Paisley pattern and lace for a summer's day

Hello lovelies! This week's post is my Friday work outfit (again). Friday seems to be a good day for a stroll after work with my friend and photographer Fiona. We ended up on Cook's Porth, just below the Old Blockhouse castle and settled there for a while. It was a lovely evening as we tucked in out of the wind to take these shots.

You may remember this lace blouse (Zara) that I wore a lot last year. It's become a summer staple - white means it's so versatile. The sandals were from Lazy Dogz and are so blooming comfy. Amazon has some of these on sale currently and I'm keeping my eye on them in case a gold pair comes up. I seem to be lacking a pair of flat gold sandals this year.

The only new item is/are these fabulous paisley culottes that I bought in Penzance from a little boutique on Causeway Head, called Number 36. (The label on them simply says Made in Italy.) It's a gem of a shop, selling lots of gorgeous clothes, as well as jewellery, cards and other lovely goods. I've bought a few things from there this year and will keep dodging in whenever I'm across on the mainland.

Not only do I love the pattern of the culottes, but also the deep shirred band that sits over the tummy and hips. It's a flattering style and easy to wear too. I resisted the temptation to pair them with a figure hugging top and went with a camisole layer under the wide loose blouse. 

Nothing new jewellery-wise, but the blue rings do go so very well with the cornflower trousers don't you think?

I feel I ought to be awarding a prize for those of you who remember the brand of these old favourites. It's Quay Austalia, just in case you've missed that!

I hope this has been a breath of fresh air for you - either because of the outfit or the glorious backdrop. I have a lovely new pink linen dress to showcase to your next week, so do swing by if you have a moment.

                                                                                      Anna x

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

Welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge.

This time for our monthly challenge Gail came up with the brilliant idea of "What I'd wear on the Frow".  To the uninitiated, like me, that's the Front Row of a fashion show. Paris Fashion Week is due to commence on the 28th of September and despite the pandemic, the show must go on! My take on this was that my particular fashion show was socially distanced and therefore the runway is an outdoors affair. You can tell by my expression that the next model is impressive.

As you can see, Gail truly entered into the spirit of things, inspiring us with this timely theme.  See more and get the low down on her outfit over on Is This Mutton blog now.

Jacqui chose a fabulous backdrop for her relaxed but stylish ensemble. Check out her blog Mummabstylish for her spin on this challenge.

Style Splash Emma opted for a funky pair of culottes to build her Frow outfit around. A spinkling of animal print raised the bar just that little bit higher too!

Hilda played it super cool with this fabulous Spanx trouser suit, topping it off with a stylish fedora - can't you just imagine her turning up at a fashion show in this? See more on her blog Over The Hilda.

If indeed I were going to attend a fashion show, then the coat would be equally important as the outfit. This pink trench, (Topshop, pre-loved), with its black and white gingham lining couldn't be a better match for today's ensemble. The turned up sleeves show the fabric nicely and also allow the lace cuff of the blouse to be exposed too.

The lace blouse was from Zara last summer and has become a real wardrobe staple for me. I seem to wear it at least once a week currently as it's so versatile with a vest top underneath or like today worn as part of a dungaree combination. I wanted to show the pretty pattern in this shot.

My outfit may not be of the caliber of the immaculate Anna Wintour and perhaps if I really did attend a fashion show I would chose to wear a less quirky and more classic type of ensemble. Who knows?

The mini Candy Bag is by Furla and is my bag of the moment. The black and white shoes are by Nine West, sourced at TK Maxx.

And of course if I'm showcasing a black and white outfit then it's gotta be my black and white Quay Australia sunglasses. 

Many thanks to Gail for throwing the gauntlet down with this great challenge. It was good to have a bit of role-play this time too! I do hope you enjoyed it and will find time to pop across to read the backstories of the others in the Style Collective.

                                                                                          Anna x

Spring in January?

Hi there!

Yes, doesn't this look like a lovely spring day? This past weekend we were blessed by the most balmy spring-like weather which prompted me to bring out this bright outfit as an ode to the season ahead. I came across the various pieces when I was having a big sort out recently and had it earmarked for when the gallery re-opens in March. But on Sunday I decided that I couldn't wait any longer...

The jacket, skirt and handbag are all pre-loved items, charity shopped over the past couple of years. I added the black dotty tights to tie in with the spots on the skirt and chose a white lace top (from Zara) and white stiletto heeled boots (from New Look) to pick out the white polka dots too.  I do like this prim look. Ever the chameleon I love to ring the changes!

Apologies to those of you who aren't keen on black tights with white boots, but in this case I do like them.

The charity shopped handbag was brand new with labels still attached and only cost me £6.99 when I was in London before Christmas.  I do enjoy a bit of pattern play and this checkered bag against the spotty pleated skirt is most definitely a fun partnership. The rings are also second hand. Sunglasses are by Quay Australia.

I'll be back again on Friday to share a rather sparkly outfit that made its debut on Saturday night. It was a special outing, but you'll have to join me on Friday to find out why ...

I hope to see you then!

Anna x