trousers: HM, rings: gifts.

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb 

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Cherie of Style Nudge

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

I'll leave you with this shot taken from my office window looking across the bay to Bryher. There was a momentary break in the cloud to give a glimpse of the sun setting and a tantalising peek at the blue sky before the next dark clouds obscured the view. The resulting heavy rain over us may well have fallen as snow on mainland Cornwall.

Anna x