Festival Fashion

Hello again and welcome to Festival Fashion, our Style Not Age challenge for July! It's a topical style choice at this time of year and we have Jacqui to thank for that. Before you scroll any further however, I just have to say that I was surprised at how differently we all approached this theme, but that surely goes to show our different personalities. So do please carry on - scroll away to see how my fashionable friends fared!

Emma brought out the big guns for her look with silver and sequins and all that sparkles! She's left us in no doubt as to where she's heading. See all the details on her blog Style Splash. 

Jacqui's look is more boho than disco with a slight country vibe to it too. I love the muted palette along with the leather accessories. Find all the details on Jacqui's blog Mummabstylish.

Hilda decided on a more relaxed slant for her outfit, choosing a comfortable, loose-fitting shirt and jeans for her festival fun. Catch up on all of her latest on her blog Over The Hilda.

I've shopped my closet for my festival finery and am really happy with the result. It's not an outfit I've worn before but now that I've assembled the look I think I'll wear it again. Everything is from Vinted, purchased last year. The frilled top has only been worn once before and I'm asking myself now, Why? 

Both the top and trousers are by River Island and the boots are by All Saints. I've been quite restrained of late and haven't made a forray into the realms of Vinted for months now, but when I see these pieces it does make me happy that I found them.

Behind me you'll see the last of the agapanthus still in bloom, but definitely past their best. I do love this beach path leading down to Pentle Bay, one of my swimming beaches. My only accessories are a couple of pre-loved rings and these blue Radley London sunglasses.

As a backdrop you really couldn't find anything nicer. Of course, I may be biased, but hey! I do hope our challenge has entertained and maybe even inspired you too. Enjoy the rest of your week!

                                                                        Anna x

Pink and orange summer outfit

Hi there! How's things with you? This was my work outfit from yesterday. The bright pink linen dress comes from the brand Cerulean and was a purchase from a charity shop in Penzance when I was on the mainland in May. I've changed the buttons from very boring little brown ones to hand made beauties from a local maker, Emma Humphries from the Popplestone Studio on St Mary's. Emma made the buttons to match my orange and pink ensemble and they're fab!

I'm thrilled with the new dress and the addition of these colourful buttons are the icing on the cake. As you probably know I do love to style my clothes in my own individual way so having bespoke buttons is a wonderful expression of this.

Pink and orange are such a great colour combination for the summer, don't you think? Bright, cheerful and full of joy is how I see this look. The dress is second hand, the buttons new and the rest is old. The orange (ridiculously high) sandals are from ASOS and somehow I managed to wear them for most of the day. The orange stretch belt was from Amazon, sunglasses are from Radley London, fabric woven necklace was from Vinted and the Candy bag is by Furla.

The dipped hemline at the back of the dress can be a bit tricky if I wear flats as it tends to get caught between foot and shoe - I might have to do a risk assessment on that! Wearing high sandals sorted that out on the second time of wearing though. The shirtdress could be worn without the belt but for me that simply not an option as I'd look as wide as I am tall - not a look I'm going for. Not only that, but a belt always draws the eye to your narrowest point, especially if it's a colourful one!

It's been a tame week apart from some colourful dressing for work - I tidied some weeds from our garden wall this weekend, had some lovely swims on Pentle Bay in the morning before anyone else was around, did the usual cooking and cleaning etc, etc. On Saturday, I'm sad to say, Sasha went back to Manchester after having been home for two weeks. She had returned for her friend Duffy's wedding and had a fantastic time catching up with all of her friends and family on Bryher. Aside from that she had worked remotely so we didn't have a lot of quality time together as she was pretty exhausted. We managed to fit in a family walk with the dogs on the morning before she left which felt very relaxed so that was good. On the upside I'll see her again in September when she and I hook up for a long weekend together... 

Wishing you a lovely week!

Anna x

Wedding weekend

Last weekend saw local couple Andrew and Duffy celebrate their marriage with a blessing on Samson and a festival of fun on Bryher. Andrew is one of our local boatmen and also a lifelong friend of my son's. 

The bride looked beautiful, the groom handsome and the partying went on until daybreak the following day. The Big Hoolie looks set to be replayed every summer with bands, booze and lots of dancing making for a most memorable evening.

Sasha wins the family prize for stamina as she danced until 5am. On an evening where four different bands played sets, once the 11am curfew arrived the revellers donned their headsets and a silent disco continued until daybreak. 

My niece Zoe of Bryher Bakebox fame made the cakes, including her much loved tattie cake.

Steve and Jamie made the wooden cake stand, a rustic take on the standard version.

The marquee was decorated with the help of friends and family alike to create a colourful backdrop for the celebrations. The weather was changeable outside but the huge marquee was windproof and big enough to accommodate eating, drinking and dancing for all.

Steve scrubs up well, doesn't he? My feather trimmed pyjama suit shed forensic evidence all evening, even the ladies loos were documented with my visits.

There is a point where dressing up can be mistaken for fancy dress... A friend, on seeing this photo, asked me what the wedding theme was and I had to explain. The lady on the right had attended the hen do on the mainland, at Rattlerfest for those who might have heard of it. Anyway, the theme for the hens was to wear the worst bridesmaid's dress. This mint green ensemble is the remaking of her hen dress. My feather trimmed pyjama suit cannot be explained away apart from the fact that I always feel I have to try a little bit harder to create the wow factor on these occasions. Dressing up daily for work does set the bar a bit higher than most. That said, I did receive many compliments, one being from a young friend of Sasha's who told me she had been taking in all of the elements of my outfit and had decided that's what she would aspire to at my age. The sandals are from Vinted, the feather trimmed pyjama suit is by River Island but was from Vinted earlier this year.

My one regret of the evening was that I wasn't there for Jamie's speech. Andrew and Jamie grew up together, bonding at the hostel when they were teenagers and having this easy, steady friendship that has matured as they have grown into men. As one of the groomsmen, Jamie had written his thoughts down and somehow managed to reduce the entire company to tears with his story of their lifelong friendship. I've lost count of the number of people who approached us to say what a wonderful speech he delivered. Proud parent moment.

Steve and his sister Gill...

...and with Jo-Jo, one of his great nephews. 

We came home on an 11pm boat, a gentle crossing between the islands on a moonlit evening. It had been a special day, an island gathering for a much loved couple.

On Sunday, we met, a much smaller gathering of family, at the Ruin Beach Cafe for lunch. Somehow Sasha was there despite only having had one hour of sleep!

Oh how I have pizza envy! Even though I can't eat 'em I do love to see them...

Pizza cooked in a wood fired stove - yum yum!

We had a long, lazy lunch and afterwards found the perfect shot to capture my outfit of the day.

Details are: Steve Madden handbag (from TK Maxx), white trousers are a recent buy from Number36 in Penzance, sandals from TK Maxx and top is from Vinted.

The weather was glorious and Tresco was looking pretty perfect in the summer sunshine.

Many thanks to Steve for being my photographer of the day. Despite the heckling, he did a good job. I do hope you've enjoyed the latest catch up from Tresco and the Parkes family. Leave me a comment if you have. 

                                                                    Anna x

Frilly jumpsuit

Hello again and thanks for dropping by! Apologies for my week off - it wasn't planned, simply a case of being overrun at both work and home so something had to give. Sometimes I just expect too much of myself which results in burn-out, last week being a prime example of this.

Do you like my new frilly jumpsuit? I wore it for the first time for one of our evening drinks parties recently and my assistant Rachel kindly did the honours with the photos. The jumpsuit was yet another lucky find on Vinted. No labels, no brand, but it's a gem of a piece and a joy to wear. I've added a green stretch belt and the yellow link necklace, both from Vinted too. My sunglasses are from Quay Australia. Rings are not new; the fluted one was a gift from a friend and the other is my Emily Nixon ring.

My sandals were from TK Maxx last summer. I bought them in two different colourways and golly, how comforable they are!

The jumpsuit has a 70's feel and makes me think I ought to be drifting about in a corn field with a chocolate ripple in my hand. Am I the only one who remembers that advert?

Rachel did a great job with the photos, but she did spend most of her time trying to make me laugh, which I suppose is no bad thing. Thanks Rachel, I'll let you help out again!

                                                                            Anna x

Spring has sprung!

Hurrah, spring has indeed sprung! This is from today on Tresco (Wednesday 26th of March) a beautiful bright blue morning that surely imbued everyone with the feel-good factor here on our sun-kissed island. Tresco has recently hosted a Wellness Week followed by a religious retreat both with resounding success. For those of us who live here it's no surprise to see how well these breaks are received; it reflects the lure of this special island. 

I'll admit that I'm a fair weather kinda gal whose mood is influenced by sunlight for its natural high. The brilliant blue sky is a joy to behold. The sunlight on the water is a joy to behold. Simply being on Tresco is a joy to behold!

I felt more than a little giddy on my way to work this morning. Sunshine is all I need to feel good and golly did I feel good!

The outfit of the day was chosen to reflect the bright morning and the optimism it fills me with. I bought the ASOS suit from Vinted last year. I had to rework the trousers as they were too big, but it was worth the sewing challenge (see more of that here) to get them right as it's a fabulous suit now. It seems I might be a bit colour blind as I've considered this to be a lime green but it's just yellow to everyone else. Hey ho!

The multicolour bodysuit in a retro print and suede trainers were also from Vinted and the yellow sunglasses are from Quay Australia. 

If you're interested in another wellness retreat, Gem Hansen is hosting a Restorative Retreat on Tresco at the end of November - see more about that here. 

                                                                            Anna x

My rather fabulous new coat

Sometimes lady luck just smiles upon you... Well, that's how I feel about this rather fabulous new coat that I found as I was browsing through Vinted last month. If you're a regular reader then you'll know that I love everything ornate, in fact the fancier the better, so this coat almost had my name emblazoned across it! The beautiful embroidery sold the piece to me straight away and when it arrived it was everythig I'd hope it would be.

The brand is Savage Culture, a boho brand from what I can tell, and is definitely worth my investigation in due course. Anyway, after the first wear I discovered that the buttons were all a bit small for the buttonholes and so I set about remedying that by customising the coat with some buttons from my button box. Most of them are ceramic, bought from one of our suppliers when I used to stock buttons in the Gallery. 

The length is great, the fit is perfect and it seems like the ideal coat for this time of year when it's still chilly enough to need a coat, but not necessarily a winter coat. This is my springtime special, I would say!

This was my outfit of the day for yesterday, the first day the Gallery opened up after our winter break. The dress has been featured on the blog before (see here) but this time I've added boots and tights to extend the wearabiltiy of it. The brand is IVIVI and was a Vinted purchase.

 I wore a long sleeved thermal top underneath the dress and the tights are bamboo ones from Boots - a cotton feel that are cool and comfy. 

The patent boots are from Topshop from years ago. I've had them reheeled recently and am so happy to have them for a while longer.

Sunglasses are old (from Radley London), the fabric necklace was from Vinted, the perspex ring was a charity shop find and I'm also wearing my beautiful birthday ring.

We've been blessed with good weather for the past few days. What about you? Does it feel more like spring with you? As the season begins with us once again it does help to have this gentle easing into another year of hospitality on our tiny island paradise. Do pop in to say hello if you're ever on the Isles of Scilly - Tresco is definitely worth a visit!

                                                                                    Anna x