Christmas fashion inspiration




Hello lovelies! Here I am strutting my stuff on the island catwalk aka The Flying Boat Club slipway. Fiona and I grasped our opportunity of fine weather on Sunday to show you my latest offering of Christmas dressing. 




I promised you fur and lurex and here they are together with these fabulous paisley print flares with gold thread running throughout. The bell bottoms are from H&M and are quite old, but are perfect for festive outings. These hipster trousers have just the right amount of stretch to allow an extra mince pie or two.




Velvet and fur are fabulous Christmas fabrics, beautifully combined in this second hand Karen Millen coat which I bought a year ago when I was in London. If you missed that post you can see it here. The two fabrics combine to say luxury at its best. 





The lurex polo neck sweater is old (from H&M too). It comes out every year at this time and is a real workhorse of a piece. You'll probably have noticed that polo necks are essential winter wear for me. I love the simple figure hugging lines of this kind of sweater which also provides warmth and a physical barrier against the cold. The sparkle yarn of this one lifts it out of the ordinary and works with so many separates, so you'll no doubt see it featured again this month.




I've piled pattern onto pattern with these amazing black and gold brocade platform boots from River Island (old). To say that the colour palette is rather restrained today, the overall effect still delivers the wow factor. The richness of the fabrics counter what could be read as a brown outfit and God forbid I'd be seen in boring old brown, especially as this claims to be a post about Christmas fashion inspiration!




My mirror Quay sunglasses were a gift from a friend a couple of years ago. 




Both golden rings are pre-loved.





Coming up next time will be the second hand kilt that I bought in a charity shop for £5. I'm styling that up for Christmas to add a flavour of festive fun to what might be perceived as rather staid traditional national dress. It really is just a case of our imagination being the only limitation of our style. I do hope you'll join me on Friday for that one.


In the meantime, take care!

Anna x

Share:

Sgt. Pepper comes to Tresco




Hello again! How did your weekend go? Mine seemed to whizz by in a shot with a couple of good swims, a dash of cooking and a laundry catch up and here I am suddenly back at work. Today's 60's look is instantly recognisable, even to my dear hubby who chirped up "Sergeant Pepper" as I appeared for the photo shoot.




So, here we are, it's mid-October and I'm working hard at keeping on top of my mood by using colour therapy. The past few posts will testify that not only is it working for me, but you too, are finding it a pick-me-up. Thank you for that! I'm delighted that something so simple can change my day and make a difference to yours as well.




I last wore this Polo Ralph Lauren military jacket in the spring (see here) and it's been playing the waiting game since then and the trousers made their last appearance on the blog last Christmas (see here). I've always thought the jacket would work well with these brocade trousers, but I wasn't happy with the cut of them. They are actually men's trousers and as such are quite straight legged - or should I say they were until last weekend, when I decided that I wanted to streamline the shape of them. Every now and then I take a crazy notion to undertake some sewing and this was one of those times. It's crazy because I'm not very good at it and even find sewing in a straight line a challenge! But I turned the trousers outside in, tried them on, pinned them to fit, then ran a running stitch down the pins and finally machine stitched them. Ta-dah! The fit is much neater now and makes them much more wearable. Off to work I go!




And if last weekend's little bit of crazy was sewing, then this weekend's was counting shoes. I'm not sure why this came about, but I think it was because I couldn't find a particular pair of shoes and had to go through all of the cupboards, wardrobes, shoe boxes and tubs under the bed. At some stage I've had a comment from a reader asking how many pairs of boots I have and it must have stayed with me. Before I confess to the amount, let's take a moment to reflect on the fact that I haven't bought a single pair of shoes or boots since the last time I was in a shop, which is February. I'm on month 8 of my shopping ban and might have felt slightly smug about that had I not discovered that I possess 183 pairs of shoes and boots in total. (In fact, it's 183.5 pairs as I have one odd boot - a brand new, with the label still on boot - which seems to have come adrift from its partner somehow. My dear friend Ben sent them to me last winter and I've yet to wear them, although the chances of that are looking rather slim currently!)




Note that I don't looked in the least abashed at this excessive amount and that's probably because I'm not. Clothes and shoes, jewellery and bags are all part of my collection of finery that makes my life all the richer. I love them all, and if I don't then I get rid of them. Once I'm done with them I pass them onto charity shops so that someone else may enjoy the fun of them. I could justify my excesses by explaining how I don't smoke or drink, I can't eat cakes or sweets, crisps or chocolate, but really, that's got nothing to do with it. Dressing up is my daily pleasure. It makes me feel more me: brighter and happier with a spring in my step and hopefully it brings a bit of joy into someone else's day too - and surely that's no bad thing!




Anyway, let's have a quick run down of the outfit shall we? Jacket, by Polo Ralph Lauren, brocade trousers have no labels, but cost me £20 from the Oxfam shop in Truro (beautifully curated for a charity shop and well worth a visit if you can get to it). White lace blouse is from Zara last summer, black boots from Topshop (oops, I wore these last time!) and the red leather belt is pre-loved by Tommy Hilfiger. 




Jewellery is pre-loved and my sunglasses are by River Island, although they are rather old by now.




I love the close-up of this, showing all of the ornate details of the outfit. Sometimes my idea of dressing up might be mistaken as fancy dress and goodness, that makes me laugh!




Thanks for dropping by and thank you too if you follow me on Instagram. It's great to know that I'm inspiring you to try new things. Lovely too, to know that you're enjoying seeing the snippets of my island life. Perhaps the blog is a momentary distraction from the everyday stress of COVID-19. I hope you're coping with the latest upsurge if you live in the UK and are managing to keep safe as you go about your daily business. Wherever you are, look after yourself and come back soon.

                                                                                              Anna x

Share:

Scarlet and cerise - my joyful colour therapy!




Happy Monday dear readers! How are you? Did you have a good weekend? Mine was a busy one, but a happy mixture of work and play. I had a good long swim with Fiona on Saturday when the weather was fine and then on Sunday she stepped in as blog photographer to do a mega shoot for various forthcoming features. Add to this some long-overdue housework, cooking for the freezer, catching up with laundry and a family meal on Sunday and I was flushed with success by the end of it.




This was Friday's work outfit, a joyful pick-me-up in scarlet and cerise. I'd had a blah day on Thursday which I blamed on a very dull outfit that set me of in the wrong frame of mind. It's not something you've seen and maybe won't see either! A navy flower sprigged dress is being charged guilty of dreary, drab and dullness on all three counts. I had tried my best to pep it up with red cowboy boots, red belt and red accessories which sounds great, but didn't really have the desired effect. 




Friday saw me utilise red in a much more successful manner when paired with a dazzling pink trench and handbag. The two tone dress (pre-loved) is by M&S and delivers colour therapy with a punch every time I wear it. During the winter months I pop a coloured long sleeved thermal top under it, add some tights and hey presto, it earns its place in both my seasonal wardrobes!




If I was channeling the 80's on my last post, then maybe this could be a throwback to the 60's? (Although the sock boots would probably have been knee high ones.) As you can gather, I'm not one to pay any attention to trends from this era or that - I'll throw pieces together regardless of what decade they hail from.




I'm rotating three very different bags for work at the moment and this cute little Candy bag by Furla always gets compliments. My pink rings are both charity shop pieces.




My red sock boots from H&M are still going strong. What will I do when they fall apart? Maybe I ought not to think about that until the time comes...




My white and black Quay Australia sunglasses tie in with the gingham checks of my Topshop trench. The rose gold heart pendant was a retail purchase in a little boutique in Truro a couple of years ago. 




They say laughter is the best medicine and I must admit it works for me. Well that, and some colour therapy. Keep on smiling everyone, and have a great week!

                                                                        Anna x

Share:

Weekend casual wear


Hi there!

So how was your weekend? Did you rejoin the workforce on Saturday? After a week of preparation the Gallery re-opens for business today, giving my life structure and that much needed definition between work and play. This outfit surely falls into the play category, although I suppose I could add some wedge sandals and maybe swap the jeans for tailored trousers to give it a smarter look. The tiered smock top with a gift from a friend and was a joyful find when I did my wardrobe changeover in the spring. The pre-loved jeans are by Next.




The outfit screams playful and fun.










I've just discovered the joy of the hairband as the perfect ploy for unruly hair. I borrowed this one from Sasha to see if I liked it. I do, and have since bought a few to keep me going. I'm letting my hair grow for the moment, but am sure I'll get to the stage when I want to have a proper hairstyle again. Have you high-tailed it to the hairdresser yet? Gosh, I bet they'll be busy now! My retro style Quay Australia sunglasses were from Topshop last year. Funky eh? Click on the Quay link above for a buy one, get one free offer on currently!




The chunky ring was from TK Maxx (old) and the gemstone one is a charity shop piece.




The colourful beaded sandals were from New Look (old).




I love the delicate beadwork on this crepe smock, particularly on the shoulder area - it makes for an interesting feature.  You'll notice that the lichen on the rocks is echoes the same shade as the top. I only had to step across the road from home to find this perfect backdrop! 

I'll leave you with a couple of shots from home. The moonlight one was taken from my bathroom window a couple of weeks ago. 






The black swans are our new local celebrities, moving from island to island to be featured on everyone's social media platforms. Seemingly we had a dolphin swimming between the islands last week too! And talking of local celebrities, my husband and son were featured on TV last week. Steve and Jamie work together maintaining the landscape on the island of Tresco which was one of the areas included on the Devon and Cornwall programme. Click on the link to see these lovely handsome chappies at work.


Have a great week and keep safe!

Anna x

Share:

Vintage frock for a fun Dress Up Friday



Welcome to another dose of Dress Up Friday!

It's great to have you back again for Dress Up Friday. I love the excuse to get dolled up for this Friday feature and hope that you enjoy the results too. Today I'm wearing a vintage chiffon frock from Borghese by Toplet which was one of my first vintage buys when I started buying pre-loved fashion. The fitted bodice and drop waist style are form flattering and the generous skirt was showcased to its best in the breezy day.








The frock epitomises old fashioned glamour and romance.






Sunglasses are from Sainsbury's (old), rings are pre-loved and gold chain is from Primark (old).




These floral fabric shoes with gold high heels represent my most exciting Primark find over all the years I've been shopping there. I found them in the sale corner at the end of one summer and they were marked down to £5. They're the least Primark looking pair of shoes ever!




This is the perfect posing frock!




As of next week, Friday's will be a normal work day for me. The gallery re-opens for business on Monday with me holding the fort on my own for the first time ever. We'll be trading by appointment only with on-island clients being my priority. This weekend I'll be brushing up on my risk assessments, putting everything in place to make sure we all have a safe retail experience. If July 4th signals a return to your new working schedule I wish you good luck and keep safe!

                                                                                   Anna x

Share:

Style or mish-mash?


Welcome to my midweek mash-up!

We none of us live in a bubble and sometimes I'm very happy to dip into the latest magazine to see what's trending or what those in the fashion know are predicting. Other times, like today, I have no fashion compass, no style road I'm trying to follow or icon I'm trying to emulate. Today is all about colour and very much harps back to my fashion motto of "Let's bin the beige and have fun with colour".  


The fun comes by way of the vibrant mixture of checks, leopard print and another pair of vintage boots - not so very different from what I wore in my last feature actually!  I didn't plan this or even notice the connection until I started putting this post together and noticed the similarities.


The season of winter coats is well upon us now; this beauty of mine is a vintage piece from Sicily. You'll have seen it over the past couple of winters no doubt, but not paired with these stretch trousers (Zara). You know how I love a bit of pattern play!


The leather cowboy boots are vintage too, bought from a charity shop in Penzance last year.


The fluffy jumper is a bit old, so much so, that I've forgotten where I purchased it. No matter, the power of the fluff is all that counts. I've layered a thin thermal top (M&S) underneath which truly signals that we're in winter now. 




Today's necklace and rings are pre-loved and my sunglasses are by Zara.


With only 20 days to go until Christmas I'm starting to look out my Christmas jumpers along with all of the sequins and sparkles I've got stashed away ready for the festive season. My recent shopping expedition to London has supplemented the cache which is very exciting. Is it too soon to be adding a glitter cardi to the outfit of the day I wonder? I'm off to check out some of my favourite bloggers to see if they've succumbed to the lure of the glitter yet ...

I'll be linking up with -
Catherine of Not Dressed as Lamb
Jacqui of Mummabstylish

                                                                                           Anna x

Share:
Created by bo design