Kimono My House, our SNA challenge for July

Hello and welcome once again to our Monthly Style Challenge where my friends and I all take turns at choosing a theme. Gail has opted for Kimonos this time, resulting in a lovely variety of styles and colours. Mine is more of an overshirt, but that's mainly because kimonos are few and far between in my wardrobe. Let's see how the four fabulous fashionistas fared, shall we?

Summer is here, according to Jacqui! While the rest of the country is besieged with showers, Jacqui is ready to hit the beach in this beautiful all-white outfit complete with lace kimono. See her backstory on her blog Mummabstylish.

Hilda is showing the local shoppers how to do it in style in her fabulous paisley patterned kimono over her white trousers and mules. Catch up with her news on Over The Hilda blog.

Canary yellow trousers and blue patterned kimono make for a colourful offering from Emma this month. Her eclectic mix comes from the high street, eBay and charity shops to maximum effect. Read more from Emma on the Style Splash blog.

Gail's palette in more understated in soft turquoise, lilac and white. This elegant look comes from the high street aka John Lewis, M&S and ASOS to create a soft summery feel. Find out more on Is This Mutton.

My outfit comes from Number 36 in Penzance, a small boutique that I frequent when I'm on the mainland. The shop is small and beautifully curated to offer unique pieces in fine fabrics, usually holding only one of each style and colour to ensure clients find something special. The prices are good too, given that you end up with an individual garment or outfit that you know won't be seen elsewhere. My white linen trousers have a Made in Italy label as does the cotton kimono/overshirt. 

I'm wearing a white vest top and stretch belt to finish the look off, along with a pair of silver and white sandals. White sunglasses are obvious touch for this summer inspired outfit, although summer is playing hide and seek currently.

My silver and glass bauble necklace as well as both my rings are pre-loved from charity shops over the years, and the stretch belt is ancient, from good old Dorothy Perkins.

Apologies for my absence last week. 5am starts and bouts of insomnia are both taking their toll on me at this time of year, resulting in a mini-burnout situation. I'm trying to take things easy on the home front as that's the only area I can step back from currently, which means minimal amounts of after work chores, including admin. Thank you once again for being there, for coming back to read the blog and for your lovely comments which mean so much to me. I'll finish off with a shot of my back garden and the glorious agapanthus that are in bloom. 

Have a great week!

Anna x

Frida Kahlo tee shirt

You may have seen this Frida Kahlo tee shirt last week when I wore it to our family lunch for Mother's day - see here. Well, here it is having another outing in what my husband refers to as my Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club look. I hadn't styled it that way. Like all of my outfits it just kind of evolved.

The day was a bit grey, dull and threatening to rain. I'd had my swim which was chilly as ever, but always worth the effort as it lifted my mood. Grey days are not my best, so as I cycled home from the beach I started thinking how I could avoid my default setting of wearing dark clothes as I often do on these dark days. This red kimono came to mind - nothing could be more the extreme opposite of greys and blacks. 

The kimono was a scoop from a charity shop in Truro last year costing me all of £3! I still can't believe my luck with this. It's a smooth satin finish, decorated with ornate embroidery. It's a year since I last wore it (see here). It seemed like the obvious thing to do to add the pretty floral Frida tee shirt (from Primark) to continue the theme.

I bought these rather fabulous trousers in the Oxfam shop in Truro last month. The shop has extended their premises since I was last there and it's much better lit with more room between the racks. I fancy that they may have a new manager as the lay out is more organised, the clothes are curated in better groups and the accessories are displayed better too. I spent a fair bit of time browsing, but only fell in love with one piece. I paid £20 for these heavyweight trousers and feel that they're worth every penny. Fully lined and covered with embroidery, I would have been mad not to grab these. They have no labels, nothing to say a brand and do look like a sample piece. The red leather belt is pre-loved, by Tommy Hilfiger and the perspex ring was another charity shop find.

The black patent boots were from the recent Topshop sale, reduced to half price at £35. My black patent oxfords are beginning to show signs of wear and tear to the point that they're cracking so these will be perfect replacements. The heel isn't too high, the width across the mid-foot is good and I'm find these comfortable enough to wear all day - result!

I've scheduled this post to go live this weekend while I'm away at the annual buying fair in Harrogate. I'm considering taking this as one of my outfits to wear. I love to see all of the stall holders dressed up for the event, and this does cascade on to the visitors too. This year I ought to try to take a clutch of photos for you to see some of the creatives and what they put together to wear - I certainly won't look out of place amongst the other peacocks!

                                                                                            Anna x

Home again!

Hello and happy Sunday to you! Thank you for joining me as I return from my stint on the mainland. The purpose of my trip was to visit the British Craft Trade Fair in Harrogate where I do the main gift buying for the gallery. It was as fruitful an event as ever which is always a relief after the two days of travelling it takes to get there. I spend a whole day on the train travelling from Cornwall to Yorkshire during which time I have waves of excitement at the prospect of finding some fab new gifts and then I also worry that the Fair may yield nothing to suit my audience. My journey of nine hours is punctuated by thoughts on the two extremes.

This was the outfit I wore on day two of the Fair. If you missed the first outfit then click here to find that one. By the second day I'd made a few new acquaintances as well as meeting up with some regular suppliers and most of them declared this as their outfit of the day - very kind of you all! The kimono was a charity shop find (no surprises there) and was only £3, which frankly is quite ridiculous for an authentic Chinese piece of this quality. 

You'll no doubt recognise the obligatory sock boots (H&M) along with the embroidered velour track pants (Zara). Today I've added my beloved leather handbag from many years ago - it was one of my first vintage finds in a charity shop in Ireland when I was there on holiday with my sisters. My sisters joined me this time in Harrogate too, so that I had company in the evenings to go out for dinner.

I've adapted the outfit to the mild temperature by adding a silk shirt underneath (preloved, Next brand). When I was in Harrogate the weather was quite cold, very cold in fact, so much so that I wore a polo neck sweater with this, plus a long sleeved thermal top underneath. We also had torrential rain one day, followed by fog and a bitterly cold breeze, so we really did get value for our money weather-wise!

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed my new sunglasses from my favoured brand Quay. I bought three new pairs of Quay Australia sunglasses from TK Maxx in Harrogate. On the face of it, this may seem extravagant, but when you take into account that these were all reduced in the sale meaning I got three for the price of one, then that's perfectly sensible or at least reasonable, isn't it? The gold chain was a gift, and the rings are preloved.

It's always nice to have a trip away, to have a change of scenery and Harrogate certainly does have lots of lovely scenery as well as things to enjoy. The tearooms at Bettys are a highlight of anyone's stay, whether it's for the tradition of afternoon tea or to buy some sweet treats to take home. My bags were bursting with goodies for the family on my return.

My next post will feature my third outfit of the Fair plus the further joys of Harrogate by way of its charity shopping. You'll not be surprised to hear that I couldn't fit all of my lovely loot into my suitcase and therefore had to send two boxes home by post. Hopefully within the next couple of days these will arrive and I can take some snaps for the blog. I have some vintage delights to share with you as well as some more bargains from TK Maxx. 

I hope you have a super weekend and look forward to catching up with you again soon!

Linking with -

Jacqui of Mummabstylish 

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Anna x