Just another working day

Hello lovelies!

As you read this I shall be off-island having my first taste of mainland life in 15 months. This is probably the longest I've ever been holed up on the tiny island of Tresco without a break. Writing this, I do wonder how I'll feel to be out there surrounded by hoards of mask-wearing strangers, (hopefully) keeping their distance from me. Thinking about this makes me realise how very different lock-down on an island has been compared to elsewhere. Familiar faces in normal routines meant we all seemed to carry on our ordinary lives without too much fuss. How very lucky we have been.

The outfit was from Tuesday when grey skies mingled with a peek-a-boo sun - not the ideal for a pre-work photo shoot, but Fiona and I did our best. I've been keen to showcase this jacket and dress combination as it's a favourite work outfit at the moment. Jamie bought me the dress for my birthday and I love the marriage of the different prints as well as the joyful addition of the bright pink. It's a stylish work ensemble with a generous dollop of fun!

The dress was from Zara, trench from Topshop, boots from H&M, underskirt was charity shopped and the belt was an eBay purchase from a long time ago.

Simple black sunglasses by Radley London add a touch of class to this animal print outfit.

I had started the day at 5.30am, chopping and slicing veg to get a meal into the slow cooker before washing up and making breakfast. A fresh wind was blowing which put paid to my early morning swim, but I spent 20 minutes instead gathering some clothes together to pack in a bag for my trip the next day. It was a productive day at work and I also received my second vaccine in the afternoon so I felt flushed with success. 

It won't be long now until I get my haircut on St Mary's, so this may be the last shot of the overgrown lock-down look. I shan't miss the fact that I have to wash it every day now just to make it presentable.

And last of all, thank you to those of you who have sent me photos for inclusion in my 6th anniversary post. If you're still considering, then there's plenty time. The more the merrier as they say! Just send me an email and attach your snap along with a few words as to how Anna's Island Style has influenced the outfit. It's easy peasy!

                                                                                      Anna x

When it rains ...

Hello again! Today I'm working on the principle of When life gives you lemons, except I've applied that to rain. My outfit choice was led completely by the need to take some photos for the blog despite the rain, plus the fact that the only umbrella I could find was this tartan one.

So, apart from the addition of a brolly, I've been chomping at the bit to bring out some of my festive clothes. Much like the sudden crop of Christmas decorations appearing both indoors and outdoors across the land, I'm keen to have this dazzling distraction from the woes that plague us currently. Therefore, I shall be littering the blog for the next few weeks with lurex and glitter, tartan and fur, and even the odd very cheesy Christmas jumper! 

But let's start with today's offering. This feather trimmed tartan shift dress was a Zara purchase some years ago. It's a wonderful twist on what is a simple shape made glamorous by the addition of feathers. 

I've layered it up with an M&S long sleeved thermal top and thick thermal tights, finishing with these rather fabulous tartan ankle boots also by M&S.  I love a bit of tartan at the best of times and it warms my heart how much we associate these checks or plaid (depending on where in the world you live) with Christmas. As a Scottish exile, it's wonderful to wear my national cloth with pride at this time of year. I have a real McCoy tartan kilt lined up for you, brought up to speed with an unconventional partner - so please keep coming back to see that!

Do you remember when you were young being asked what you want to be when you grow up? Well, I've just discovered that I want to be the Instagram fashion icon Blair Eadie. I hope you'll take a moment to click on the link to see what a delight this woman is. It's not her model girl figure, nor her youth that I hanker after, but the absolute magic she conjures up with her style. She covers every trend, colour and fashion turning them into a confection of playfulness and joy; in fact most of the time she does look utterly edible! When she does understatement it's sleek and sublime and likewise when she goes big, then it's totally fabulous! I realise how unachievable this level of perfection is, but it's so good to have a dream. We all need a bit of style inspiration and golly, this girl is mine.

Accessories are: rings pre-loved and Tree of Life pendant was a boutique purchase, but is old. Umbrella was from our local chemist on St Mary's.

My thanks go again to Sasha for her time taking these soggy day shots. I'll leave you with this atmospheric scene looking towards Samson island. 

Thanks for joining me. See you again soon!

Anna x

Gothic Romance, our Style Not Age challenge for October

Hi there! Welcome to the October Style Not Age challenge, set this month by Emma. I'll be totally honest and admit that when Emma announced that Gothic Romance was her theme, well my heart sank. Gothic anything is my least favourite thing in the whole world. The popularity of the Goth trend is something that seems to have eluded me over the years. I'm not sure what the appeal is at all. However, as you can see, I found an outfit of sorts which ticked that box. Sorry Emma, this one is just not for me!

As you can tell, Emma is in her element with this - and why not? She and her hubby travelled to a local beauty spot to capture the right atmosphere for her outfit too. Read all about her back story on Style Splash. 

Hilda looks the part in this dramatic setting too. Also wearing black with lace, she is embracing the seasonal theme. See more from her on Over The Hilda.

Jacqui is looking just a tad concerned at the prospect of something spooky about to happen down in the woods. Find out if there were any goulish happenings on Mummabstylish.

And last, but by no means least, is Gail who looks to be in her element with this challenge. Bravo with your interpretation of this! Check out her story on Is This Mutton.

My Gothic Romance dress was from Zara quite a few years ago, as were the sock boots. The dark green sheer crepe fabric is whispy and feminine. As winter dresses go it's useful to have in my wardrobe, but I seem to have fallen out of love with it. I've kept hold of it for occasions like this - it was the only thing that came to mind immediately and I honestly looked no further. 

Accessories read like this - black mirror sunglasses are by Quay Australia, citrine rings are - small one gifted, large one charity shopped and pendant is by Vivienne Westwood.

The Zara sock boots often give rise to comments about me wearing fishnet tights over my boots. From the close-up you can see they are created from two layers which indeed give that effect. 

Apologies to the ladies of the collective as I just seem to have gone through the motions with this month's challenge. I fancy that I may be suffering from the the winter blahs and this theme didn't bring out the best in me, sorry!

                                                                                      Anna x

Flower Power - February's style challenge

Welcome to our style challenge for February!

Hello and welcome to our monthly challenge with the Style Not Age Collective. As we hurtle towards March the promise of spring is in the air echoing this month's theme of Flower Power. As usual we've managed to come up with varied offerings, ranging from elegant through to playful as we showcase our very individual style. I do hope we're going to inspire you!

Style Spash Emma has created a chic look with this black and pale pink dress, topped with a stylish felt hat and fur scarf that looks soft and cosy. The big blowsy blooms of the frock are offset by the teeny dotty pattern play. Do please keep me in mind when you're ready to pass this one on Emma!

Jacqui from Mummabstylish looks lovely and also very summery in her offering this month. She carries off this pastel hued outfit with a girlish flair - adorable eh? 

It was Hilda's turn to choose a theme and how fab this choice turned out to be. We're seeing a fair bit of the 70's influence amongst us and Hilda's embracing the look perfectly. See more of her backstory on the her blog Over The Hilda.

This month we're welcoming back the familar face of Gail of Is This Mutton blog. If you're a regular reader you'll remember she was involved in our monthly style challenge called 5Over50, the last one of which is shown here. After spending some time away doing her own thing, Gail was keen to rejoin our monthly collaboration and we are very happy to have her back on board. Gail is featuring her favourite floral bomber jacket with an almost identical print top underneath. Do swing by her blog for a catch up when you get a moment.

Fiona and I had to take refuge indoors this week to capture these photos, out of the wild weather that storm Dennis brought to the island. Bright sunshine was at least a help to lift the atmosphere as we made use of the space within the Pavilion in the middle of its face-lift. 

Even though the wind was blasting across the sea, the view from here was still stunning.

With no musical backdrop, I hummed some inane tune to counter the echoing of my footsteps, dancing around creating fun as is my way. Fiona struggled with fluctuating light levels, blurry shots and backlighting slowing down the process as I sashayed around, oblivious. Point a camera at me and I'm in my element!

Flower Power to me stirs up thoughts of those teenage years when I was enjoying my first forrays into fashion, spending my hard earned pocket money on mini skirts and skinny rib tops, hot pants and suede long fringed waistcoats and tent dresses worn with knee high wet-look boots. This homage to those days was quick to pull together from my wardrobe; the dress was a second hand buy last year, the New Look ankle boots were in the sale last spring and the tights are from a huge cache I have of all sorts of colours and designs.

I've featured this floral tent dress (Zara) on the blog before (see here) and I must admit it is indeed a thing of joy to wear. I recall wearing a similar dress - white cotton in a light waffle fabric, with discs of pink, yellow, orange, purple and lime green with three quarter length sleeves and a ring pull zip up the front -  when I was only about 10 years old. We were going to a family wedding and the psychedelic dress was one of the first fashion buys that embedded itself into my memory bank. It captured my imagination and fired up a lifetime of passion for clothes.

All of today's accessories, including handbag and floral necklace and matching bracelet are second hand. 

The finishing touch for today's look was this ditzy print coat (pre-loved) by Kew. The 3/4 length sleeves and thigh high hemline make this a versatile jacket that looks equally good over jeans.

I'll leave you with this final shot of the view across to Bryher and Samson islands. White tops on the sea show how wild these sheltered waters have been lately. We must count our blessings however, that we're not suffering floods like so many regions of mainland UK are. Let's all hope for an improvement this week!

                                                                                     Anna x