My big fat Christmas post!

Hello and a belated Happy Christmas to you! This is my big fat post showcasing three outfits for you, including my Christmas Day ensemble. Feel free to scroll down to see the festive extravaganza as worn on the day... But this was one of my pre-Christmas work outfits.

The gold lurex cardigan was a £6 charity shop purchase many many moons ago. It's quite heavyweight but I find that somehow reassuringly comforting.

Underneath the cardigan is a simple black roll neck sweater, ideal for that cosy feeling. None of my accessories are new - the rings, necklace and belt are all old, mostly pre-loved.

My crop checked trousers are a recent purchase from Vinted. Ideal for this time of year don't you think? I've finished the look with my new gold leather Topshop boots, a recent purchase from Vinted.

I topped the outfit off with this yellow fur coat, not new. When I left for work that morning it was a grey overcast day, but by the time I was ready to leave for home at the end of the day the heavens had opened and it was absolutely tipping down with rain. I only live a short distance away from work but didn't want to end up with a soggy fur coat...

As they say, necessity is the mother of invention and so I made myself a bubblewrap coat to get myself home, dry!

My next outfit was the result of a wardrobe malfunction. I had planned to wear this top with a lovely red tartan kilt, a charity shop find from earlier this month when I was on the mainland, however after spending 20 minutes pressing all the pleats, when I came to trying it on I discovered some of the stitching on the waistband was coming undone.

I quickly popped on a pair of black jeans and black patent boots (old from Topshop) and dashed to work. It's a very pared down look for me, quite simple and conservative, but there again I do like to keep mixing things up...

My orange sequinned bomber jacket does at least jazz the whole thing up a bit! I bought this a long time ago in TK Maxx and it always makes a festive statement at this time of year. My only jewellery are two rings, both very old.

Millie Johnson, one of the local girls, made this wooden Christmas tree for the Gallery a couple of years ago and this year I decorated it quite simply with some white fairy lights and ribbons.

And so here it is, my Christmas Day outfit! I must admit, I'm pretty pleased with this rather natty trousers suit. The brand is Karen Millen and I found it, brand new still with the labels on, on my favourite shopping haunt, Vinted. I paid £75 for it and feel that it's worth every penny. I'm probably going to wear it again at work for our afternoon drinks party on New Year's Eve as I feel it didn't get much exposure. 

The jacket is very much Chanel in its style with the round neck and gold buttons giving a simple effective finish. The feather trim is for me the icing on the cake, making it less demure and much more flamboyant and fun. Our island get together on Christmas day is a lovely tradition when we all clear an hour in our day just before lunch to meet up and wish other islanders Happy Christmas. 

Again, none of my jewellery is new, but all worked fine as the suit was the star of the show.

My tartan boots are quite old too, from M&S, but always make an appearance over the festive period, so you'll probably see them again soon.

Thank you so much for making time to drop by, especially at this time of year, I do appreciate it. I'm just about to scour through my wardrobe for the monthly Style Challenge, so wish me luck with that. I'll be back with that feature on Monday 30th of December and would love you to join me again then. In the meantime I do hope you've had a lovely Christmas (I most definitely have) and I wish you all the best for a peaceful New Year!

Lots of love

Anna x

That weekend vibe

Hello lovely, how are you? Hot off the press, here's me today, Sunday, trying to capture my weekend vibe for you. So often, you see my professional side, as in my work outfits so for a change this is me having some downtime. We've had a mixed bag of weather this weekend, but I wanted to get out for a walk while the sun was shining this afternoon and thought I'd kill two birds with one stone as it were.

I'm sporting one of my new winter jumpers in this gorgeous bright turquoise colour. It was from Vinted and cost me £10. As you may know, I'm not very good at transitional dressing, favouring intstead to jump from summer outfits straight into winter ones. This look is a favourite weekend spin for me. I've also bought a new pink jumper, patterned though, but very similar in shape and size and I love it too. You'll see that one soon, don't worry!

Rings are preloved and my sunglasses are from Radley London, but not new, I hasten to add. 

You'll maybe have seen my jeans before, again a scoop from Vinted. I seem to gravitate towards these every weekend now as I love them so much, but it worries me that I'll wear them out if I'm not careful. I've not come across anything like them which may account for why I love them so!

And this is one of my best spots for beach combing. I collect sea glass for one of our Gallery Tresco artists who tumbles the pieces and then turns them into her jewellery collection. The brand is Drift jewellery and can be found here. I do love hunting in amongst the pebbles to find these part tumbled bits of glass.

And here's my new pair of boots - these were such a bargain from Vinted at only £5. I'm very partial to a pair of chunky Dr Marten's type boots and these are pretty special.

And that pretty much wraps it up from me this weekend. I'm off to make a roast dinner for the family now whilst listening to Bob Harris on Radio 2. It's been a sad time for those of us who were big fans of Johnnie Walker since he gave up his Sunday afternoon slot due to his declining health. Bob is doing a wonderful job putting his own stamp on the role, but oh how I miss hear dearest Johnnie!

                                                                    Anna x

My joyful jacket

Hi there! How are you? I'm showcasing this, my joyful jacket, again today as I've reworked it with different boots and trousers this time. Sometimes I get hooked on a certain item in my wardrobe and this shaggy jacket is one of those things. I'm now calling it my joful jacket as it really does spark joy for me as Marie Kondo says. 

I remember being hugely influenced by the Fabulous Fashionista's TV show - way back in 2013. Jean talked about having no qualms about wearing the same dress for an entire week if it was her current passion. This comes back to me often when I'm having a love affair with a certain item of clothing.

I've recently bought these pink Zara trousers which are the same as my yellow ones worn with the same jacket a couple of weeks ago see here. I love the fabric and hang of these wide legged trousers and the length is good too for me as I'm not that tall. The pink version have two back pockets though which is a bonus point.

I've added my pink floral Converse boots to change up the look this time. I've had these for yonks and only came across them stored in a box recently where I'd packed them away for the summer and forgot to bring them out - better late than never eh? The cream lace bodysuit is one of two that I bought this summer from Vinted. One has long sleeves, the other short and both have proven to be very useful when worn with trousers - I love the sleek fit without the fuss of tucking in or hems and edges of fabric showing through. 

I dodged across to Old Grimsby for this photo shoot. This beach path is a favourite backdrop of mine. I'm featuring my new orange velour handbag here again along with my old pink and orange necklace from Zara and preloved rings. My favourite Radley sunglasses are back again too.

Now that the clocks have changed I'm going to have to plan things better to capture shots during good daylight. This weekend just past was grey and dull which wasn't the least bit inspiring. Luckily I'd taken these photos last weekend when it was bright and breezy. I used my tripod and timer for these shots and felt a bit of an idiot when someone walked past and I was sitting down posing for this shot - they said nothing, simply raised their eyebrows as they walked on by, hence this reaction from me. Yes, that me's - that crazy lady from the Gallery!

                                                                Anna x

Autumn Hues our SNA October challenge

Hello again! And welcome to our monthly Style Not Age challenge which comes from Hilda this month. Autumn Hues are very much my colours, as in what's recommended for my skin and hair shades but the season of autumn isn't one of my best. I begrude the dimming of sunlight, the shortening of the days and the general decline into winter gloom. But, hey, as you'll see from my shots, the day was golden when we captured this outfit so let's just leave it there shall we? 

Hilda has shopped her wardrobe for this stylish look, one that I'd happily wear myself. I love the pattern clash of cardigan and leopard print pumps! See more from her on Over the Hilda. 

Jacqui too has shopped her closet for this month's challenge, and very successfully I must say! The faux leather culottes in particular are very much to my taste. Catch up with all the latest news from her very busy life on Mummabstylish blog. 

Emma's following the trend of recycling her outfit apart from her new snazzy jacket from Jenerique, a brand I've not heard of. See all the other details on her blog Style Splash. 

Gail has just completed a seven day skirt challenge on her blog and continues to style it up with this cute mini here. Loving the brogues and belt Gail! See her back story on Is This Mutton. 

My outfit comprises both old and new (to me). The faux suede bomber jacket was a recent Vinted find as was the floral turtle neck sweater. I do like a thin knit turtle neck for layering up in the cooler months and this flowery version will be very handy in the months ahead.

The wide legged brown trousers were from TK Maxx many years ago and I was pleased to find that they still fit. The older I get the more I battle with an increasing girth, but I fancy I may not be the only one to struggle this way. To be honest, the latest setback for me has been the influx of purple stinging jellyfish that have been swarming across our shores for almost two months now. 

I'm staying out of the water as their stings have to be treated with a get normally used on chemical burns. I've been walking the beaches to try to find a clear beach to swim in but honestly as the tide washes in and out every six hours, well it's almost impossible to predict where they'll turn up next. That cold water blast to my metabolism has surely helped to keep my figure in reasonable shape but I'm noticing the difference lately. Hey ho!

My cream boots are old, from ASOS, I think. The handbag was a purchase in Rome when we were on a cruise there many moons ago - see that post here. Anyway, the strap broke and only recently Sash borrowed it when she went away for a wedding and very kindly bought a replacement one. 

Suddenly this little bag is back in the mix again! Nothing new jewellery wise though, one preloved ring and the other is an Emily Nixon Scribble ring (see here for similar) and old sunglasses from Radley London.

Steve and I dashed off to capture these shots one evening just before sunset. The golden light is very flattering and ties in perfectly for this challenge too. See below for the view in front of me  - what a fabulous sight that sunset is!

I do hope you've enjoyed this month's challenge! I'll be back next week with another dose of colourplay for you. In the meantime, take care!

                                                                    Anna x

Holding on

Hi there! I'm late again with this week's post and have no excuse apart from life in general being a challenge. But hey, here I am, holding on. Holding on? Yes, holding on to my summery looks as I so dislike transisitional dressing aka the changeover into gloomy old autumn and winter seasons. 

The wind may be blowing but at least today the sky is blue and I'm determined to keep turning up in bright and breezy colours, the same colours that lift my mood and garner me compliments.

There's nothing new here, but all of it, every single piece, brings me joy which is pretty much my mantra. 

My life, indeed island life, is seasonal. I work in a retail position which relies on visitors to keep me in employment. By the end of the month the Gallery will be closed and I'll be busy with winter works. And winter works means no daily dressing up for the day job, so I'm making the most of things in this final push.

The majority of what I'm wearing is from Vinted, the second hand site that's helping to change how we shop. Second hand no longer means sad, smelly, worn-out clothes; Vinted allows anyone to move on their shopping mistakes, often never worn at all, to find a happy new owner. Vinted is also helping me dejunk my wardrobe all year round. I'm finally allowing myself to let go of pieces that don't fit or even spark joy as I know I'll be able to find replacements in a heartbeat. Sorry if this is coming across as an advert - it's just an enthusiastic post from a second-hand lover!

                                                                                Anna x