#Ping Pong Post no 8

Welcome to another edition of Ping Pong Post, the feature where one well travelled item of clothing brings me and my blogging friends together for our monthly style challenge. This month I'm delighted to announce two additional guests to the feature by way of fellow bloggers, Sheela of Sheela Writes and Greetje of No Fear of Fashion. Both Sheela and Greetje have followed the feature with great interest since it started (see here) and were very keen to join in for this special edition.

The dress/tunic this month is from my wardrobe and started its journey from the Isles of Scilly to Holland in April, then travelled to Texas, Hong Kong and finally on to bonnie Scotland a couple of weeks ago before heading back home to me. So let's see what this diverse collection of bloggers made of the green shaggy beast shall we?

Here's Samantha from Fake Fabulous, one of our regulars. This shaggy dress caused quite a dilemma for her, but in the best possible way (I think) as it presented so many possibilities. She opted for a simple, neutral palette to offset what is quite a flamboyant, fuzzy top. Samantha has given this green monster a classy, chic look that I wouldn't have thought possible. Bravo, my dear! Follow Samantha on Instagram here.

Details -

DRESS: H&M (Anna’s)

TIGHTS: Levante

BOOTS: Duo (now Ted and Muffy)

CARDIGAN: Urban Outfitters

POLONECK: Redoute

NECKLACE: Oliver Bonas

SOCKS: M&S 

Our other regular, the very creative Ann, of Kremb de la Kremb has done her typical Ann thing and turned the piece right on its head, and oh how gorgeous does she make the shaggy shawl look? (Such glowing skin - it shouldn't be allowed!) I love all of the ornate jewellery she has accessorised it with. Go to the top of the class girl! Follow Ann on Instagram here.

Details -

Sunnies--Forever 21

Earrings--Ben from Jardines Bazaar, Hong Kong

Shrug--Anna's dress

Brooch--Banana Republic

Ring--India

Shirt--Gap

Leather Shorts--Forever 21

Jungle Bag--Louella Odie

Anklets--La Jolla Beach, California 

Booties--DIY on an old Forever 21 pair (http://www.krembdelakremb.com/diy-painting-scuffed-shoes/) 

And here we have the ever so cool Sheela of Sheela Writes. Sheela lives in Houston, Texas where she exploits her stark,urban backdrop to contrast her downright outrageous outfits. My readers may well think I have an extensive shoe collection, but they really need to check out some of the amazing footwear lurking in this lady's closet! Follow Sheela on Instagram here.

Details -

Leather Top - StitchFix

Belt worn as necklace - JCrew

Clutch, Booties, Sunnies & Leggings - thrifted

Ring - a gift from Eve

Yellow Cuff - courtesy of Unearthed

This vision of elegance is Greetje of No Fear of Fashion. Greetje too, has a rather amazing collection of shoes and boots, and these are a particular favourite of mine - those heels are something else aren't they? Greetje features not only her fabulous clothes on the blog, but also the local sights both in Holland as well as on her various trips away with girlfriends that seem to be a regular occurrence (lucky lady). Follow Greetje on Instagram here.

Details

skinnies: Closed, 

booties: Eijk Amsterdam, 

shirt: Marco Polo (old), 

pendant: through Heleen Tuinman.

So here we go with my take on this shaggy beast of a top. These shots were taken at the end of March and seemed to be my typical mix of elements that made the outfit very me. However, the fly in the ointment was when Samantha diligently returned the top last week which was a terrible trial for me. You may well have noticed a couple of pairs of jacquard boots making their debut on the blog recently... Well, I really wanted to re-shoot wearing a pair of those, but time and weather put a stop to that. Maybe another day. In the meantime here's how I styled it -

This extended edition has been such great fun. Thanks to all of my blogging friends for taking the time and effort to present their own version of this crazy green top/dress/shawl. It's been really interesting as usual, and I do hope it was worth a visit for you, the reader. Next month we have an offering from Samantha which is currently under the care of Ann as she considers her options. I fancy her creative juices are already flowing with some marvel or other. If you'd like to, then please follow me on Instagram here.

My outfit details are -

Dress: H&M

Disco pants:H&M

Polo neck: eBay

Shoes: Office

Pendant: Vivienne Westwood

Sunglasses: Quay Australia

Watch: Michael Kors

Rings: old.

I'm asking if I may be excused games tomorrow Miss! Well, what I mean is, I'm having a day off from my regular Friday post, but will be back again on Sunday. Amuse yourself with a dip into some old posts I say, as I'll be setting questions for your assessment soon!

Anna x

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