This Old Thing, our Style Not Age challenge for April

Hello lovelies and welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge! Gail has come up with this month's theme of This Old Thing sparking a variety of offerings. Mine is an old thing that my sister Dianne saw on a mannequin in the window of a charity shop and immediately thought of me. Someone had clearly tired of it and decided to move it on, but their loss is my gain - I love it! Let's see what everyone else has to show us with shall we?

Jacqui has shopped her closet for this month's feature coming up with her old favourite this denim jacket, paired with cream culottes and matching boots - read her back story on Mummabstylish.

Hilda seems to have gathered together a host of oldies but goodies. The trenchcoat is over 40 years old, boots are 20 and jeans are 15. A self confessed hoarder, Hilda was more than prepared for this month's theme. Read more from her on Over The Hilda blog.

Proving that Emma is as trim as ever, here she is wearing a pair of cut-off shorts that she's had since was 13. Wowee, how fab she looks too! Catch up on her story on the Style Splash.

Gail is sharing her grandma's jewellery for the challenge and noted that her cat also falls into the category of an Old Thing as she's 16! See more on Is This Mutton blog.

Another week, another photo-bomber! This time it's my dear friend Jilly who stopped to collect a painting on the way past.

Jilly thought the all-in-one delivered the wow factor and I must admit it did earn me a few compliments at work. There's no brand label, but the care label did say AX Paris SS19 denoting it's three years old.

The jumpsuit has a zip up back and an under the bust tie which cinches in at the waist making for a very flattering silhouette. I popped an old sweater from Primark underneath for warmth and  added a long wooden animal necklace, found in a London charity shop 4 years ago.

My rings are pre-loved and the rose gold watch is by Michael Kors.

My Zara boots are quite old, so much so that I've forgotten how long ago it is since I bought them, but they're still looking sleek as ever.

Probably the most notable feature of the jumpsuit is the additional front layer of fabric that floats about flapping in the breeze in an eye-catching manner. Fiona insisted that I hold these out to let you see these better. I do hope this has proved to be another inspirational post for you, maybe giving you some ideas for this week's outfits.

Keep well everyone!

Anna x

The corset belt with jumpsuit

A little bit of sunshine, a favourite jumpsuit, some sparkly mules and that corset belt again - and I'm giddy with excitement! It's positively ages since I featured this lovely jumpsuit on the blog and golly I'd forgotten how fab all this floaty fabric feels. 

Ooooo look - I'm even able to tap dance all of a sudden - how magical is this outfit!

I swoop, I shimmy, I glide with grace!

Oh goodness, I'm a bit dizzy now!

Anyhoo, here's that old corset belt again in another styling. What do you think? It's all about contrasting once more, silky fabric cinched with bold, statement corset in a sweet meets tough kinda way. Not to everyone's taste probably, but my appeal is not necessarily to the masses but more for the slightly off-centre, quirky type perhaps.

My style guru, Mary Portas, advises only one statement piece per ensemble, but hey you know me - more is more is another of my motto's! A huge corset belt is going to look even more awesome if you pair it with a jumpsuit with sail-like trousers and then throw in a pair of eye-popping turquoise glitter mules. Not a look for the shy and retiring that's for sure!

The details go like this: jumpsuit from H&M (ancient), belt from Primark, jewellery, all preloved, sunglasses by Quay Australia, and mules by Shellys of London.

As the UK heatwave continues I've enjoyed wafting about in this most flamboyant get up. Just another day in the life of this gallery manager cum fashion blogger. I do hope you've enjoyed today's offering and would love to hear from you if you did. Drop me a line, add a comment (you can remain anonymous if you prefer), but do let me know you're still around.

Wishing you a fab week!

Anna x

My Jumpsuit Joy with the Style Not Age collective

Hello and welcome to this month's challenge of My Jumpsuit Joy! It was my turn to chose the subject and the ladies from the collective have each embraced it well, but first here's a quick look at the funky jumpsuit I've been wearing to work recently. The giraffe pattern is fun and the fit is easy thanks to the elasticated waistband. I often wear this on busy days when we might be hanging a show or clearing up after having just taken one down. I love that there's no tucking in and keeping tidy with a jumpsuit - it just holds everything together nicely!

Also this particular jumpsuit doesn't need high heels which again helps with practicalities like climbing ladders too. We'll come back to the finer details in a moment, but first let's see what the Style Not Age ladies showcased.

Jacqui has styled her black jumpsuit with green and white leaf print with her earth tone accessories to great effect. I love those open toed mule sandals and a tribal necklace paired with this simple cream clutch completes this fresh daytime look. See Jacqui's feature on her blog Mummabstylish.

Wow! Isn't Emma looking fabulous in her Jumpsuit Joy! This elegant black all-in-one is sizzling hot with that deep neckline and huge trumpet sleeves. Red accessories pump up the volume a tad too. Catch the full story on Emma's blog Style Splash.

And here's Hilda looking stunning in her Coast jumpsuit. This is another totally flattering design giving a sleek look which enhances Hilda's perfect figure. I really like the asymmetrical neckline with the flounce over one shoulder and a strap on the other - very unusual! Catch up with Hilda's post on Over The Hilda blog here.

I don't wear neutrals very often as you'll know, but I had to make an exception with this jumpsuit when I found it in a charity shop last year. The giraffe pattern is fun and more than compensates for the lack of ta-dah colour wise. The cuffs are elasticated, as is the waist, but I still like to add a belt for definition as this has a puffy midsection otherwise. This studded belt also helps to draw the eye away from the extra material around the tummy.

The back shows the extra straps which are just a nice feature too. You'll notice the strategically placed hands covering what can often look like yards of material across the derriere. I do really, really like jumpsuits, hence My Jumpsuit Joy, but they can be a difficult item to wear and not always the most flattering, although the silky fabric of this one does give it a sleeker line. I did, in fact, have another one lined up for this feature, but time and bad weather meant I couldn't get the shots together for our deadline. I hope to feature it next month instead.

These sandals are a lovely combination of practical and trendy in my eyes. I like that I can dash up and down stairs on this solid platform, be steady on my feet, and best of all have no need to change them mid-day because they hurt!

I've been looking for the perfect black necklace for ages now and was delighted to find this one recently. It's by Melissa James a new jeweller that I discovered at the trade fair in Harrogate last month. The matt black pillow beads with one patterned silver piece say simple yet contemporary which makes it the ideal necklace for this outfit.

Holding centre stage here is the citron ring I was gifted by Gemporia last year (see here). I've just taken a meander through the ring section of their website and came across another lovely temptation, be it much more ornate, here. The other ring was a charity shop find and you'll have seen my rose gold Michael Kors watch before I expect, but I've just found it's on offer here, so hurry and you could grab yourself a bargain.

A few more outfit details are: shoes by Sixtyseven, jumpsuit by George at Asda (this was quite a surprise for me), belt was a gift and is from Portugal, tee shirt is preloved with no label and sunnies are by Quay Australia. 

My Jumpsuit Joy may not have been quite what I envisaged personally, but the ladies did me proud with their offerings. Jacqui will be hosting the challenge next month and I fancy it will have a slightly different aspect to it ... 

Thanks for dropping by and see you soon!

This week I'll be linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Jacqui of Mummabstylish

Anna x

Jumpsuit joy

I've lost count of the number of times I've worn this jumpsuit to work and have tried to get some shots of it for the blog. Every time Polly and I got lined up for a shoot, something intervened. I bought this last year and it has been a great mainstay in my working wardrobe ever since. I love the easy fit more than anything for those days when I'm hanging art and I don't want to be bothered with keeping a blouse tucked in or finding the right length of top to wear with a very tailored pair of trousers. No, there's none of that with this lovely all-in-one. 

Most women probably have a go-to dress that offers the same simple solution when they want an easy to wear outfit. The jumpsuit affords me freedom to move, freedom to accessorise and freedom to introduce another complimentary colour to give it a face lift. Lime green looks fab against the navy and grey, as does a zingy lemon and of course white is a classic partner too. Cerise would look stunning, but I've not tried that one yet, nor turquoise which is a favourite summer colour of mine. The list of permutations is endless. Whether we'll manage to contrive another photo shoot showcasing any of these within the next 12 months remains to be seen, but at least you know we'll be aiming for that at some point!

The jumpsuit and belt hail from H&M, orange vest from M&S (via charity shop), the sandals were from New Zealand and the brand is Ko Fashion, by Boston Babe. The bangle was a charity shop find, yellow stoned ring is by Martin James, the other ring is from Diana Porter see here and my necklace was a gift. Once again my sunglasses are from Quay Australia. 

And finally...Tomorrow is the 20th of the month meaning that it's Ping Pong Post day. I've never had to post on two consecutive day before, and I do hope that works out as a treat for you. Here's a sneak preview of the item we will all be styling up. I think I can honestly say it's been the most challenging item for me so far. Annie sent this all the way from Hong Kong to Samantha and I here in the UK, so I hope we can both do it justice after all the miles it's travelled. See you all tomorrow then!

Anna x

Ping Pong Post 3

Hello and welcome to the third edition of Ping Pong Post. For any new readers, you can catch up on how this feature came about here. Today's outfit is spawned by this wonderful jumpsuit from Samantha of Fake Fabulous. Even though I own a couple of jumpsuits, it's still a great challenge to style up one that I hadn't chosen myself. The fabric is silky, hangs really well, and the cut is quite slim so is very elongating for my short frame. All in all, it was a super piece to style up. 

First of all let's have a look at what Ann made of the purple all-in-one. Ann is the creator and editor of Kremb de la Kremb which showcases not not only her fashion stories, but also her travel tales and imaginative diy projects such as her handbag featured here. Ann lives in Hong Kong, and therefore benefits from a very colourful and highly decorated environment, meaning her photo shoots are always unique. In our first Ping Pong Post Ann managed to find a backdrop which featured all the colours of our jacket that day which wasn't any easy task - check it out here. She has done another great job in finding this beautiful sky blue background to perfectly offset the purple jumpsuit and also to compliment her gorgeous tan.

I love Ann's styling of this. Sleek, elegant and understated. Well played, Ann. The idea of tying up the hems is brilliant and really gives the jumpsuit a very different outline. 

Ann's outfit details are -

Silver necklace and bracelet--Target

Jumpsuit--Sam's

Clutch--DIY by me!

Satin pumps--Goodwill (US charity shop)

Follow Ann on Instagram

Next up is Samantha wearing her jumpsuit in March before she sent it off its travels. In our PPP2 Samantha showcased a very unique looking fishbone necklace which was most definitely the star of the show - see it here. Today's necklace is another made-to-match piece that sets off the rest of the outfit to perfection. Great choice Samantha. And those metallic green pumps are worth more than just a mention too!

Samantha's fashion blog Fake Fabulous is a great source of inspiration to many. She posts three times a week about the latest trends as well as giving fashion advice on all sorts of dilemmas such as her recent piece on How to avoid looking frumpy as a wedding guest. Her style is cute, quirky and constantly evolving. She has a huge following who love her honest, inquisitive and challenging take on the boundaries imposed on female fashion. Can a woman wear...? is a theme which crops up frequently on her blog as she sets out the argument and then steers the reader through the pitfalls of the item in question, inevitably meaning that the answer is ...yes she can!

Samantha's outfit details are

Jumpsuit: I can’t remember!!

Jacket: French Connection.

Vest top: Charity shop

Necklace: Oliver bonas

Shoes: Marta Johnson

Bag: Linea

Sash: Salvaged from another dress

Follow Samantha on Instagram 

So here we are with my spin on this ferocious jumpsuit. I had to don my highest heels to wear it, but the shoes ended up being the linchpin of the entire ensemble. By introducing stripes to the mix I found a lovely collection of pieces which married up beautifully. See what you think.

My regular readers will know that I love to do a bit of pattern mixing and this clash of spots and stipes means I'm in my element. Although I love to mix things up, I never want to look thrown together. My outfits are always well considered, balanced in both colour and shape so that the whole thing is effective. Even though I might wear some pretty way outlandish things from time to time - this red petticoat comes to mind - even the outlandish has to look polished. Dressing up is my daily pleasure, it's what makes me, me. 

My outfit details are -

Jumpsuit: Samantha's

Waistcoat: charity shop

Tee shirt: Primark

Shoes: M&S

Handbag: "Borrowed" from my daughter

Pendant: from New Zealand

Turquoise bangle: old

Gold bangle: charity shop

Rings: charity shop

Sunglasses: Quay Australia

Today I'm linking up with 

Sheela of Sheela Writes

So there we have it. Ping Pong Post 3 accomplished with each of our own personalities shining through. We're enjoying this new feature and I hope that you are too. On the 20th June we'll all be sporting something from Ann. That particular something is currently mid-air between Hong Kong and the UK and I think may well be a dress. Hopefully summer will arrive about the same time it does so that Samantha and I can do a bit less layering up next time. Until then please do drop by on Sunday for my next post. Thank you for taking the time to visit, and I would love it if you could add a comment to my blog if I've inspired you or sparked an interest. Or perhaps you might to prefer to follow me on Instagram

Anna x