Monochrome madness

Hurrah for Friday! How wonderful it is to be teetering on the edge of the weekend! I'm running on low at the moment, counting the days until I finish the season. It's only a week away now - a week until I can relax and take some time off. It'll be a treat, that's for sure.

But in the meantime, this outfit of the day is all about black and white and how it doesn't have to be as boring as it might sound. My mish-mash style is a wonderfully riotous blend of era's that represent me, but only for today. The chameleon in me will have reinvented herself by tomorrow you understand.

The houndstooth check skirt is a quirky mix of two different sizes of checks and what's more surprising is that it's by M&S. Purchased second hand from the Cornwall Air Ambulance shop last year, it was in almost mint condition and a fantastic find. I'm always on the lookout for the unusual, but didn't expect M&S to provide it.

My Michael Kors studded jacket on the other hand, wasn't second hand, but was a thrilling find at TK Maxx a few years ago when Steve and I were overnighting in Truro on our way to Venice. The metal studs on the jacket make it so weighty that I had to box it up and post it back home to myself as it was taking up too much of my luggage allowance. It's a funky jeans jacket, perfect for lifting any outfit out of the doldrums, not that you could say that about this one!

Pre-loved rings and this mixed metal necklace add a bit more fun to the look. Black and white sunglasses are by Quay Australia in case you didn't know.

These rather fabulous two tone oxfords are by Church's and of course the most striking part of them has to be the dazzling blue soles. I've had them for two years now, but don't wear them often as they are so blooming special that I don't want them to get damaged. It's not really about keeping them for best, more that I want them to last forever, and being Church's they probably will!

Note how the creative director arranged for a perfectly coordinating black and white boat to drift past at just the right moment. 

And finally, just a little bit of larking about for Fiona and I before we left the premises. The Lighthouse had been a great backdrop for this shoot. A tiny lull between bookings had allowed us a day to make use of the house. We had a taste of living in the lap of luxury and goodness, how special we felt.

There was a musical sound track to this, Ain't no stopping us now, and the only thing that did stop me was the dodgy mum dancing! 

Coming up on Monday will be our monthly style challenge for the Style Not Age collective so do please swing by to see what we're up to this time.

Until then, have a great weekend!

Anna x

Check me out! June with the Style not Age collective.

Welcome to our June challenge!

Hello! Can you believe that it's the end of June already? This month it was my turn to choose the theme and I came up with Check me out! I was keen to bring this summer trouser suit out again and threw down the gauntlet to the style crew to see what they came up with.  So let's catch up on my friends to see what they made of the checkered challenge.

Emma from Style Splash has created her own black and white trousersuit by pairing a jacket from M&S and trousers from Zara and doesn't it look fab? I adore the spotty handbag too - what a great style feature!

Another take on the checkered trouser suit from Gail of Is This Mutton? This is pink perfection don't you think? And wowee, I do love those metallic boots!

Jacqui has added a lightweight checked shirt over her summer dress to great effect. Blue and white are a lovely fresh mix. See more of this on her blog Mummabstylish.

This funky young look is brilliant on Hilda. I love the checked trousers paired with these cool trainers. See the full story on Over The Hilda. 

April last year was when I first showcased this Primark trouser suit (see here). I've opted for a total black and white palette this time. The black tee shirt was a sale item from Topshop last spring. Monochrome isn't normally my thing, but sometimes I like to go for a classic look.

The silver rings are pre-loved.

My shoes are by Nine West - a fabulous find in TK Maxx last year.

The mirror sunglasses with white and black frames are by Quay Australia. They're probably my most featured sunnies of all time, but I shan't apologise for that as I love them! The retro necklace was yet another charity shop scoop (£2.50).

And that rounds up this month's challenge. I do hope that we might have given you some new style ideas to inspire you. I'm off to raid my closet to see if I can recreate one or two of these looks...

Thanks again for joining us and I'll be back on Friday with my latest dressing up ensemble.

See you next time!

Anna x

Midweek monchrome

Hi! How's your week going? Mine is busy as ever, with a few interesting challenges, but hey what do think about my midweek offering? Monochrome isn't usually my thing, but sometimes I like to step out in something unexpected.

There's something so terribly chic about black and white, don't you think? Classy, understated, elegant, that's what monochrome brings to mind for me. The accessories have to be in harmony with that style too. It's good to have a strong theme to follow.

The shoes were the starting point for today's outfit. Purchased in TK Maxx, these Nine West flatties are stylish as well as comfortable. The black band is made of elastic which means they are stretchy but not grippingly tight. I wore them for the first time here and they were all day comfortable. Hurrah!

The white trousers were a bargain (£5) from Tesco last year in the spring sale and don't get out much. I have a real problem with white trousers as I find them so difficult to wear in anything but scorching weather. They just look wrong on a dull, grey day. But hey, that's just my opinion. Perhaps it's because I spent my formative years in Scotland where women rarely wore white trousers - but maybe that was because the sun rarely shone! The only white jeans I remember seeing were adorned with tartan edging in homage to the Bay City Rollers. Groans from some of you, and quizzical looks from others.

The black and white top, no label, cost me £7 from the Cancer Research shop in Truro last month. Top and trews coming in at £12. The look belies the price eh? Not too shabby I'd say.

Pre-loved rings and a silver Tree of Life pendant finish the look off, plus of course my favourite Quay Australia sunglasses. 

That's all for now folks. Sorry to be brief, but tomorrow I hang the final summer show and bed beckons for me now. Do join me again soon to see how the grand finale looks. (The outfit must be somewhere in my wardrobe, but I've yet to find it!)

                                                                                           Anna x

Done and dusted!

Hello and happy Thursday to you all! Yes, I'm delighted to say that the big wardrobe changeover is done and dusted. But before I show you the results, I'll share an outfit that's not made an appearance previously.

I fancied a change from all the dazzling colours I've been touting lately, opting for a monochrome palette today instead. Plain ol' black and white wasn't quite exciting enough for me though so I chose checks and stripes to enliven the look. I've had this (boohoo) jumpsuit for almost a year now without it seeing the light of day. I found it in a charity shop last summer, but struggled to wear it as it was strapless. When I came across it at the back of my wardrobe earlier this month I decided to see if I could make it wearable. At the bottom of my sewing box I found some discarded straps and a few stitches later all was sorted.

The striped top is actually a body; perfect for wearing under a jumpsuit as it saves all that annoying tucking in. This one came from TK Maxx in Harrogate: the label says Mira & Co and is made in Italy. I somehow think it's going to be a very useful piece.

You'll have seen these courts before, they're from New Look.

I'm hoping that by next month the storm boards behind me will be removed allowing Polly and I an uninterrupted view across the bay to Bryher as well as giving us easy access to the beach. High tides and big sea swells have brought lots of seaweed up and over the boards, even this month, but rumour has it that summer is on the way ...

Black and white needn't be boring; the silver and black accessories help to make this interesting. I found the two spiky metal rings in the Harrogate spree, the necklace is preloved too, but was from Truro and the studded belt was a gift from my friend in Portugal. I do have a large range of jewellery and belts as I think having just the right piece can make all the difference to an outfit. When you consider that some of my rings cost as little as 50p and necklaces only £1.50, this is where charity shopping really comes into its own.

The black and silver rings are like the Ying and Yang of anemone rings.

My postscript to this outfit has to be that half way through the morning, on going to the loo, I discovered a small split in the seam of the jumpsuit - in a most revealing spot! It answered my question as to why something so lovely had ended up in a charity shop. I can only imagine that the owner couldn't or didn't sew!

And here's one section of my wardrobe all sorted, ready for some warmer weather. I've kept my sock boots out for the next little while and once it really warms up properly I'll replace those with sandals. In the middle section of my wardrobe are all my maxi skirts, maxi dresses and jumpsuits along with shelves holding handbags, scarves and more shoes. This isn't fit for viewing currently as I am in the process of culling the contents.

Talking of culling, these are the latest pieces to be evicted from my wardrobe. I'll be putting them onto eBay over the next month or so. I've put a box into storage that's all winter clothes and I'll sell those when they're back in season. Please feel free to message me if something catches your eye ...

This section of my wardrobe houses denim jackets, leather and suede jackets and all of my summer jackets. Below are shirts and tee shirts and below those are bodies, white jeans, coloured trousers and culottes, shorts and palazzo pants. Alongside the wardrobe is a cupboard that holds all my jumpers, cardigans, waistcoats, coloured jeans and blue jeans. Along the entire top run of the wardrobe are boxes of shoes and I have more under the bed. Like any true addict, I'm suitably vague about the precise extent of my addiction, but shoe-wise it's probably almost 100 pairs I'd estimate. I have to hastily add that I view it as a benign addiction as does my husband, thank goodness!

This final reveal is a holdall of clothes that I'm donating to our local fete which takes place next month. I've offered to take on the (most dreaded) jumble stall and will colour co-ordinate these and anything else that is donated. I plan to display them all on hanging rails, shake/steam/iron the creases out of them and hopefully make some money towards the day's fund raising. Wish me luck!

Anna x