Second Hand September our SNA challenge

Hello and welcome once again to our monthly Style Not Age challenge! This month we're tying in with Oxfam who promote this annual event, Second Hand September. I have to admit that this is an easy ask of me as most of my purchases nowadays are second hand, either from Vinted or charity shops. We'll get to my outfit in a minute, but first lets check out my fashionable friends ...

Jacqui's looking extremely stylish in her Second Hand offering. The dress is by Monsoon, costing the grand sum of £6 from a local charity shop and her jacket is a hand me down from her daughter. Catch up on all of her news over on Mummabstylish blog.

Emma has also inherited a second hand piece from her family - her mum's skirt is part of this colourful outfit. Nothing new at all from her, so do skip across to her blog Style Splash for the full low down.

This cutsie look from Gail is based on a pinafore dress from Vinted which suits her down to a T! I don't think I have ever had a pinafore, not since I was a girl, but this is cute as a button on her. See more from her on Is This Mutton blog.

Hilda was invited to join Oxfam in Second Hand September and found this beautiful cashmere blazer by Louis Copeland - tres chic Hilda! She shopped her wardrobe for the rest of her look, so do pop across to see her interesting back story on Over The Hilda blog. 

£10 was all I paid for this frilly frock from Vinted and goodness, how lovely it is! The bright colours and that flirty frill sold it to me and when it arrived it was even better in the flesh. The last half of September has been a mixed bag of weather and this dress has come into its own a couple of times when the sun burst through and I needed something cool and airy for work. 

Nature's variety of greens really help to offset the vibrant orange and purple flowers of this mini dress. The button front and elasticated sleeves make it easy to pop on and off too.

I've brought out my Oliver Bonas handbag from last year and paired it with these elasticated slip on sandals from Primark, a find from my trip to Truro in June.

There's nothing new as far as my accessories go: rings are indeed second hand, sunglasses are from Radley (old) and my Storm watch is pretty much star of the show. 

Second Hand September has been a successful challenge for us all - I do hope you've enjoyed our diverse outfits too. Many thanks for joining us and I look forward to seeing you next time!

                                                                        Anna x

My new Ted Baker dress

I've finally gotten round to showcasing this fab tent dress! I bought it last summer from TK Maxx, using a gift voucher from the previous Christmas. I don't know why it took me so long to get my act together, but the end result was worth waiting for. I was thrilled to find this colourful gem which ticks all the boxes - bright colours, floaty fabric, feminine style and very easy to wear - oh, and it's got pockets!

As summer seems to be well and truly over I thought I'd better capture this for the blog before I'm totally out of sync with the seasons. Here am I still bared legged and in summer sandals and this was only a few days ago. Suddenly on Tresco, the temperature has dropped and wind and rain have lashed us for most of the day.

My friend Fiona and I tried to capture the best of the dress outside, but the light wasn't so good. I've opted to use both these and my indoor shots . 

I've had these neutral coloured sandals for a couple of years now and they're not only comfortable, but pretty too. I'm known to be partial to bit of sparkle so these are aired quite often during the warm weather.

Rings in pink and orange are both old, but still perfect partners for this outfit. 

I couldn't help laugh when Fiona remarked that the dress was a bit like a tent! Clearly that trend had passed her by.

And finally, thank you to those of you who've managed to beat a path to my door (aka Gallery Tresco) over the past few months, and indeed years. It's so lovely to meet each and every one of you!

                                                                        Anna x

Gifts received with gratitude - what a week!

Wow, what a wonderful week I've had! Usually I'm raving about the weather or a fab sea swim, but this week I've had two surprise gifts in the post and this is the first one - Colourful by Iris Apfel. The book turned up in the post from a blog follower who saw it and thought of me. Thank you so much Rosemary H! 

In the summer of 2023, as Iris welcomed her 102nd birthday, she put pen to paper to write this very special project: what Iris called her legacy. Filled with over  300 personal photos Iris's incredible energy radiates from every page. 

This is one of her many quotes: her voice speaking my thoughts. She validates my joy in the daily pleasure of dressing up. The book is a beautiful rich tapestry of Iris's life - what an amazing gift!

Yes, here's Iris in my peapod trouser suit! Oh how I love this suit, but you already know that, don't you. According to Iris when she wore it felt like haute couture and it certainly elevates me every time I wear it too.

And here's my second surprise gift of the week. One of our Gallery Tresco artists, Lizzie Black, was recently on the island for a brief en plein air session and had taken some photos of me as I hung my washing out one morning. Fast forward a couple of weeks and this turns up on my desk. What a kind and generous thing to do. Thank you so much Lizzie! I've bought a couple of Lizzie's paintings in the past and now I have this very personal piece to add to my collection - wow!

The outfit for my lounging-about-at-home look is a pyjama suit that Sasha bought me last year. It took me a while to fix it as it didn't have any buttons on the jacket so I waited until I found the perfect buttons and then proceeded in making button holes.

It still thrills me that I can sew and mend and fix my own clothes! It's not exactly rocket science, I know, but the achievment still gives me a rush.

I recently bought these rather fab flowery sandals and thought they worked very well with today's flamboyant outfit - a great homage to the splendid Iris Apfel! Nothing else is new: the jewellery is all old, often preloved which would have met with her approval as thrift shops were some of Iris's favourite haunts too. I'll leave you with a few more of Iris's quotes - echo's from my heart. I feel such gratitude for my life, for these unexpected gifts. 

Thank you as ever for joining me. I do hope you have a lovely week!

Anna x

Lovely Linen our SNA challenge for August!

Welcome once again to our Monthly Style Not Age Challenge! This month I chose the theme of Lovely Linen which was led mainly by this recent Vinted buy. The dress had no label but also no pockets and at the weekend I set to creating some by using orange linen fabric left over from a dress I made previously. 

Here's the work in progress and I'm delighted to say that despite putting the first pocket in the wrong way round, I finally managed to fathom it out and ended up with two perfectly acceptable and functioning pockets! But, let's take a look at my fashionable friends and see how they approached this month's challenge...

Gail's Lovely Linen dress is a classic shape from Boden in a zingy shade of turquoise. For the past three weeks Gail has been on LEJOG, a cycling adventure from Land's End to John O Groats - so please do swing by to catch up on her news on Is This Mutton blog. 

Emma's wearing a linen mix co-ord from Damson Madder, worn with old sandals and a bag by Skinny Dip. Catch up on the latest from Emma on her blog Style Splash here. 

Jacqui's jacket and trousers may look like a suit but are simply a very good match - well done that girl! She's added a toning tan top to complete the look - see more on Mummabstylish.

There's nothing new from Hilda with her animal print dress by Whistles, but that's not to say it's not on trend - it looks fab. She shopped her wardrobe for this look - see more on Over The Hilda. 

I'd walked for a mile or so to the far end of Pentle Bay in the hope of getting out of the fierce North wind, but still it played havoc with my colourful frock! I wore my orange denim jacket by Forever 21 to keep the chill wind at bay and my blue Lazy Dogz sandals worked very well with the mulit coloured dress. 

The smock dress has a shirred back and sweet puff sleeves and is a lovely cool shape to wear on a summer's day. I wore a simple white beaded necklace with silver heart - a gift from my sister which has been very useful indeed.

My rings are old as as my sunglasses (from Radley London). 

Hiding down below the rocks I almost managed to escape out of the wind. Once I'd taken my photos I lay down and read my book for an hour which was a lovely way to end my day off.

As ever it's been fun to take part in this monthly challenge. I do hope you've enjoyed this month's offerings from us all. Did you find any new ideas? Or was there something that is so typically you? Whichever, thank you so much for dropping by and please do leave a comment if you've been inspired.

                                                                        Anna x

Hurrah for picnic time!

Hi there! I don't know about you, but we've not had much of a summer here. On Friday however, we had a scorcher of a day, something I'd been watching on the weather forecasts for days and had primed Steve that if it delivered, then we'd be mad not to get out for a picnic. And so, at 11am we bundled said picnic fare, beach towels and all the other necessary accoutrements and off we went in seach of our spot. 

We ended up landing on this tiny cove on the uninhabited island of Tean, opting for a two person beach in the hope that we'd not have to share our spot. I know it sounds terribly antisocial, but we do like to have private time together in the midst of the busy season. The little beach was perfect and was tucked in out of the wind making it a real sun trap. 

By early afternoon, picnic eaten, bottles of beer now empty and skin suitably crisped, we were ready to head off home, but not before I'd captured the moment for posterity. 

Yes, it's time for the Mermaid coat outing! Once a year I love to bring out my dazzling sequin coat, preferably on the beach, and swish about in a cloud of self delusional beauty and joy. Here's a link to a previous session. I'm not sure when this became a thing, but I do like to have these references to previous picnics in different locations. Here's another one. 

I featured this shot on my Instagram feed (see here) yesterday. It does make me smile to regard myself as an OAP in bikini and sequins - who'd think you'd find those three words in the same sentence? Another year on and my tummy is a bit rounder as are my hips and thighs too as age creeps up on me but I'll not succumb to comparisons with those who might undermine my self confidence. This is me as I am now, full stop.

The rustling sound of the sequins as the coat billows out in the wind is a delight to me - one that feeds my imagination, ramping up the glamour factor to the max. Mock me all you like, but it's a heavenly sensation!

The sun behind me gives the illusion of a deep tan and flawless body so of course I'll keep this one for posterity too. 

What a perfect backdrop for the Mermaid coat! I honestly can't believe my luck - this is my real life, not just a holiday snap. Steve and I talked a lot about how fortunate we are and have been to spend our days on these islands able to work in jobs that we are passionate about and have the ablilty to island hop in our downtime to relax in these beautiful surroundings.

The last shot and it was time to pack up and go. We'd had a glorious day on the beach, enjoying each others company and counting our blessings . Posts like these are so valuable to me to refer back to in the long winter months. A reminder that summer will come again and my Mermaid coat with always have another outing!

                                                                Anna x