My new spring coat by Masai

Hello and sorry for posting so late this week, but it's been a bit of a hectic one! I won't bore you with the details but suffice to say that I'm like the proverbial swan, appearing to glide along effortlessly while in fact there's a whole lot of paddling away underneath the surface. Anyway, I was really keen to share this rather wonderful new (to me) spring coat by Masai, a brand I've not come across until now. Well, I say now, when in fact I found this beautiful coat in a charity shop last autumn and I was wowed by not just the fabric, but also the oversized shape and of course the fabulous colour. Would you believe that it only cost me £10? Bargain of the year I'd say!

The lining too deserves a mention which is why I've turned the sleeves up to created these striped cuffs. The fabric of the coat defies my descriptive powers, but it's like a very tight crinkle type material. Hopefully someone out there will be able to tell me what that might be... The size is very oversized as it an XXL, but that is part of it's charm as far as I'm concerned as I do love the feeling of lots of room and it's perfect for wearing over the top of a big sweater or in this case over a suit jacket without it being a squeeze.

Another joyful element of today's look is my Jean Muir suit. It reminds me of my primary school teacher who always wore a woollen suit like this, but it was less flamboyant of course and always with a more fitted skirt. She referred to it as not a suit but a costume - it's funny how nearly 60 years on and I still remember that. Maybe she was a style influencer of her time.

Much as I absolutely love this suit I'm very aware that it could look a bit conservative for me, hence my adding this vibrant bodysuit to lift it out of the ordinary. All of the colours pop and leave no doubt about what this look is all about - fun!

The chunky yellow necklace also adds to the funky look along with my blue Oliver Bonas sunglasses. I was really happy with the final result.

I adore this cute little handbag. The beaded handles add character which I love. The brand is Dune but I found it in TK Maxx a few years ago. My rings of the moment are both by Emily Nixon.

My yellow tights were from Snag and trainers were from ASOS some time ago. They both work perfectly with the outfit. And best of all, wearing trainers to work kept my feet happy all day long.

So that's it! My new spring coat is bit of corker, isn't it? Much as I love summer I don't want it to come too quickly as I'd like to drift about in this dream of a coat for a little while longer.

I must add that on Monday we're about to face our Monthly Style Challenge for April. I've somehow missed the earlier prompts so I'm now off to search through my closet to see what I can come up with. Please do join me again for this. In the meantime, have a great weekeend!

                                                                                Anna x

Fun with pattern play

Hot off the press - this is today's work outfit! A comment from my blogging friend about last week's offering was pretty accurate about my rather tame trousers; so thank you Sheila for your constructive criticism! It spurred me on to work a bit harder with this week's post.

I spent more time on curating the outfit than ironing this time and I do believe it paid off. There's nothing new here, but that's not to say that it's not a fun offering. I'm delighted to say that this does spark joy for me and was much appreciated by a couple of lovely ladies too while I was serving them at work. One of them remarked that she would never have put these patterns plus the necklace together, but what a raving success it was - praise indeed for my pattern play!

The jacket and trousers are both by Zara, both second hand, and the H&M shirt was a charity shop buy some time ago, but I think this may be its first appearance on the blog. The necklace is from Topshop many moons ago and the purple stretch belt is very old too. Once again I'm wearing my two Emily Nixon rings as is my wont at the moment.

My sunglasses are old too, but still rather lovely - they're by Radley London. I'm not sure this is the most flattering of my snaps but it does show up the pattern play perfectly.

It's the first time this year for me to wear sandals; these were featured heavily last year I fancy as they're pretty much my favourite sandals of the moment. I bought them on Vinted and would love to find them again in another colourway, but no joy as yet.

Fiona did the honours taking the photos today at the end of our working day. We were caught up in the end of day rush hour although our idea of rush hour and yours will probably be many miles apart. Anyway, Fiona attracted attention as she was kneeling down for some shots and a lady approached her enquiring if she was on her knee proposing to me... We were quite tickled by that.

                                                                                    Anna x

Drinks party

Wednesday evenings are our drinks party nights at Gallery Tresco and this was my outfit from the latest one. I have a quick break after the dayshift, drink a cuppa and then I search for inspiration as to what to wear for the evening do. My outfit is usually led by the weather, in particular the temperature as I hate to be cold, but also dread to overheat. 

It had been a beautiful sunny day which turned into a golden balmy evening so that formed my decision to opt for this lightweight duster coat. I altered it two years ago (see the full post here) and don't seem to have worn it again since.

I was about to say, I can't imagine why I've not worn it, but really I think it's because it's so dressy and I really don't have many occasions to swan about in it - apart from Gallery parties! Anyway, I've set myself the challenge to get more wear out of it this year.

Underneath the coat I'm wearing a pair of nicely fitted (Primark) trousers that I was about to cull, but I decided to try them on first and - they look absolutely fine! The only problem with them is that they're a manmade fibre and have to be ironed on a cool setting plus they were very creased from sitting packed up in a suitcase for months on end. All in all, it took amost 25 minutes to get them smoothed out enough to wear. Maybe that's why I was getting rid of them...

The cream lace bodysuit was a Vinted purchase from either last summer or the previous one, but whichever it has been a really useful addition to my wardrobe as I wear it lots. I added a stretch beaded belt, very old from Tu, as the colours seemed to tie in well and I seem to be partial to a stretchy belt to pull a look together. None of my jewellery is new, but the necklaces were spot on colourwise to wear with the shimmering coat. The short one with cowrie shells is by Julian Warrender (bought from the Gallery) and the long one is my much loved Dancing Girl from years ago, by Charlie Dodge, also from Gallery Tresco. Both my rings are by Emily Nixon. Sunglasses are old, from Radley London.

I was delighted to pair the jacket with my MOMA fabric boots as one of the toes has the same fabulous turquoise shade as the coat. All in all, the outfit is very me and therefore I rated it as a success, and that's all that matters. I don't rely on compliments or feedback from others - of course, that's lovely and a bonus - but all I need is to see something in the mirror that makes me smile (or sometimes even dance) and I know I've got it right. 

And finally, I must thank Rachel for taking my blog photos after the party was over. We'd had a successful evening with not too many guests and most of them were happy to stand outside with a drink in hand, chatting and enjoying the view. It was a lovely end to the day - happy guests and Rachel and I wandered off home to bask in the afterglow of a job well done. Oh, and here's that view...

Thanks for swinging by and do come again!

Anna x

Muted shades for March

Hello and welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge! This month Jacqui chose Muted shades for March, a lovely choice indeed. I've shopped my closet for my outfit but it'll be new to you as the cardigan and jeans have been stashed away from some months now. First though, let's do the honours with my fashionable friends to see what they came up with.

So here's Jacqui's outfit, a lovely combination from Cotton Traders. The muted shades work so well with Jacqui's dark hair and colouring. Hop across to read her blog post on Mummabstylish. 

More muted separates from Emma... The multicoloured cardigan is from Vinted, trousers are from ASOS and trainers are by Puma. Check out her back story on The Style Splash blog.

Hilda is sporting a pale pink two piece from Vinted along with jeans by Frame. She was attending the launch of a spring collection from Avoca. See more about this on Over The Hilda.

My jeans were a charity shop find, the brand is Berksha and they are super comfy thanks to the back of them being elasticated - oh dear, is this my age showing? The cotton cardigan is from TK Maxx and is the perfect spring layer as it's lightweight and such a pretty colour.

My floral Dr Marten boots are making a regular appearance on the blog and I have no apologies for that as I love 'em!

The pop of blue thanks to my Oliver Bonas sunglasses add a certain charm to the outfit. The rings are both old and preloved, but are still a great addition to the look. The gold chain necklace is also an old piece of jewellery.

It was such a treat to see the sunshine when we took these snaps last weekend. Fingers crossed that Easter will bring some equally lovely weather too. Thanks for swinging by!

                                                            Anna x

That beautiful Boden suit

Hello, and how are you? I'm late posting again this week and it'll be no surprise to you that work is still holdinng me hostage as I try to catch up with being open to the public. But hey, here I am sporting my beautiful Boden trouser suit!

Last seen on the blog when I went to Paris (see here) the suit really does deliver the wow factor and has had a few airings over the months, always with lots of praise. The vibrant colours and soft velvet really do make it an eye-catching outfit. We were hosting a family event in the gallery that day and I thought it fitting that I should wear this flamboyant outfit for such a creative event.

We host "Paint the Day" several times a year and it's always well attended. It's a very simple format; we provide paper mounted on boards plus a variety of paints, pens, pencils, charcoal and graphite for anyone to take away and capture the island in their own way. It's a lovely way to create an opportunity that may not happen otherwise. The resulting works are then displayed alongside our current exhibition and I always point out that they can each boast to have had their artwork exhibited on the wall at Gallery Tresco, even if it's just for a day or two.

I'm more aware than ever that I must wear my lovely outfits now! Age and time are, if not exactly running out, then at least they do seem to be galloping along. At the same time however, I am working hard to dejunk all sorts of things, including clothes, from my home as I simply have too much of everything. 35 years of living in the same house and golly what a lot we've gathered!

I teamed the suit with a shocking pink linen shirt, pre-loved, from M&S. Perspex pink rings are both old, as is the bejewelled white belt.

The bright blue sunglasses are from Oliver Bonas and add yet another pop of colour, not that it was really needed. The big silver link chain necklace is old too.

The embroidered canvas boots are only of their second outing. I love them so much but do worry about getting them marked or damaged - but of course, that stupid because there's no point in having them if I don't wear them. Doh!

I'm so blooming lucky to have the perfect job that allows me to dress up in whatever I fancy. There's barely a day goes by without someone remarking on the view and what an amazing workplace or else that I'm perfectly suited for the job as I'm wearing a colourful/snazzy/quirky outfit. I honestly never take it for granted. I'll leave you with a fab beach scene from a walk I had last weekend. Thanks for dropping by!

See you next time!

Anna x

That was Mother's Day!

How was your Mother's Day? Did you get up to much or was it all about doing nothing for a change? Jamie treated us to lunch at the Ruin Beach cafe which was a lovely little outing. Of course we missed having Sasha with us but she was having a little outing herself as she took the train to Chester for the day. 

Tresco daffodils picked by Jamie brightened up the house along with cards and a lovely tub of body butter from Sasha. 

The weather was showery so my orange Barbour jacket was perfect to go with this outfit. We stopped on the way to the beachside cafe and Jamie did the honours with the photos. As always there was much bossiness from me and a look of panic on his face in response.

The dress is old, from Vinted maybe last year but pepped up with these rather fabulous and totally perfect tights that were a birthday gift from Fiona. I wore a thermal long sleeved top under the dress as it was a decidedly cold day. The black patent boots are from Deichman and my handbag is by Steve Madden. All in all, I was rather pleased with the look.

Steve assisted from the sidelines holding my coat as the wind gusted round about us and I pretended it was a warm spring day.

The orange perspex rings seemed right for this bright outfit and I added my Vivienne Westwood orb necklace. It was a fun look and felt very me.

We had a lovely, gentle lunch with a beautiful view to boot - it was a good time to count my blessings. As I write this now my husband is listening to James Taylor and I'm feeling rather sentimental about our life together. Recently one of my dear friends, Lucy Dorrien-Smith passed away after her long battle with cancer. Lucy was a big part of my life on Tresco, giving me the job at Gallery Tresco 28 years ago and mentoring me in the role as Manager some time later. But not only was she my boss, but a dear friend, supporter and guiding light when life was tough. Lucy believed in me, encouraged me and helped me to become the woman I am today. I'm missing her daily and can't quite get my head around the sense of loss that has hit me. To know that she's no longer in pain is the only balm to my sadness.

Dearest Lucy, you've left a huge gap in our tiny community, the loss is immense.

Anna x