Shameless, Reckless and Legless

Now that summer is truly upon us, we on the islands find our numbers greatly increased by visitors. These guests are, for most of us, our livelihood and are therefore vital. For me they are also a source of light relief and often friendship too. Enter, stage left, the two Anna's. These lovely ladies (and their families) have been coming to the islands for years and as such have become regulars at the gallery where they have made many a happy purchase from me. Most recently we did indeed have a moment of light relief when I was asked to pose for a photo by Anna R (my brooch pile jacket see here was the object of her admiration, not me exactly). This I did without hesitation which incurred a bit of heckling from her husband as to how brazen I was. "I'm utterly shameless" was my retort. There followed a brief ping ponging of comments regarding the complications of having three Anna's in one place and how it would be useful if we all had nicknames. Hence we now are Shameless (me), Reckless (Anna R) in the centre and Legless (Anna N) on the right. We each of us proffered our own nicknames therefore no-one was in the least offended.

Notice we're all sporting the very same, fashionable windswept look available only on these wild, windy islands. The messy tresses style is absolutely de rigeur this summer daaahling!

  

Today's outfit comprises of trousers from Boden, linen blouse is by Laura Ashley via a charity shop, as is the fab crochet bag. My retro print espadrilles are by Spanish brand Gaimo which I bought from TK Maxx see the same style here but in a different colourway. Sunglasses are by Quay Australia, rings are old, small seed peal necklace is from a charity shop and my dancing girl necklace is by Charlie Dodge. Worth a mention too has to be this fab orange (Tangerine Tent) nail polish by Rita Ora for Rimmel.

Hope that you too are enjoying the start of summer and that you have some great plans for the weeks ahead. See you soon!

Anna x

Summer show: 1 of 6

And suddenly it's time for our summer exhibitions. I can't believe how quickly this has come around again, and also it makes me realise how quickly these summer shows will keep coming and going in the blink of an eye. Here I am with (from left to right) Pamela Harrington, Maggie O'Brien and John Bampfield. The link to their work is here.

We were blessed with a great turnout of guests for the event who enjoyed the artwork on display as well as the fine evening with the high tide view across the bay to Bryher. Polly and I were joined by Ruth on the right and Max as seen below. Our assistants for the show play a vital role in helping to keep things running smoothly and it's good to know that they will be here for every opening night of the summer exhibitions. Thanks ladies!

My pink glitter shoes were pretty much the star of my own show, made all the better by the fact that they were a recent bargain at £5 in a charity shop with all the labels still intact. Brand new, rose gold, glitter shoes - I really couldn't have dreamt that one up could I? My dress is also another brand new find, from H&M (again via a charity shop) and doing me proud to go perfectly with these fancy shoes. My necklace is from Magpie Vintage see their website here for the most wonderful collections of vintage pieces reworked into contemporary styles. I'm wearing my gorgeous Michael Kors watch as usual with my rose gold Kate Spade bangle. My pink ring was a gift and the sparkle ring is from a charity shop.

Thanks for joining me again and I do hope you have a wonderful weekend. See you on Sunday!

Anna x

Pretty woman dress

I recently saw another blogger feature her "Pretty woman" dress and it made me think of this one hanging in the back of my wardrobe. I loved the scene where Julia Roberts wears this dress at the races and decided to give my own spin on that today. This is me dressing up to the nines you might say. That's a little joke for a special someone after her comment on Facebook x

I'm so lucky that my job allows me the creative freedom to dress how I please day in, day out. I love the opportunity to wear something classic like this one day and something completely funky the next. Like this for example. 

These pewter brogues were a late spring arrival (makes them sound like a long awaited baby lamb, doesn't it?) from my most favourite of brogue suppliers, Office. I blame my Scottish upbringing for this unquenchable passion. I've lost track of the number of pairs of these I have, yet there's always another slightly different pair to be lusted after. I'm trying to avoid the Office sale which is currently on see here but that doesn't mean you have to as well. Although I would appreciate it if you at least let me know which ones you've bought behind my back.

So the two outfits are made up like this - spotty dress is from Wallis, jacket by Tabitha, shoes BCBGeneration, necklace from Debenhams, rings are old, rose gold bangle is by Kate Spade, flowery bracelet is from Dorothy Perkins, crocodile handbag was from a charity shop. The trousers are from H&M, jacket is by Michael Kors, top, rings and handbag are from a charity shop, shoes from my beloved Office, sunglasses are by Quay Australia and socks from Primark of all places. Sorry for the lack of follow through links to all of these products. Am hosting our first summer show today, therefore am slightly like a headless chicken this morning. Wish me luck!

Anna x

Keeping it simple

My regular readers will know that I like to keep mixing things up. I'm a bit of a chameleon who likes to be unpredictable. In all honesty, I suppose my clothes are my armour, but I think that's true for all of us. We present the image we want the world to see, who we want to portray, the side of our personality we want to project on that particular day. Today's outfit maybe shows an understated look where it doesn't have to have all bells and whistles to say volumes about me. By keeping it simple I'm in a different zone, feeling a bit Zen.

I bought this top on my recent shopping expedition to Truro see the full story here. It's a M&S top found in a charity shop and I've paired it with an H&M skirt which again came from a charity shop. Both were brand new with labels on, which is the best kind of find of course. I'd bought the skirt in April, but hadn't managed to match it up with anything in my wardrobe. When I came across the top I knew it was perfect, as despite it looking a tad like a crop top, the pencil skirt is very high waisted and therefore the two were made for each other. I often have to play the waiting game with charity shop purchases. I try not to rush into searching for the right thing to co-ordinate with something else, as it invariably means paying full price for something that may only be worn for a special occasion and never come into play again. When I was younger I was much more impatient, driven by needing it now and fuelled by a sense of urgency. Patience seems to be a bonus of the ageing process, and I say hurrah for that.

The final mention has to be of this fab new nailpolish "Breakfast in bed" by Rimmel. Much as I've been harping on about being patient, I have to say that when it comes to waiting for my polish to dry, I'm hopeless! Thank goodness the market is flooded with 60 second polish, as that's about as long as I can hang about in the mornings, blowing and dithering around, trying to pick things up by my fingertips and still managing to smear the blessed stuff. I love this icecream coloured shade and think it's spot on for today's outfit.

The last elements of my ensemble are shoes by Nine West (these are a peep-toe version), handbag (no brand) and yes, from a charity shop, as are the silver rings.

This week I'll be linking with

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Jess of Elegantly Dressed And Stylish

Cherie of Style Nudge

I'll make my apologies in advance for the sporadic blogging that may have to take place over the next two months. We're into our summer period now at the gallery and that means we host one exhibition every ten days. It's a huge challenge, yet great fun too for Polly and I. However I think I may have to post outfits without my usual chit chat, or at least less so, as I'm a bit time-poor. I ask that you still pop by, drop a comment in the box and please don't desert me! I'll be responding and posting as best as I possibly can. And to those whose blogs I visit, apologies if I'm not the regular visitor I'd like to be. Have a great week and see you all on Wednesday.

Anna x