Anna's Island Style: preloved jewellery

Jazzing up January

If you're a regular reader of mine then you'll know that January is one of my least favourite months of the year. It's not so much the post-Christmas/New Year slump, more that the grey and cold weather tends to get me down. But hey, cold weather is a green light for bringing out a fur coat again, so here we go -

The orange fake fur is quite old now, was from TK Maxx and yet is still a firm favourite of mine. The scarf was a Christmas present and is beautifully soft, also big enough to act as a shawl when required. I have, in fact, reached the stage in my life when I'll happily go to bed early simply to have more time with my book of the moment which also means I enjoy draping a cosy shawl around my shoulders as I sit up to read. Plonk a frilly bonnet on my head and I'd probably look like an ancient grandma, but hey, since when did I care!

Orange and yellow certainly pepped up my working outfit the other day, although not many people saw it as I was working alone. This does support my ethos of dressing up for myself, not to please others.

Preloved orange perspex rings are my only concession to jewellery that day and my sunglasses from Radley London are quite old now too.

My sweater is by Heyton, a brand-new-with-the-labels-on purchase from Vinted in the run up to Christmas. I'm having a rather intense love affair with fairisle patterns on sweaters and waistcoats currently. I bought a rather fab one from M&S last month but it's probably not going to appear on the blog for two reasons - the first being that it's brown and second because it fits so well and is so blooming cosy that I've worn it to the bobbling stage already.

The corduroy skirt was a charity shop find in December, but has no label. My rather fabulous Argyll tights are very, very old but seemed to be the perfect ploy for this outfit. My orange leather boots aren't new, the brand is River Island and yet they too work very well with the look.

A final word or two before I sign off. I spent this morning thinking it was Tuesday, but it is in fact Wednesday - but not just any Wednesday, it's Wednesday the 15th of January which just so happens to be my daughter's birthday. Shame on me - one of the locals whizzed past me on his bike at lunchtime and called out to ask it it was Sash's birthday today. No, said I with confidence, it's her birthday tomorrow, Wednesday. It is Wednesday he replied, stiffling a laugh as he continued home for lunch. I could blame it on my working alone, or that I've already sent her money or that she's off-island at the moment, but honestly I'm simply a failure of a mother!

Anna x

Oh goodness, it's only a week until Christmas - how exciting! I'm busy at work cleaning the gallery before I get the Christmas decorations out and this was my outfit of the day.

Steve very kindly did the honours with my photos today which did incur quite a lot of hilarity. But it was good to be able to get some outdoors shots so that was another bonus. My outfit is mostly new or new-to-me. Gold jacket from Vinted, sequin jumper (ASOS) from Vinted and gold boots (Zara) from Vinted too. The black jeans are new, from Primark from my recent mainland trip.

Steve tolerates my bossiness re how to take the best shots, thank goodness. In addition he's prone to chucking in a few hints and tips, mainly ridiculous ones just to make me laugh.

I'm happy to report that the fudge production is going well. I'm on the final stretch now, with only four more batches to make this weekend. I also hope to clean most of the house downstairs by the end of Sunday as I'll be working right through to Christmas Eve.

STOP PRESS! I've just discovered this evening that the freight ship which is bringing my frozen turkey across to the islands, along with many, many other Christmas grocery orders has broken down and is returning to Penzance. This isn't the first time that Christmas has been blighted by freight issues - one year all of the frozen turkeys were left out on the quayside all evening and had started to defrost before they had even been put onto the boat. Ever since then I've always had a plan B. I now schedule two Christmas orders with Tesco's both with a turkey on them, but only two days apart. If my first turkey arrives, then fine I simply cancel my second one. Hopefully by tomorrow evening I will know whether to allow turkey number two to come or if I can cancel it. Turkey number two is a fresh one which will make life a bit easier too. Oh the joys of island life!

My gold coloured rings are both old, the flower one was a gift from a friend and the other a charity shop find. My sunglasses are old too.

And that pretty much winds things up for this week. Life is good, busy and slightly bonkers at times as I try to fit in the wrapping of presents, stirring of fudge and making list after list in an effort to feel in control as the big day races towards us. I'm sure we're all in the same boat and I love the idea of each little house being a hive of industry and stress too, but mostly full of the joy and anticipation of spending quality time with loved ones at this most special time of the year. I'll be back before Christmas with another festive outfit to share with you.

See you soon!

Anna x

Hello and welcome once again to our monthly Style Not Age challenge! This month Jacqui chose Full Skirts as our theme. This for me was very tricky as I currently only have one big skirt to hand which I'd styled in three different ways, none of which really excited me so this one is the best I could do!

Much as Jacqui chose Full Skirts she has since lamented the fact as even she found it a challenge too far. Her skirt and top are from F&F, and jacket is from Matalan. Catch up with all her news on Mummabstylish blog.

Gail lucked out when she found her skirt and necklace in a Plymouth charity shop for the grand total of £3.25! She shopped her closet for the rest of her outfit, and very successfully too. Find out more on Gails blog Is This Mutton.

Emma's full skirt is by Joanna Hope. I love the bold autumn colours and how she's styled it, particularly with that natty hat! See more from Emma on the Style Splash blog.

Hilda's gorgeous big skirt was on loan from a local boutique - a fact that always makes me envious. The rest of her look was from her own wardrobe, so see more of that on her blog Over The Hilda.

I do love this skirt and wore it for the first time in the summer for a fund raising event at the Gallery - see it here. As a summery look I thought it worked perfectly, but in the depths of winter it really did challenge me. I had another rebirth in mind featuring gold to tie in with the forthcoming festive season but the weather here has been so wild this past weekend that I couldn't even get along to the Gallery to showcase it. (I have nowhere at home that gives good enough light at this time of year to take blog photos.)

However, as a full skirt it complies with the remit and so this is it. The skirt was new (from Vinted) and the brand is Coast so it was a worthy addition to my wardrobe earlier this year and I do still love it.

The leopard print top and orange sock boots are also from Vinted, again both new with tags on.

My orange perspex rings are preloved and the gold coloured snake necklace was a gift from a girlfriend.

So that pretty much rounds things up for this month's challenge. Sorry if I've not been terribly inspiring this time. As you may already know, winter isn't my favourite season for showcasing outfits, but I'll keep trying!

Anna x

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

Hello-ha! How are you? As you can see, I'm still holding on to my summer colours and my only concession to autumn is that I'm wearing tights. You'll have seen everything before, apart from my rather fabulous new handbag...

My hand knitted velour handbag is a recent find from Vinted, costing a mere £15! Being orange meant pretty much love at first sight. It's always exciting when parcels arrive and this was part of a rather large influx last week. At this stage I feel it might be fitting for me to say "Hi, my name's Anna and I'm an insomniac shopper!"

Honestly, I have these spells when I fall into an online retail vortex and can't escape until I feel replete. Currently, I'm over the latest episode, until the next time of course...

Anyway on to the handbag. When it arrived I discovered that it really would have benefitted from two handles as it didn't hang straight. Customising was the only answer and so started my endeavours to fix it as best I could. The result is that it now hangs fine and looks even more quirky. I threaded a gold chain through the handle and clipped it off to one side to stabilise the balance. The resulting gape in the stitches was covered by my Carmen Miranda brooch.

The tweed shorts co-ord is from Primark, bought last year and the boots are old too, from the MOMA shop, but found on Vinted. Sunglasses are from Radley London. The ruffle front blouse was also a Vinted buy and the orange tights are from Snag.

As you can tell, as long as the sun keeps shining I'll be wheeling out another burst of colour for you. The end of the season is fast approaching so I'll be snapping away at my outfits of the day to store up for the dark autumn days in the hope of spreading some joy via the blog.

I'll add another shot of this from a previous week, taken in the Gallery this time - I think it shows up the vibrancy of the outfit much better. Different accessories and top, but that's only what you'd expect of me isn't it?

Somehow I feel much more in context within the workplace. I may be a bit flamboyant, but against this colourful backdrop it all seems pretty normal eh? My wearable art ties in my surroundings as I'm often told.

Anna x

Hello and welcome once again to our monthly Style Not Age challenge! This month we're tying in with Oxfam who promote this annual event, Second Hand September. I have to admit that this is an easy ask of me as most of my purchases nowadays are second hand, either from Vinted or charity shops. We'll get to my outfit in a minute, but first lets check out my fashionable friends ...

Jacqui's looking extremely stylish in her Second Hand offering. The dress is by Monsoon, costing the grand sum of £6 from a local charity shop and her jacket is a hand me down from her daughter. Catch up on all of her news over on Mummabstylish blog.

Emma has also inherited a second hand piece from her family - her mum's skirt is part of this colourful outfit. Nothing new at all from her, so do skip across to her blog Style Splash for the full low down.

This cutsie look from Gail is based on a pinafore dress from Vinted which suits her down to a T! I don't think I have ever had a pinafore, not since I was a girl, but this is cute as a button on her. See more from her on Is This Mutton blog.

Hilda was invited to join Oxfam in Second Hand September and found this beautiful cashmere blazer by Louis Copeland - tres chic Hilda! She shopped her wardrobe for the rest of her look, so do pop across to see her interesting back story on Over The Hilda blog.

£10 was all I paid for this frilly frock from Vinted and goodness, how lovely it is! The bright colours and that flirty frill sold it to me and when it arrived it was even better in the flesh. The last half of September has been a mixed bag of weather and this dress has come into its own a couple of times when the sun burst through and I needed something cool and airy for work.

Nature's variety of greens really help to offset the vibrant orange and purple flowers of this mini dress. The button front and elasticated sleeves make it easy to pop on and off too.

I've brought out my Oliver Bonas handbag from last year and paired it with these elasticated slip on sandals from Primark, a find from my trip to Truro in June.

There's nothing new as far as my accessories go: rings are indeed second hand, sunglasses are from Radley (old) and my Storm watch is pretty much star of the show.

Second Hand September has been a successful challenge for us all - I do hope you've enjoyed our diverse outfits too. Many thanks for joining us and I look forward to seeing you next time!

Anna x

Wow, what a wonderful week I've had! Usually I'm raving about the weather or a fab sea swim, but this week I've had two surprise gifts in the post and this is the first one - Colourful by Iris Apfel. The book turned up in the post from a blog follower who saw it and thought of me. Thank you so much Rosemary H!

In the summer of 2023, as Iris welcomed her 102nd birthday, she put pen to paper to write this very special project: what Iris called her legacy. Filled with over 300 personal photos Iris's incredible energy radiates from every page.

This is one of her many quotes: her voice speaking my thoughts. She validates my joy in the daily pleasure of dressing up. The book is a beautiful rich tapestry of Iris's life - what an amazing gift!

Yes, here's Iris in my peapod trouser suit! Oh how I love this suit, but you already know that, don't you. According to Iris when she wore it felt like haute couture and it certainly elevates me every time I wear it too.

And here's my second surprise gift of the week. One of our Gallery Tresco artists, Lizzie Black, was recently on the island for a brief en plein air session and had taken some photos of me as I hung my washing out one morning. Fast forward a couple of weeks and this turns up on my desk. What a kind and generous thing to do. Thank you so much Lizzie! I've bought a couple of Lizzie's paintings in the past and now I have this very personal piece to add to my collection - wow!

The outfit for my lounging-about-at-home look is a pyjama suit that Sasha bought me last year. It took me a while to fix it as it didn't have any buttons on the jacket so I waited until I found the perfect buttons and then proceeded in making button holes.

It still thrills me that I can sew and mend and fix my own clothes! It's not exactly rocket science, I know, but the achievment still gives me a rush.

I recently bought these rather fab flowery sandals and thought they worked very well with today's flamboyant outfit - a great homage to the splendid Iris Apfel! Nothing else is new: the jewellery is all old, often preloved which would have met with her approval as thrift shops were some of Iris's favourite haunts too. I'll leave you with a few more of Iris's quotes - echo's from my heart. I feel such gratitude for my life, for these unexpected gifts.