Fins and face masks

Another Friday, another feature.

Thanks for swinging by again! Yes, Friday's are looking a bit different now that Dress Up Friday is over, but never mind, here's a dose of beach therapy for you instead. This shot was taken on Wednesday when I was trying out my new toys. Look a bit harder and you'll see them.

But before we talk about these glove fins, I thought I'd just mention that jazzy swimsuit of mine, bought from the Wiggle website. I buy all my swimwear from there as well as goggles, swimcap and anything else you can imagine. Here's the link to the same one. 

I tend to wear this longer kneeskin suit in the evenings when the beaches are a bit more busy. I'm not keen on flashing too much flesh and love the way this accentuates the positive while covering up the negative. Fiona and I are enjoying our after work swims, often challenging ourselves to swim further and faster than if we swam alone.

A fellow swimmer introduced me to these hand fins recently, raving about the difference they can make to both the speed and power of stroke. I bought mine on Amazon, but I suppose you could find them elsewhere. In fact, I don't know why I didn't look for them on Wiggle! Anyway, as Fiona can testify, they do make for a much more powerful stroke and have also helped me improve the pitch of entry for my hands on freestyle. Every time I wear them they improve my speed which in turn means that she too improves her speed as she works to keep up with me. The tables will be turned next week when hers arrive and I have to try even harder to catch up with her speedy gonzalez stroke!

This was taken on Pentle Bay when we swam from the south end to the north and back again. We reward our efforts with a hot flask of tea or in my case fresh lemon and honey - yum! It's a good way to wind down at the end of the day, giving us the chance to take in the view and congratulate ourselves on both the swim and the lifestyle we have here.

Yes, today it's Mask-up Friday and for me, although I've been wearing these at work since the 6th of July, this means another daily challenge to find the right mask to compliment the outfit of the day. I've been making my own for some time in both the snout shape and the pleated one. I won't pretend that they're comfortable, but as someone recently pointed out, if you don't like wearing a mask then you'll hate wearing a ventilator.

Initially I really struggled wearing the face covering, but the more I do, the more I have become acclimatised. My customers are wearing them, some in fabric and some are the disposable kind, but whichever, I'm grateful that they are. Together we're doing our bit to keep each other safe and with the other measures I take, hopefully my workplace has become a sanitary space for everyone. I had a visit from our local Environmental Health Officer today and felt very reassured that everything I'm doing is right and appropriate for this type of retail opportunity. 

My sister Dianne made four of this style of masks to start me off and I've been copying her template to make more. I'm also making the oblong, pleated version as some days it feels less restrictive, but maybe that also means less effective. Mask-Up Friday is headline news today, but soon it'll be the norm. 

Now I have masks as my newest accessory I'm finding the daily outfit choice is being led by the mask rather than the other way around. This weekend I hope to make a few more which might mean no matter what I wear, I'll always have the right mask to wear. 

And talking about matching ... Did you notice how beautifully my new fins matched my swimming cossie?

I'll be back on Monday with our end of month style challenge, so please don't miss it!

Anna x

Zara's "It" dress of 2019

Hello again!

Hi there, and thanks for joining me. It's been a glorious few days of weather here on the Isles of Scilly and this was my outfit of the day yesterday for another scorching day. As the mercury rose I did have to abandon the belt and change the boots for sandals as it became uncomfortably hot later in the afternoon. Thank goodness for living only 100 metres away from work!

This Zara dress was the It dress of last year, but I was oblivious of that when I bought it. (Google Zara It dress 2019 and you'll see umpteen photos of it.) For me, it was merely a pleasant departure from my usual bright and colourful plumage. I wore it for one of my summer exhibitions during the summer (see here) and again dressed it with boots. I laughed when I went back to find those photos as I discovered how similar my styling was both of these times. I clearly like silver and boots with this frock!

The material is light and airy and even with a belt it's very comfortable and still wafts about in a floaty manner, perfect for a summer's day. Increasingly I seem to be drawn to black and white outfits and do wonder if it might be a sign of my tastes maturing at last? Will I ever stop dressing up like a clown in garish, over-the-top garb? Probably not, but I do enjoy a touch of black and white sometimes to help me feel elegant and stylish. I feel well put together, cool and in control when I'm sporting a monochrome look which is no bad thing when you want to give off the right vibes at work.

My New Look boots were bargain basement finds at only £5. Ridiculous, I know, but I couldn't resist buying my first pair of white boots as an adult at the age of 60. Since then, I've gone on to buy another white pair of Doc Marten type boots to make up for a lifetime of lack. After decades of avoiding white trousers and white boots, I'm suddenly making up for the hunger years. They may not be to everyone's taste, but I'm all about pleasing me!

The silver chain mail belt and rings are all second hand.

My sunnies are fab retro round framed ones, this time from Radley London. I've just checked out their website and to my dismay they now have a pair called Anna and they're gorgeous.  I say dismay, because of my self-imposed 12 month shopping ban. Booo-hooo!

I'll be back on Friday. Until then, take care!

Anna x

Dressing up for work again

Yay, it's Friday!

Thanks for joining me again this Friday. The usual Friday feature has run its course as life returns to normal. That's the new normal I mean. As we adapt to different regimes, we're all still trying to find things that were the same as before the virus shook the world. So, for me, that means getting dressed up every day for work. The routine of work after furlough is very welcome especially as the job calls for looking smart rather than casual. 

Taking a break from shopping has been a great way for me to be forced into trying on forgotten clothes, such as this jumpsuit. This made its debut onto the blog five years ago (see here) and hasn't been seen since. I can't imagine why I've neglected it for all this time as I really love both the pattern and style. I bought it in Tesco all those years ago and was thrilled with such an exciting find while I was doing a mundane food shop. It does make me wonder if the thrill of the chase is what fuels us on with our retail obsession. That sense of excitement at finding a lovely new piece of clothing or pair of shoes, the inner battle as to should I/shouldn't I? and finally that devilish feeling of thrusting it into the trolley with gleeful abandon. At the checkout, bubbling with joy at this unexpected purchase, I'm feeling like a teenager playing hooky from school, the happy rebel. Once the newness and sparkle has gone, we come full circle, leaving us in need of that shopping thrill once again.

The nutmeg in this beaded belt (from Sainsbury's many moons ago) is what caught my eye when I was rummaging through my belt box, looking for inspiration. The first time I wore the jumpsuit I kept the self tie belt but this time I wanted to change it up a bit. 

The turquoise beading was a great lead-in to some turquoise coloured jewellery. The rings and bracelet are all charity shop items and work perfectly with the belt. I almost added a turquoise necklace, but decided that it might be overkill.

The round framed sunglasses give a lovely retro feel to the outfit. These were from River Island last year.

I've no assistant working with me currently which means that Steve, by default, is still my photographer of the day. I have to be a bit more organised, planning my outfits in advance for work so that we can take photos the weekend before I wear them. These scorching shots were taken at 9am in the morning last Sunday which proved to be one of the hottest days of the year so far. I must admit I took refuge indoors most of the day as it was just too hot for me! The neutral tone wedge sandals are by Europen brand, found in TK Maxx.

And that pretty much rounds it up folks! Thanks again for dropping by to see me. Cheers too, to those of you who leave me a comment or send an email - I do appreciate your input and the time you take to keep in touch.

Until next time, take care!

Anna x

White jeans and gingham top

Welcome back!

Hello there! How's your week going? The Monday rush pushed my post back into to Tuesday, but here I am resplendent in my new white jeans. No, I've not broken my shopping ban - I've been rummaging through my stockpile of goodies that I've not worn yet. The last time I was on the mainland was February and that's when I bought these River Island jeans. I picked them up in TK Maxx where they were reduced to £16.99. I'm a late bloomer as far as white jeans go, but have ended up with two new pairs both bought out of season at bargain prices. 

Much as I like how white jeans look on others, I've always struggled with how they look on me. I've not helped myself by choosing wide legged cropped jeans as they can only serve to broaden and shorten the wearer. Oh to be six foot tall and willowy as a beanpole!

That old trick of standing sideways sometimes helps... Nah!

Anyway, moving swiftly on. I've  chosen this checkered top with frilled sleeves as partner today, adding black and white hessian platform sandals as a kind of bookend look. The blouse is years old and was a supermarket purchase from Asda at the time. It's particularly useful as it requires minimum care beyond chucking it in the wash and line drying. I've not had to iron it, ever.

I bought the wedge sandals last year in the Harrogate branch of TK Maxx for £14.99. I love the chevron sole plus the fact that they're a broad fit and therefore all day comfortable. 

I decided to pep up the look with orange as an accent colour by way of these two perspex rings (pre-loved), matching necklace (a boutique purchase many years ago) and these retro sunglasses from Topshop last year.

So this is my second week of being open to the public again and I'm pleased to say that I'm getting used to it. The islands are looking like normal again, which is great for business, but can be tricky as far as remembering that this is our first (potential) exposure to COVID19. Anyone travelling to, from and between the islands must wear face coverings for the journey and I'm seeing people coming off the boats choosing to keep their masks on as they walk around the bay past the Gallery and beyond. The islands offer a carefree, relaxed beach holiday experience and as such are enjoying a veritable stampede for bookings. I've heard that Tresco is fully booked until mid October. Hurrah! Our Tresco visitors are very grateful to be able to come back to the island and as such are happy to comply with our local safety measures and restrictions. We've seen shopping queues on TV for months and now our local supermarket has one every day too. I'm offering appointments for viewings at the gallery and am as busy as ever. Even though the risk assessment for the building is for only two people at a time I'm still managing to keep up with demand. All in all, it's good to be back in the swing of things.

                                                                                          Anna x