If I Were a Handbag, our Style Not Age challenge for February

Hello and welcome our monthly style challenge! I'll 'fess up straight away - yes the subject was my choice this month. For those who know me, you'll agree that my featured handbag is a good reflection of my character - fluffy on one side and smooth on the other, and exceedingly bright and colourful. I have a scatty fun side away from work, but also a smooth, glossy business side which is how I see myself at work. So how do my fashionista friends see themselves...?

Jacqui's offering for the challenge is this compact satchel bag with ornate front. Not sure what this says about her, but it's a super practical bag. See more from Jacqui on Mummabstylish.

Gail is showcasing a red bowling bag which was a Christmas present. The compact, sleek style ties in with her elegant outfit. Find all of the details on her blog Is This Mutton? 

Hilda's choice is a bright green tote borrowed from a local boutique. The bag is big enough to carry a laptop, in a burst of colour from a local designer. See her back story on Over the Hilda blog. 

Emma's handbag is a funky colourful piece by Angel Jackson which has inspired a lovely mix of colours in her outfit. Read all about it on The Style Splash.

My dear friend Ben found this fabulous multicoloured bag in a market on his travels and immediately thought of me - wild and colourful! I was thrilled to receive such an individual piece to add to my handbag collection. It's been my go-to bag for the past month, inspiring various colourful outfits for my working day. 

The fringed side of the bag is a glorious fuzzy, tufted aspect of this oversized handbag. 

As for the outfit of the day - the leather coat is by Next, a charity shop purchase for £20, trousers are from Topshop (ah, the good ol' days!), turtle neck from Primark, shoes and glitter socks from TK Maxx - none of this is new. 

The ring gold coloured ring is pre-loved and the chunky silver and gold etched In Heaven on Earth ring is by Diana Porter. The mustard gloves are from TK Maxx.

The mustard hues continue with my Quay Australia sunglasses.

So how did we all fare with this month's challenge? I do hope you enjoyed it. I loved the opportunity to show you this glorious bag again and would like to think there may be some inspiration within today's feature for everyone. 

Sending love to you all and I do hope that you're safe. Take care!

                                                                                                Anna x

My pretty new Zara blouse

Hello again! How was your weekend? Mine seemed to go past in a bit of a blur of cooking, cleaning and yes, dejunking. The boxes are mounting up as I clear out cupboard after cupboard, moving out anything that's not useful, beautiful or loved by us. Even poor Steve was involved as I attacked his guilty area of workwear calling on him to help cull his large, but very tired, collection of checked shirts of which there seemed to be many. We're still in the midst of the job, barely half way through the entire house, but as they say, out of chaos comes order!

So, this is my new blouse, a birthday present from my friend Bo who lives in Portugal. It's from Zara, but I can't find it online here. The fabric is lightweight and will be wonderful to wear in the summer (I'm imagining it with white jeans and sandals), but I was so impatient to try it on then decided to winterise it with my pre-loved Ralph Lauren fairisle vest.

I teamed up the blouse with my ochre Kate trousers from J D Williams - see them here on sale now. I love the fit of these slim trousers mainly because of the stretch which makes them super comfy. This is the first time I've worn them despite having them for years - yes, I really mean years. It's only due to the big clear out that I rediscovered them, still with tags on, and decided to try them on. How fab is that to find a great new pair of trousers hidden away? And doubly fab when they match my new blouse perfectly!

My pre-loved perspex rings pick out some of the colours in today's outfit adding to the pattern play too. Dark green pearls and Quay Austalia sunglasses complete the accessories.

Russet platform boots give a bit more leg-lengthening height to the look which is never a bad thing. These are very old indeed and were from Office.

And just to add a bit more pattern to the mix, I wore my Joe Brown's woolen 3/4 length jacket. This one is out of stock now, but I did find another cute jacket - see here.  The lining is a wonderful bit of pattern play too!

It seems that here in the UK we'll all be hunkering down for the rest of the week as we have two gales lining up to give us a bit of a battering. I'd planned to get some outdoor photos taken on the beach at the weekend, but I'll maybe have to come up a plan B just in case. Do take care, wherever you are and thanks for dropping by!

                                                                            Anna x

More fun, in a gilet this week!

Hello lovelies! How has your week been? Are you working from home and if so, is it all about leisure wear again? For me it's another working outfit here this week, and yes, I'm still making the most of my fun furs. I've had this fur gilet for some years now and must admit I do find it a challenge to wear as it's so boxy. That said, I think it's simply impossible to wear a layer of fur of any sort without adding inches to the torso! So I need to get over it don't I?

The gilet (TK Maxx, old) wasn't what inspired this ensemble however, it was actually these rather fab checked trousers. They're hand-me-downs from my eldest sister - the brand is House of Bruar. Sandra is a big lover of charity shopping and found these stylish trousers some years ago, only recently passing them on to me. When they arrived in the middle of the Christmas festivities I couldn't quite squeeze into them, but after a week or two of restraint and sea swimming I've slipped into them a bit more easily. 

I do love the chance to create some different outfits when I've got a new addition to my wardrobe and this was a great bonus in the middle of Christmas. The tartan (M&S) boots called out to me immediately and I couldn't wait to get going, finding the right colours to compliment the look. The gilet was the next thing that came to mind and yes, I'm thrilled with this as an outfit. 

The tartan boots were from M&S a few years ago, but I still love them to bits. Could that be just because of my Scottish heritage? Goodness knows!

The simple ribbed roll neck sweater is old, a purchase from Primark a few years ago. I do wonder if our wardrobes/closets like so many other things will be defined as pre and post Covid19, in which case this is pre-covid. I bought a few of these in different colours and am impressed how they have retained their shape and colour despite much washing and wearing.

Nothing new jewellery-wise. The green pearls are real and are long term favourites of mine. The heart pendant is a good ploy for elongating the body, drawing the eyes downwards. Sunglasses are by Radley and rings are both quite old.

This (morning) shot shows the colours up a bit better. I spent the day at work, popping out from time to time in between passing traffic taking a few photos as the clouds dispersed then gathered, leaving me dodging in and out like one of those crazy old weather vanes. Do you know what I mean - that old lady and man who used to take turns popping out according to the weather? Anyway, this was a photo-shoot of two halves, ending with the glorious glimpses of sunset as it dropped behind the clouds. 

This is the view from my office and from the Gallery shop floor. I never tire of it. The endless light-shows from morning til night, the sunsets and shifting tides all go to make the most perfect of settings. I am a very lucky bunny indeed!

                                                                                         Anna x

My new fun fur!

Hello again! How's your week been? Back to work? Me too. It wasn't too bad. Sometimes the thought of returning to work is much worse than the reality, isn't it? The decorations may be packed away and the party food and chocs are all done, but that doesn't mean the fun is all over. And by fun, yes I'm talking fun fur. This orange bundle of delight was a pre-Christmas present to myself from TK Maxx and the brand is Maison Cinqcent.

Much as the closet cull and dejunking is still ongoing at mine, I'm also happy to be buying new pieces that define me at this time of my life. As my next birthday looms on the horizon I'm almost counting the number of paychecks until I reach retirement age. I mention this because once I do retire I'll not have the ability to spend on a whim or to follow the trends that take my eye. It's scary to think of living on a reduced income, but that's why I'm buying what I do so that I may enjoy wearing them for the next few years as a working woman with an excuse to dress up for the job. And thereafter, well I'll still be that eccentric old gal on Tresco, dressing up just to go to the local shop!

Glitz, glamour and fur seem to be in my DNA and I can't see that I'll be able to step away from that no matter what age I am. Steve always reminds me that this is a hobby that does no harm to anyone, so why not carry on as long as it makes me happy. It's good to have that reassurance, especially when I'm particularly done up to the nines!

Today's beautiful backdrop is the view from Fearless Cottage. The patio overlooks the channel between Tresco and Bryher looking north towards the wild Atlantic ocean. At this time of year part of my job is to check all of the artworks on display within the holiday properties which also affords me some fabulous photo opportunities. 

My two-piece is a vintage buy from way back in May when I was off-island in Cornwall. I came across a vintage shop in Penryn where I spent a lovely half hour browsing the stock of not just clothes but furniture too. The crimplene suit is by Diana Martin, a designer of the day; the day being late 50's. I think I bought it because it reminds me of my childhood when everyone's mum wore crimplene dresses and we all wore bri-nylon shirts to school and brushed nylon nightdresses. And wow, that's a blast from the past remembering those nightdresses! My two sisters and I wore those nighties, but as the brushed nylon was the cosy side, well we used to wear them inside out. What a scream to remember this from over 50 years ago!

Styling is everything when it comes to vintage outfits. I'm painfully aware of wearing clothes that are almost the same age as me and how they really depend on the right accessories to bring them up to date. I've added my studded stretch and leather belt in dark green to give the suit shape. The quirky Scottie dog necklace adds fun to the look, tonally matching rings brings the whole thing together. Today's sunglasses are by Radley.

My knee high wet look boots are another surefire way of adding punch to the outfit. See them on ASOS here. 

Thanks for dropping by again today. I'll be back again next week with more style inspiration and news from the idyll that is Tresco. Keep safe, keep well and enjoy yourself in whatever way you can!

                                                                                             Anna x

Look what I got for Christmas!

Happy New Year to you, my dear readers! I hope that you've had a lovely break and managed to stay well. We've had a super family time over the past couple of weeks and it's been one of our best Christmases ever I would say. My daughter's boyfriend came over from the mainland for the festive period, adding to our excitement as this was the first time we've met him. Suffice to say that he's an absolute gem, a real find and such a happy addition to our family.

So, this amazing vintage leather jacket is what Steve bought for my Christmas. Of course, I made sure that wishlists were passed on to everyone, and this is what I directed Steve to. Many moons ago I had a patchwork leather blazer that I passed on to a friend and this reminds me somewhat of that. The jacket was from eBay, bought at the end of November, leaving just the right amount of time for it to get here in the midst of the postal chaos.

I love the variety of skins used to create this very unusual jacket; the animal print, embossed hide, diamante studs, floral prints, tassel fringes and leather ruffles all go to make it quite unique. It's like wearing a piece of art. Oh my goodness, how I love it! 

I teamed the jacket with an old gold sweater (from H&M) and these funky new jeans (Primark). 

The gold leather Chelsea boots are very ancient (from River Island), but much loved.

I took myself off for a Boxing Day walk to burn up a few excess calories and also test drive the bomber jacket and see how it fitted. It's fab, passed the test with flying colours! 

I stopped to enjoy the view. I wasn't surprised to see lots of people out, stretching their legs after all of those Christmas Day calories. Family groups with dogs, couples out walking and driving past on golf buggies, all passed by below my hilltop perch in the half hour I sat there.

Today's jewellery features another Christmas present - the necklace (Zara) was from a girlfriend and is a perfect accessory for this look. The gold coloured flower ring was a Christmas pressie from her too, a couple of years ago. The other gold ring was a charity shop find. The sunglasses are by Quay Australia.

Apart from family meals together we had a pretty low key time over the holidays. We met up with our extended family for drinks one night which was another excuse to dress up, but no pics of that. I did manage to get some shots of the day that I dressed for work as my favourite Christmas movie, Elf.

This was very well received by all of my customers at the Gallery that day, resulting in lots of laughter and appropriate comments.

And this was my outfit for NYE at home, where I did have my very own kitchen disco while hubby snoozed in front of the TV.

I did full on glitz for that, wearing silver and gold sparkles, sequins and glitter. None if it was new, but all fulfilled the need for full on glamour on the home front!

And finally, here's some swimming shots from the festive period. The first was my last swim of 2021.

And below is the venue for my New Year's Day swim. Green Porth was tucked out of the westerly wind affording just enough protection to make it look nigh on perfect.

I was joined by two islanders, Rebecca and Emma for the swim which was in aid of Mental Health Swims. Photos from each of us earned donations from Speedo. Somehow a group swim always feels better, dare I say even warmer, as you have the lovely distraction of chat and laughter throughout.

Not drowning, just waving!

And that pretty much rounds up my past week or so. It's been great to have some time away from work and to relax in my pj's for a change. I do hope you've had a lovely break from the norm and that you managed to spend some time with your nearest and dearest. Sending you lots of love and good luck for 2022 from my island home.

                                                                                         Anna x