December - the month of sparkles!

And so begins the season of sparkles! Needless to say I'm in my element this month for at last I have a legitimate reason to dial up my dressing up. I'm wearing a cosy roll neck fairisle sweater that I recently bought from the F&F range at Tesco's. It was the only one on display which, for some reason, made it seem like a real find. 

I'm not normally keen on black and white but the sweater is so perfect for this time of year I couldn't resist it. It has silver beading on the front that lifts it out of the ordinary too. 

I've paired the sweater with these rather fabulous silver jeans, a charity shop find in Truro recently - the brand is Pull&Bear - and they're brand new, without a scuff or mark on them. 

The mock crock effect boots are a recent purchase too from Deichman in Truro. I used to have a pair very similar to these and do wonder sometimes what on earth happened to them. Anyway, when I saw these I thought they might work well with some of the winter looks that I have planned...

My photography is a bit blurry this week. I had to take my own photos which wasn't helped by the blustery and cloudy weather. I've tweaked the photos but they could be better I'm afraid.

My textured cow print bag was the perfect accessory for the silver and black outfit. It's big enough for all of my photography essentails - mini tripod stand, phone, hairbrush and lipstick (although the look was definitely more windswept than anything else!).

The jacket is quite old now, but the brand is Zara and has a rating just like a duvet - it's ultra cosy and has this massive hood for rainy days too.

I do love this casual look for these silver jeans - what do you think? I'm sure I'll find another bit of styling for these over the next month, if I can only hit on a better day for the photoshoot!

                                                                    Anna x

Belt Up, our Style Not Age Challenge for November

Yes, it's that time of the month again! Here we all are rising to this month's challenge where Jacqui has prompted us to Belt Up! My outfit is one that I gathered together in September and yet never managed to showcase on the blog for various reasons so here it is now in all its technicolour glory! But as always, let me share the outfits from my fashionable friends first...

This month's feature is pretty much a story of two halves where Hilda and Jacqui are also touting an autumn vibe along with their belts whereas myself and Emma are pushing the boat out colourwise! Read Hilda's backstory here on Over the Hilda blog.

Rich chocolate hues work perfectly with Jacqui's tan leather belt in her seasonal look. Find out what she's been up to this week in her latest blog post at Mummabstylish. 

Emma's really delivering the wow factor this month with her fabulous two-tone jacket and golden accessories. This outfit shows she's ready for the party season right now! Catch up with all of her latest news on her blog, Style Splash. 

My colourful offering is all pre-loved, so excuse me for feeling a bit smug. The jeans, belt and cardigan were finds from Truro charity shops when I was passing through in September. The linen shirt is very old and the Dr Marten boots were from Vinted. I totally understand it this isn't your kind of thing as it truly is a Marmite outfit - obviously I love it, but it's okay if you don't.

The cardigan had been lovingly hand knitted which obviously adds even more appeal for me as I truly appreciate the time and effort it would have taken to creat this colourfest of a cardi. 

The boots are hopefully going to add cheer to my winter dressing as well as being comfortable. I do love a clumpy boot and these do have big heavy soles hinting at longevity too.

I was so excited to discover these hand painted jeans in the rack of a charity shop during one of my browsing sessions. The are many sizes too big for me, but I went straight away to the local haberdashery and bought some wide elastic to add to the inside of the waistband. Between the elastic and the jazzy yellow belt I managed to pull the waist in sufficiently to carry off this baggy legged look. 

Nothing new with my accessories here. My sunglasses are old from Radley London and rings are both old too. 

Many thanks for joining us for this month's style challenge. It's a wonderfully diverse spread of outfits that we're sharing with you again. Maybe you'll find some inspiration here?

Looking forward to seeing you again!

Anna x

Ode to Claudia

For those of you who have just returned from outer space or have some other paltry excuse for not being in the know, the series of Celebrity Traitors has just finished and many of us are in mourning for the loss of our new found best friends, myself included. More importantly, however, is the lack of style inspiration from the icon that is Claudia Winkleman aided by her stylist Sinead Mc Keefry. The above is my favourite outfit of the entire series which energised me to delve deep into my wardrobe...

Claudia and I are at opposite ends of the goth colour spectrum obviously, but I was very pleased with my very own style version of goth chic. Steve and I came across this field of beautiful pink nerines which acted as the perfect backdrop for my palest of pale offering.

The short cream fur jacket with gold bejewelled brooch was a birthday present (in January) from Sandra, my eldest sister. She too lives on an island, but at the other end of the UK in the far north of Scotland on mainland Orkney and had espied this in the window of a local charity shop, immediately thinking of me. I'm delighted to finally have the opportunity to wear it, especially for this showcase event.

My cream waterfall skirt was a Vinted buy last year and has been featured on the blog previously - see that here. I love the ultra feminine style and do wish I could justify wearing it more often. 

In true Claudia style I'm wearing long frilled sleeves in the form of this vintage frilly blouse from many years ago, but which has proven to be real asset to my wardrobe. 

The cream platform boots are very old indeed, from ASOS many years ago. And talking of boots, I've spent far too long over the past couple of weekends trying to hunt down a box of winter boots that I had clevery hidden in the loft in our shed. I was becoming more and more frustrated at myself and how this 'putting things away somewhere safe' often results in these treasure hunts. 

The main reason for this treasure hunt was to find my tartan boots as I hope to somehow find/sew a black net skirt as per Claudia's which I'd wear with said boots over the Christmas season. Having stated this now, I do worry that I'm hexing myself. I've tracked down the designer of her fabulous net confection and can't find it on the website, but lesser ones are retailing at £695 - way out of my budget!

So these are my thoughts from a very quiet Tresco. My antics when dressed up like this are surely a source of amusement to those who might catch a glimpse of me, but hey, what do I care?

Wishing you a great week ahead! Many thanks for visiting and hurrah for you if you're kind enough to interact by way of leaving me a comment - it's much appreciated.

                                                                                        Anna x

Isobel coat from the Lighthouse

Hi there! How are you? Today I want to share my new Isobel coat, gifted to me by the Lighthouse Clothing Company. Sunday was a windy but bright and sunny day - that kind of fierce wind that blows right through you - so I decided to take a walk out onto the headland of Tresco to give my new winter coat a proper testing. I'm delighted to say that it was toasty warm and windproof, aside from the promise of it being waterproof and breathable.

I chose this coat not just for the lovely colour (Sea Kelp, find it here), but for the length which is ideal for my height (5ft 5in). Anything longer would be below knee length; not good for striding out with a bit of rock climbing to boot.

When my son and I left home it was raining, just a light drizzle, but enough to trick me into thinking I didn't need my (bright blue) sunglasses. Stupid of me really as I could have popped them into the very spacious pocket. Anyway, after walking half a mile or so, the clouds cleared, rain stopped and we were bathed in the late afternoon sunshine. Much squinting on my part followed as Jamie did the best he could as photographer-of-the-day in the whipping wind.

As you'll see the coat isn't just fully padded but also has a cosy fluffy lining which extends into the hood as well - such a bonus for a weatherproof jacket. I love that extra feature!

The coat also has a drawstring waist in case you want to be even more snug. 

As for the rest of my outfit, well there's nothing new here at all. The turquoise chunky knit jumper and matching boots were both from Vinted in the past year so you'll probably have seen them on the blog before. The fab green jeans are by Twiggy from M&S, another Vinted buy from this year. I recently found the long beaded necklace in a charity shop in Truro though and I'm pleased to say that the smattering of small turquoise beads ties it in perfectly with today's look and I added a blue plastic ring, another charity shop find, to finish things off.

My other news is that Gallery Tresco has now closed for the winter and I'm already deep in winter works mode. The island may seem to have shut down, but behind the scenes all of the permanent staff have lots to do over the next few months to get ready for the 2026 season. My final week of trading was very healthy meaning I still have lots of paintings to pack up ready for shipping to the mainland. Thereafter I'll be tackling my (dreaded) annual stocktake as well as clearing the decks ready for a new carpet to be laid. Before Iong I'll be searching for the boxes of decorations to prepare for our Christmas opening...

One final bit of news is that my husband has recently celebrated 50 years of working for Tresco Estate, or rather Tresco Island as it is now known. He's also just turned 68 and assures me that he's not ready to hang up his workboots yet. Steve's one of those lucky guys who loves his job and is in no rush to take up the call of armchair and slippers. We're very proud of all that he's achieved in his lifetime - if you ever visit Tresco you'll see his legacy at every turn as most of the young woodlands have been planted by him. Well done Steve, you're a living legend!

                                                                        Anna x

Autumn Colours, our Style Not Age challenge for October

Hello again, and welcome to our Style Not Age challenge for October. This month Hilda has opted for Autumn Colours as our theme, a most timely choice. I just happened to be wearing this (non-outfit) outfit the other day when the photos started to arrive in my inbox and so I thought it might just pass muster.

So, let's start with Hilda, who has recently become a grandmother (again) to a dear little baby girl. The chocolate brown trousers are new, from Cos and the pretty embroidered cardigan, tee shirt and trainers are all shopped from her closet. Catch up on her news on Over the Hilda. 

Jacqui too has shopped her wardrobe for this month's look. She's wearing russets, greys and black as her autumn colours - see more from her on her blog Mummabstylish.

Emma is sharing one of her holiday snaps with us from the sunny island of Madeira where she's wearing a favourite orange jumpsuit by Nutmeg with gold accessories. See more from her on Style Splash. 

Despite this not being a staged outfit per se, it is one of my most seen looks of late. I love this embroidered coat and am wearing it often as I know it's a brief window of opportunity before I'll have to pack it away until warmer spring days. I found it on Vinted earlier on this year and love that I rediscovered these jeans recently - hence they're turning up on the blog like a rash at the moment! Anyway the jeans and coat marry up beautifully so excuse me if you see me out and about in them, again.

Something that is new however is this rather grand Harris Tweed and leather backpack which I bought in Inverness last month. Scotland prides itself on fine goods in Harris Tweed and I was tempted to buy a handbag in this pattern, but after much thought I hit on the idea of having a backpack to not only free up my hands, but to use as my travelling bag when popping off the island. 

It's big enough to hold all of the essentials plus my drinking bottle and still has enough room for my book of the moment and glasses - so important when I'm waiting for a flight on sitting on the train. Needless to say I love the dear little backpack and hope to have many happy trips with it in years to come.

The embroidery theme continues with my Replay trainers which you'll no doubt have seen many times before. I have these in two colourways and wear them often as they're jazzy enough for work and yet so blooming comfortable when I have to stand at the desk all day.

As ever, I'm delighted to show you my Emily Nixon gemstone ring which I've worn daily since Steve bought it for my birthday in January. I so hope that this is the start of new trend for him after many years of being sidetracked during my birthday month... Apologies for the lack of manicure, but it was an impulse photo shoot!

This little beach track is just across the road from our doctor's surgery and is a much nicer place to hang out whilst waiting for the annual flu jab that Steve and I had recently. He's not doing too bad a job as my blog photographer of late, don't you think?

Thanks again for dropping by and I do hope that our monthly style challenges feed your imagination!

                                                                        Anna x

Lighthouse, Simple Island Living

Up until a few weeks ago I hadn't heard of the Lighthouse clothing brand but I'm delighted to have now hooked up with this Irish company, based in Belfast. I've been gifted some lovely items of clothing and today I want to share the first outfit I've created using the sweater and fleece, both in the delicious colour called sugar coral.

A beautiful outfit deserves a beautiful backdrop and so I took myself off to Pentle Bay for this Sunday afternoon photoshoot. I must admit to loving this colour, it's very flattering for my skin tone. The fleece is super cosy and has a lovely fluffy lining which acts as a double layer. 

You won't have seen me feature a fleece very often on the blog so this is quite a fashion conversion for me, but one that comes at a great time as I can see how useful it'll be for my winter lunchtime walks. Running the Gallery makes it quite difficult to get away for an hour in the middle of the day, but by the end of this month the Gallery will be closed for the winter and the clocks will be changing so Fiona and I are already planning our daily escape to enjoy the views on our circuit of the island. Our walk takes us around the coastal path of Tresco and is most defintely a power walk as we aim to solve the problems of the day as we yomp, burning off a few calories too. The fleece could solve my too hot/too cold issue too as I would normally wear a padded jacket, get too hot and then have to carry said jacket until I'm too cold. I'll let you know how this goes. 

With a full zip front and big roomy pockets for my walking essentials of tissues, polos and phone the jacket is not only cosy but of course lightweight. It does beg the question as to why I don't have a fleece in my wardrobe already, but maybe that's because I'd not come across one in this fabulous colour before!

The Eden jumper, again in sugar coral, is 100% cotton in a medium weight yarn in a pretty open weave - the perfect piece for this time of year when transistional dressing is the name of the game. If you're a regular reader you'll know that the end of summer is always a sad time for me as I so look forward to those long beach days and never want to say goodbye to those crazy, hazy, lazy days of summer. 

And so on to the styling of today's outfit. Apart from the two new pieces I've shopped my closet for this autumn look and am rather pleased with it, even though I may say so myself! The embroidered jeans are so blooming old that I can't remember where I bought them from, but they remain firm favourites of mine - well you can't go wrong with beads and embellishment as far as I'm concerned. 

The checked boots are by Converse, again quite old, but not looking too bad for all that. Steve and I had a beach walk after this photo shoot and the boots were perfect for gadding about on the sand as we enjoyed this (perhaps) last hurrah of summer weather.

My accessories are old too - sunglasses by Zara, flower ring was a charity shop find and heart pendant was a boutique find from years ago, and I do love the rose gold hue that works so well with the coral of the outfit.

I'm adding a link to the Seashell fleece here as it's actually on offer at the moment. 

Winter walking here I come!

Anna x