Layered Lux, this month's Style Not Age challenge

Hello and welcome to our monthly style challenge which is Layered Lux this time, the theme being chosen by Gail of Is This Mutton. Our outfits reflect the difference in weather and temperatures across England and Ireland during the past week when we took our photos; luckily it was a warm and sunny day here on Tresco when I wore this summery outfit, probably one of my last ones of the year. So let's take a look at how my blogging friends approached Layered Lux...

Jacqui's silky blouse certainly says Lux and she has co-ordinated it well with jeans and long line jacket for a casual look. Check out those fab shoes! See her blog Mummabstylish for full details. 

Hilda's layering comprises of silk shirt, leather jacket and woollen coat - a sure sign that the temperature has dropped over in Ireland. Read her backstory on Over the Hilda blog. 

For Gail, the trick is all about lots of thin layers to keep warm in the season ahead. A fine roll neck, topped with thin tee shirt and tie wrap starts her outfit and later she adds a sweater and gloves - see the final flourish on her blog here. Those rose gold boots surely say Lux, Gail!

Emma from Style Splash is ready not just for autumn, but winter too in this trouser suit topped with fur trimmed leather coat. It's a look I'd wear in a heartbeat Emma - pass it on when you're done!

This outfit was an absolute joy to put together, mainly because it's based around old or pre-loved items which always makes me feel good. The trousers are very old indeed and were from New Look costing £5 in the sale many moons ago. The pairing with this charity shop jacket is what makes me smile; I love the marriage of colours but the clashing of patterns. Jewellery-wise there's nothing new here either - the frosted disc necklace came from Marks & Spencer yonks ago and the silver rings are old too. Sunglasses are from Quay Australia.

It's the first time I've worn the jacket and had been put off by the fact that it didn't have buttons on the sleeves - although that wasn't enough to stop me buying it a few summer's ago. It was only recently that I found the jacket lurking in the back of my wardrobe and set to in finding some suitable buttons from my button box. I also put a new button on the front of the jacket and suddenly the whole thing came to life. 

This lace shirt definitely adds an element of luxury to the outfit. A recent charity shop purchase, it was brand new, still with the labels on and was reduced to half price. This was its first outing and I must admit I think it'll be very useful for many summers to come.

Lace blouse and sparkly belt surely sum up Lux for this challenge today. I also liked the version without the blouse and with the jacket on (see below, although the sunlight was casting quite a different light for these following shots).

It's such a shame that I've only discovered this stylish jacket now, just as I'm about to do my autumn/winter changeover. Never mind, it'll be a joyful find for me when I come to unpack these clothes again in the spring! As ever, thanks for dropping by and I do hope that you've picked up some ideas for seasonal layering too.

Wishing you a fab week!

Anna x

Maxi Madness, our Style Not Age challenge for August

Hello and welcome to Maxi Madness, our Style Not Age challenge for August! Month by month we 5 friends take it in turn to choose a theme for our challenge and this time it's Hilda's choice which has brought about a lovely collection of summer maxi's so let's take a closer look shall we?

Jacqui's look captures the golden glow of summer in what is actually her daughter's maxi dress. Floppy hat and espadrilles complete this balmy day outfit. Read more from jet-setting Jacqui on her blog Mummabstylish. 

Gail from Is This Mutton has chosen her Asos green maxi dress for our challenge paired with sandals from Accessorize. By her own admission it's madness to own such a lovely dress and never worn it until today!

Hilda's maxi is what she wore on her recent wedding anniversary - a skirt from her local boutique worn and a much loved top. Her maxi madness looks utterly elegant I'd say. You can find her backstory on Over The Hilda blog. 

Emma's glorious maxi dress is by Stella Nova, and is a fabulous combination of summer colours. The figure hugging wrap dress can be seen on her blog Style Splash here. 

My maxi dress was from Hush last summer and golly, what a lot of wear I've had out of it this summer too! It's been great for those super heatwave days when you only want to wear something loose and airy. The shade of pink is neither too wishy-washy nor too fluorescent to leave the skin looking washed out.  

Last week's blog Summer Brights outfit (see here) was such a success that I decided to repeat the happy combination of pink and orange again, this time using the orange for my accessories. Nothing new jewellery-wise nor with the sunglasses or old sandals, but all adding a welcome splash of contrasting colour to liven up what is already a pretty lively frock!

The backdrop is of New Grimsby quay for those of you who haven't visited the island. We mooched along at the end of the day to capture these shots with only a few fishermen for company. 

My daughter kindly did the honours with this week's photography. This atmospheric shot is one of my favourites. 

I do hope you've enjoyed this month's offering - maybe we've given you some inspiration for these last few weeks of summer weather and what you could wear. Thanks for dropping by!

                                                                            Anna x

Summer Sizzlers, our Style Not Age challenge for July

Hello and welcome again to our monthly style challenge! It's my turn this time to choose the theme and what could be more appropriate than Summer Sizzlers? Our recent heatwave had many of us cooling off in sea or heading for shade at home. My offering is an oldie but goodie, a lace jumpsuit from TK Maxx many moons ago. So let's take a look at my style sisters to see how they tackled this one...

Jacqui's jaw-dropper outfit looks like she's stepped straight off a film set! Hat from Dune, swimsuit from Debenhams and lace trousers (old) certainly live up to the remit. See more on her blog here. 

Gail from Is This Mutton has paired up lime green and fizzy pink for her Summer Sizzler look. Cute, fresh and very summery Gail snapped this on her Greek holiday which was indeed a sizzler with temperatures pushing 40 degrees! Catch her back story here.

Emma from the Style Splash is another to send us one of her holiday snaps, this time from Funchal. Orange is her Summer Sizzler colour and oh, how stylish she looks! Find all the details on her blog as above. 

Hilda has opted for orange too, wearing a shirt and jeans bought locally along with orange shoes by Clark's. She's making a fab style statement as she takes herself off for her 40th Wedding anniversary - huge congratulations to you!

I've shopped my closet for this whole outfit which always feels good. The orange strappy sandals were from H&M, gilt belt was from Primark and sunglasses are from Zara - all old.

Rings are both old as well as being pre-loved. 

My orange, turquoise and gold disk necklace was a purchase from Charlie Dodge jewellery. 

My photo-shoot was located at my second home, my husband's shed in the centre of Tresco, well off the beaten track. This is where he is working on our boat in the evenings and weekends and where I seem to be spending most of my free time too. His tiny office served as a changing room and his wing mirror worked fine for hair and make-up. His truck was a great contrast for my glam jumpsuit don't you think?

Thanks for swinging by to join our Style challenge - I do hope you've enjoyed it!

                                                                             Anna x

Our Tutti Frutti Style Not Age challenge for June

Welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge! We're all very Tutti Fruitti this time thanks to Emma and her very summery theme. I love how we've each interpreted this differently, but oh-so-coulourfully too!

I felt I just had to start with Gail who's set us off in the right vein with her tee shirt which is actually called "Tutti Frutti". The top and skirt both come from Kettlewell, but not from the same years. She has shopped her closet for the rest of her outfit. Read her style story on Is This Mutton. 

Jacqui's rendition of Tutti Frutti comes thanks to her daughter whose dress she borrowed - how blooming lovely is this? Her cute Steve Madden handbag and strappy green sandals finish off the look to perfection. Catch up with Jacqui's news on Mummabstylish.

Emma's fruity shirt and bag are from Fabienne Chapot - a brand I've not heard of before. Paired with zingy green trousers from Asos and lots of bright orange accessories she really has embraced the colourful theme. Find Emma's blog Style Splash here. 

Hilda has opted for this stunning kimono from Zara as her main featured piece, complimented by a Hugo Boss dress and Clark's shoes - none of these are new and yet are all totally fabulous! Catch up with her on Over The Hilda. 

The Tutti Frutti element of mine surely has to be this vintage Jaeger skirt. A customer of mine recently declared this a very Christian Lacroix design, which I suppose you could say is true. I've featured it on the blog before, but that doesn't detract from its charm. It was a charity shop find from a few years ago and gets an airing at least two or three times over the summer months.

The net underskirt is always a bit of fun and works really well with this look, although I must admit it does make me prone to flashing a bit of net from time to time without any warning or particular reason. Not sure if an ol' gal like me ought to do that, but what the heck!

The voile spotty sleeved top (from TK Maxx, old) adds to the flamboyance of the outfit. I have a black version which works equally well with this. 

Rings and pink Candy bag by Furla are all old too, but still pretty as ever. 

My black buckled and studded belt was a gift from a girlfriend many moons ago and is ideal for sleekly pulling a skirt and top together - great for those days when back fat and tummy bulge are in danger of becoming the focal points!

My dear old faithful (H&M) sock boots are still wearing well. Also going strong as these floral sunglasses which came from Sainsbury's years and years ago. This work outfit sparked lots of chats about women of my age making a style statement in the workplace and also earned me compliments from quite a few men too. So far, I'm still not invisible and hopefully never will be!

Thanks for joining us for this month's challenge. Do pop over to read the back stories from my friends if you have a moment!

                                                                            Anna x

Birthstone Beauties

Hello and welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge. Jacqui has chosen this month's theme inspired by our birthstones and I'll be frank with you - I really don't like my birthstone (garnet). I have a few things in my winter wardrobe that might have worked for this one, but not in my summer collection. This lovely red jumpsuit is borrowed from Fiona my blogging photographer. But more of this later. Let's see how Jacqui  tackled her own challenge shall we?

Emerald is Jacqui's birthstone, the colour of her shoes leading Jacqui to create this zingy outfit in greens and yellow. Her jacket is from F&F, trousers from Zara and top from Matalan. See the rest of her story on her blog Mummabstylish.

Ruby is Emma's birthstone and she has opted for various tones of red to echo the different shades of the stone. Her jacket and trainers are from Zara, top and trousers from River Island and her bag is from eBay. Emma's backstory can be found on Style Splash blog. 

Hilda's turquoise birthstone has me more than slightly envious. Her daughter's handbag was the inspiration for this look paired with these fab white mules and pretty summer dress. Read more from her on Over The Hilda. 

Gail too has an enviable birthstone - topaz. She's wearing a topaz pendant with her casual denim jacket and white M&S jeans. Did you know that topaz comes in orange too? Find out more on her blog Is This Mutton.

My offering this month was virtually thrown together at the last minute. Fiona and I had been for an end of the day sea swim followed by our flask of tea and chat ritual when I remembered the outfit challenge. After a cycle dash home I managed to find this floral top to compliment the floral jumpsuit. It's very old, so old in fact that I don't recall where I bought it. I added this ornate belt (eBay) and these neutral sandals to complete the look.

My matching rings are charity shopped from long ago. 

My gold coloured chain is from Zara, a gift from a girlfriend. 

I bought these uber comfy sandals from TK Maxx earlier on this year. 

I must admit that if this were my jumpsuit I'd definitely be wearing it as a regular work outfit. The fit is loose, yet with a belt is a flattering shape, is lightweight for the summer and would look just as pretty with a simple tee shirt underneath. Platform sandals would be another great addition too. 

So that's pretty much it folks! I do hope you've enjoyed this month's challenge. I'll be back next week with... goodness knows what!

                                                                        Anna x