Less colour, more detail

Further to my post on Monday where I placed myself well out of my comfort zone by wearing top to toe beige, I decided to run with the theme of less colour but more detail today. My default setting as you know is to turn the volume up colour-wise at every given opportunity, but the positive response to the March Madness feature gave me cause to consider the value of more neutral tones.

Less colour doesn't necessarily mean less fun though!

What is fun, is the fact that even though I'm in my 60's I am still learning about clothes. If Hilda hadn't come up with that particular challenge I would never have pulled those random separates together to make my homage to beige. 

The starting point for today's ensemble is this snakeskin jacket which has been gifted to me by JD Williams. The fabric is a suede effect making for a very soft finish, comfortable to wear and more lightweight than if it were real suede. I'm a big fan of biker jackets, so when the offer came to through to choose something from their current range, I was happy to see this one. I don't have a patterned biker jacket in my ever expanding collection so this seemed to be the ideal opportunity. Made to the usual specifications the jacket has zipped pockets and zips on the sleeves plus the slanted zip across the body. The fit is good - I'm a size 10 and this was as expected. My favourite points have to be the pattern (snakeskin is always on trend in my books) plus the cool look of a biker jacket crosses all age groups. 

I decided to pair the biker jacket up with black work trousers to give a less rock chick look, but as usual I couldn't settle for plain old black trousers could I?

These eyelet trim trousers were from Zara last year. They tick the right boxes for me when I need a well fitting ankle length black trouser that keeps me out of the boring zone. The sock boots were from Zara too. I suppose if you don't feel this adventurous you could indeed wear plain black trousers with simple boots or even a pair of sandals with this look - see some ideas for sandals on the JD Williams website here. 

In my quest to wear less colour I've gone big on accessories, bringing out a new handbag which I bought in a tiny boutique in St Andrews in January. The turtle shape plus all of these sparkling gemstones had that quirky appeal for me and was also in the sale coming in under £40 which suited me too. I've been saving the bag for a special outfit and this seems to be the perfect one. Tonally the jacket and bag work so well together and the black ties in with the trousers too. I really like this mixture of black trousers saying work and biker jacket saying rock chick - it's all about being an individual, isn't it? This may not be a conventional work outfit for some, but it would be great for a lunch out or after work drinks with the girls, don't you think?

The final touches for today's look are this statement necklace from Topshop along with these gold coloured rings, both of them pre-loved. 

Before you go, let me confess that I had to give this gorgeous snakeskin jacket the true Anna's Island Style treatment and dressed it up with a mega splash of colour here -

Leave me have your votes please for which look you prefer. Either way, I'm a winner!

Wishing you a fab week ahead!

Anna x

And so it begins...

Happy Wednesday to you my lovely readers!

When I say and so it begins, I mean the transitional period which leads me to say goodbye to my favourite season and oh hello, to autumn. Stepping out today in silver boots is a good way to get started. There has to be some joy in every outfit and these metallic beauties are most definitely it. 

Yes, the heels are precariously high and the angle is steep, but heck they are outrageously wild and so much fun. In Sunday's post I talked about sometimes using a conservative outfit to fire me up to wear something so diametrically opposed the next day and this is it. I love the 60's feel to this ensemble which reminds me of Twiggy or Mary Quant - all I need is some white eyeshadow and pale pink lipstick! 

The Peter Pan collar and white cuffs of the tunic are what attracted me to this heart adorned top when I saw it in a charity shop last month. The brand is Boohoo and it cost me £3.50; I've already worn it twice bringing the cost per wear down to very reasonable £1.75. I wear a little vest top under this chiffony fabric along with these eyelet crop trousers which were from Zara last year. 

I do love this outfit and have to acknowledge that this has to be one of the upsides of autumn; the ankle boot does come into its own at this time of year. My sock boots stand at the ready and yes, it won't be long until you see my signature pair of red ones back in harness too.

The look needed minimal styling today with simply two (preloved) rings along with my favourite/ever-so-useful sunglasses by Quay. 

Much as it saddens me to see the change in daylight as the brightness of the sun fades into a softer glow, I know I will adapt and come to terms with the inevitable autumn gloom. What I can say however, is that these next few months usually bring the most stunning sunsets to these islands. Huge cloud formations allow the sun to dip behind them and diffuse the beams of sunlight spectacularly. Of course, I'll feature some of those for you both here and on my Instagram feed in due course. And that pretty much wraps it up for another day. I do hope that you're enjoying some fine September weather and maybe even picking up some new items for the forthcoming/current season too.

Enjoy your week!

Anna x

Eyelet trousers with silver boots

Happy Easter to you all! The aroma of chocolate is heavy in the air as I write, but I'll try to keep my focus on the matter in hand, that being these silver boots which I've rediscovered after months of neglect.

I styled these up in the run up to Christmas (see here) and then tucked them neatly away in the back of my shoe cupboard and promptly forgot them. That's the problem with new things, you can easily forget them when they're not an established item. Anyway, I came across another blogger wearing something similar the other day which reminded me of mine too.

Like most of my styling, I start off with one idea and it seems to evolve into something quite different. I had imagined these with some cropped, faded denim jeans, but much to my surprise I found these don't exist in Anna's Island Style closet - what a nasty shock for me! (Note to self: source these next time I'm dosing up on retail therapy.)

So after a couple of false starts, I came across these eyelet trousers which I'd bought in the Zara sale just after Christmas. Maybe I forgot to mention them? My selective memory is just another way of coping with my clothesaholic condition. Forgive me.

This shirt from Sainsbury's is fast becoming a classic for me and is the ideal partner to echo the eyelet detailing of the cropped trousers. I added the gobstopper gemstone belt to give a streamlined look which also fooled Polly into thinking that this was actually a jumpsuit.

The belt was an eBay purchase a long time ago, but has only recently come into play since I chopped off a couple of inches of elastic from the back of it, making it fit at last. The jacket was a hand-me-down from Sasha (from H&M). You may recall the silver and gold frilly ring that Steve gave me for my birthday this year and the other silver and gold etched ring is by Diana Porter, but so very ancient that I don't think she makes them any more. Mine says "In heaven on earth", but wait - I've just searched her website and found one similar here.

This is a better shot to see the detail of both rings. Follow this link to see more like the frilly Emily Nixon one here.

It may be mass produced, but the jacket is still really well made, right down to the pattern matching which shows beautifully on the back seam.

After a busy morning of beetling about in the gallery, it dawned on me why these boots have been relegated to the depths of the wardrobe - yep those heels are a killer! I can see they need to be kept for desk days when I'm seated for the duration or maybe just for outings to the local pub which is only 100 yards from home. I still love them for the glamour they represent, even though (or maybe is it because?) their vibe is reminiscent of the erotic Barbarella!

Wishing you a lovely Easter Sunday!

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Jacqui of Mummabstylish

Anna x