Upcycling my Boden trouser suit

Recently I bought these rather fabulous paisley print velvet trousers, part of a suit that I found on Vinted. The jacket was advertised as a size 12 but the matching trousers were a size 6. Not to put off by that I went ahead and purchased the two piece.  Not surprisingly the trousers didn't fit so I set about altering them.

I'll confess that I don't have a vast array of fabrics to hand, nor is there a fabric shop nearby, so I had to botch the make somewhat. I opened up the side seam of the outside leg of the trousers and added a two inch strip of fabric to each leg, one strip of yellow and the other in orange. That wasn't quite as successful as I had imagined so I then added this brilliant pop of orange trim to both trousers and round the cuffs of the jacket.

Ta-dah! My Boden suit was duly reinvented, customised/botched by my own fair hands with a sprinkling of imagination. 

The suit feels very me; colouful, joyful and full of fun. The cream ruffle shirt and gold boots are both part of my wardrobe, as is the orange belt. The belt really pulls everything together doesn't it!

This was one of my sewing projects when I was on my staycation last week. Increasingly I yearn to be more creative, especially around my clothes. Making clothes from scratch isn't as exciting to me as reinventing a piece of clothing and turning it into something quite unique. Beading, trims and embroidery all capture my imagination. In fact I've booked myself onto a beginners course in beadwork and embroidery in January which coincides perfectly with my birthday. It takes place at Hampton Court Palace - very exciting!

As soon as I'd finished my upcycling I donned my suit and headed out to capture these shots for you. I'm terribly pleased with these small adjustments, purely because they turn a standard suit into something that reflects my flamboyant personality.

A thoroughly joyful pastime, that's what sewing is for me. I like nothing better than to be surrounded by fledgling projects, often half birthed due to my lack of foresight or skill, but the challenge is so satisfying - I love testing myself, testing my creativity to see if I can problem solve as well as surprise myself that I've actually got the skills to pull something off. Something like this really does spark joy!

                                                                            Anna x

Another summer season has come and gone!

Hi there! Yes, this was last Friday, the final day of trading for our summer season at Gallery Tresco. We've had one of our most successful seasons this year with great trading figures which makes me feel very proud. I love my job, but of course you know that. That said, I've found it exhausting at times which at my age is probably quite normal. Most women at 68 have chosen to retire or at least reduce their work committments, but I'm not quite ready to leave my position as yet.

I stand proudly in front of the business; happy to take a breather for a moment. I've just had a week at home to recharge my batteries and generally catch up on chores and personal admin. 

There's nothing new in my outfit of the day. The brocade jacket is by Clements Ribeiro, part of a two piece that I bought in Manchester TK Maxx eight years ago during my JD Williams era, worn with satin Zara combat trousers and a lace bodysuit and my favourite gold cowboy boots.

Nothing new with my accessories either; my old Storm watch is still going strong, worn with Oliver Bonas sunglasses, and the multistrand Debenhams pearl necklace is still holding on too along with the Amazon bejewelled belt, Emily Nixon rings and rather ancient Diana Porter silver and gold ring.

Fiona did the honours with my photos again this week. A fair amount of heckling took place as we tried to find our moment in between photo-bombers and visitors returning from their boat trip. 

I return to work on Monday to tackle all of my Winter Works schedule so wish me luck with that. I don't think I've ever completed my list of winter jobs and don't expect to achieve everything this year either!

                                                                           Anna x

Embracing Autumn with the gang

Hello again! Yes, it's that time of the month again where I hook up with my stylish friends for our monthly challenge. Style Not Age is hosting the theme of Embracing Autumn, thanks to Hilda. So let's catch up with her first to see how she's approaching it...

Hilda is also embracing spiced colours for her outfit this month. Cream trousers and ginger tops show that we're both thinking along the same lines for autumn. See more on her blog here. 

Jacqui has opted for baby blue and rich chocolate hues for her favourite autumn look and doesn't she wear it well! Catch up on all of her news on Mummabstylish blog. 

Emma is channelling her most cool and stylish self in her autumn togs. Trousers and cardi are both from M&S topped with a rather fab Burberry scarf. More on her look on The Style Splash. 

I had great plans for my autumn look, but time and the weather impacted on that. Instead here's something that I wore to work last week: the cream jeans are by Seasalt purchased earlier this year. My M&S loop knit oversized sweater was the perfect ploy for the first seriously cold day at work; I even added a long sleeved thermal underneath.

The suede jacket was a purchase in August when I was in Inverness. I found it in TK Maxx for the princely sum of £30. A suede jacket for 30 quid??? Yes, how on earth could I resist it?

I don't often opt for a monotone look but cream was the colour of the day. It feels a bit different for me, understated I suppose, but by adding the ginger jacket it balanced things out for me.

The brand new cream boots by Catwalk were a charity shop find last winter and are a welcome addition to my footwear collection. They are a broad fit and along with the chunky sole make for pretty much my dream ankle boot. So that rounds things up for me and the my fashion friends. As always, let's hope we've given you some ideas for the season ahead. Until next time, take care!

                                                                                Anna x

Embracing autumn

There's no getting away from it; autumn is here and the good news is that I'm all caught up now. My summer clothes are all packed up. Summer sandals have been swapped for boots of all kinds. And those extra layers of jackets and coats are hung up in the wardrobe and are ready for the months ahead.

This red and yellow combination is a bold welcome to the cold months and shorter days to come. I'm always surprised when I unpack my other season clothes as I often have unworn pieces waiting to have their first showcase. 

And so it is with these yellow and leopard toed boots. I bought them from Vinted and packed them away before I had the chance to wear them.

Pattern clashing is one of my favourite plays; it's great fun to mix unexpected patterns, especially when they harmonise as well as these do. Tartan, fairisle and leopard print don't normally hold court together and yet here I think they sit together perfectly.

Apart from the boots nothing here is new and probably has been seen by you previously. The red fringed suede jacket was a purchase from a vintage shop in Penzance some time ago. I don't wear it often enough and need to try harder to give it an airing more frequently.

As dark nights beckon and log fires welcome us home I'm ready to cosy up with winter woollies and fur coats on the fashion front. I've also descended into sewing bee mode once again now that the madness of summer deadlines are over. Next week I'll be wearing my latest sewing success - a highly adorned little jacket  - to a family dinner to celebrate Steve's birthday. I'm excited to both wear it and then showcase it to you. 

                                                                             Anna x

Sadly, summer is over

Much as it pains me to say, summer is indeed over. But before I descend into autumn/winter dressing I thought I'd leave you with one of my much-loved outfits; the peapod trouser suit which I wore just a couple of weeks ago.

For the past four years this trouser suit has been cropping up not only on the blog but regularly in my workplace, Gallery Tresco, much to the joy and admiration of many of our customers. If you missed the introduction of this dazzling co-ord then see the first post about it here.

This latest iteration sees me adding my summer holiday hat with pleasing results. The colours work very well together and the addition of a hat adds style and sharpness that's appealing too. Do you agree?

My Oliver Bonas sunglasses work nicely with the outfit, as do my very old beads which suddenly came into their own here. 

My other accessories are: dragonfly brooch (a present from my daughter), vintage recycled jewellery repurposed into this rather fabulous bracelet, my old bejewelled leather belt is still going strong and the finishing touch are my Emily Nixon sapphire and diamond rings. 

There's nothing understated about this look. My shiny silver boots finish everything in true show-off style. I make no apologies here. This look is one of my most complimented at work, so clearly I'm not alone in my appreciation of all things bling. The peapod trouser suit is statement dressing at its best and I'm very proud of it. 

Dressing up gives me the opportunity to take on another personality, one who has supreme self-confidence. But surely that's the point of clothing after all? Clothes are our armour, our vision of ourselves that we offer up to the world. I choose to offer up my best self every day, for who knows when our last day may be? If I'm remembered for being that woman on Tresco who wore her best every single day, then that's fine by me.

                                                                            Anna x

Anniversary time again!

Oh my goodness, I don't know where the time has gone, but it's our wedding anniversary again - or rather, on Saturday 3rd October we celebrated 45 years of marriage! I've gathered together some images of the big day four and a half decades ago as well as some of the night when we went to celebrate at the Ruin Beach Cafe on Tresco.

We were married at the Registry Office on St Mary's and travelled back to Tresco by boat on what was quite a stormy day.

Steve Pritchard met us off the boat taking us by horse and cart to the Island Hotel where my husband's gig crew greeted us with crossed gig paddles held aloft in the traditional arch for us to walk under for good luck.

So young and fresh faced at only 23 years old, but it was a pretty normal age to tie the knot at that time. Oh how things have changed nowadays!

The actual day went past in a blur, but I remember feel so relieved that the day had come and that we were at last married. Steve was Tresco's most eligible bachelor and I really couldn't believe that I'd hooked him. I was quite unpopular with some of the local girls that I had swept in and scooped him up. Hahahah!

I still pinch myself that I love him as much now, if not more, than I did on that wonderful day. I'm incredibly lucky and do count my blessings every day. It's so important to give thanks for all of the the good things that have made my life such a happy journey.

As you can see, it was a glorious evening here on Saturday. I enlisted Jamie to capture the moment as I was keen to have a photo of us together as it's such a rare event.

My outfit comprises of mostly old pieces: the gold boots are very old now, jeans likewise as is the white vest top. The star of the show however has to be this magnificent silk and beaded vintage jacket. I found it recently on Vinted and paid the crazy price of only £30. Some beads were missing which was easily rectified and I replaced the rusty hooks and eyes but beyond that the piece is in immaculate condition.

The craftmanship is amazing as you can see. Yet more of my luck for all to see!

The bag was a charity shop find recently. I added some black cord to convert it to a shoulder bag. It was only £5! A crazy price for a great find.

I'd spent the afternoon sewing gold beads onto the two hearts on my jeans as they were beginning to come apart. I didn't do a very good job so that's inspired me to look into taking a course in beadwork in the future as I do love both beadwork and embroidery.

Many thanks for joining us today. I hope our happy story strikes a chord with you too. Here's to all of us whose relationship has stood the test of time and are still proud to say we're in love.

                                                                                Anna x