Pistachio two piece from Primark

Hello lovelies! How are things with you? September is upon us but, as ever, I'm not done with summer yet and will be holding onto my summer finery for as long as possible. This was my work outfit from Friday when the sun was shining as opposed to today's showery, blustery weather. 

I picked up this skirt and top in Primark in April and this is only the second time I've worn it. My blogging friend Sheila from Ephemera always advocates wearing a new item as soon as possible, to take ownership of it and make it part of your wardrobe. Such good advice! I've held off wearing some pieces that I bought in the spring simply to keep them as new. However that can also work against them as they/I can go off the boil.

The two-piece is pretty and I do love the colour which is probably why I bought it, but the jury's out as to whether I'll be wearing it again next year. The elastic around the bottom of the top plus the batwing sleeves means that it doesn't sit in one place but keeps popping up over the waistband of the skirt. On reflection, I can imagine that this is meant to be a crop top. (Primark's demographic won't have over 60's like me in mind!)

The other downside is the very long skirt (neither maxi nor midi) which needs high heels or wedge sandals (these are old, from TK Maxx) as I've worn here. Much as I tried this on in the changing room at the time of purchase, I was simply looking to add some new colour and style to my wardrobe and this seemed to fit the bill. I recall I was in Truro for a medical appointment and therefore this would have been a bit of a rushed shopping spree at the time. Hey ho!

The gold coloured chain belt was another Primark purchase, bought at the same time to add a bit of bling to what I already knew was a marginally staid outfit. I do think it works in lifting the overall look especially along with the gold chain necklace - a very old Primark piece too.

I feel I may be a bit unkind and disloyal to this co-ord and have to say that I don't hate it, but need to find better accessories to lift it into Anna's Island Style. Maybe my orange wedge sandals would have given a more fun slant to things? No worries - I'll be packing it away until next year to give it another chance to shine. 

Understatement isn't one of my strong points and maybe I've not been very fair on the first viewing of this ensemble. My choice of vintage handbag is a great match but, you know me, I do love the wow factor. The rings are old and my Quay Australia sunglasses work well in that matchy-matchy way.

Fiona did the honours with our end of the week photo shoot. As friends we pride ourselves in absolute honesty with her telling me often "Oh, you won't like that one!" as I babble on when I need to be concentrating on my photo face. We do have lots of laughs and surely that's what we all need!

                                                                            Anna x

Maxi Madness, our Style Not Age challenge for August

Hello and welcome to Maxi Madness, our Style Not Age challenge for August! Month by month we 5 friends take it in turn to choose a theme for our challenge and this time it's Hilda's choice which has brought about a lovely collection of summer maxi's so let's take a closer look shall we?

Jacqui's look captures the golden glow of summer in what is actually her daughter's maxi dress. Floppy hat and espadrilles complete this balmy day outfit. Read more from jet-setting Jacqui on her blog Mummabstylish. 

Gail from Is This Mutton has chosen her Asos green maxi dress for our challenge paired with sandals from Accessorize. By her own admission it's madness to own such a lovely dress and never worn it until today!

Hilda's maxi is what she wore on her recent wedding anniversary - a skirt from her local boutique worn and a much loved top. Her maxi madness looks utterly elegant I'd say. You can find her backstory on Over The Hilda blog. 

Emma's glorious maxi dress is by Stella Nova, and is a fabulous combination of summer colours. The figure hugging wrap dress can be seen on her blog Style Splash here. 

My maxi dress was from Hush last summer and golly, what a lot of wear I've had out of it this summer too! It's been great for those super heatwave days when you only want to wear something loose and airy. The shade of pink is neither too wishy-washy nor too fluorescent to leave the skin looking washed out.  

Last week's blog Summer Brights outfit (see here) was such a success that I decided to repeat the happy combination of pink and orange again, this time using the orange for my accessories. Nothing new jewellery-wise nor with the sunglasses or old sandals, but all adding a welcome splash of contrasting colour to liven up what is already a pretty lively frock!

The backdrop is of New Grimsby quay for those of you who haven't visited the island. We mooched along at the end of the day to capture these shots with only a few fishermen for company. 

My daughter kindly did the honours with this week's photography. This atmospheric shot is one of my favourites. 

I do hope you've enjoyed this month's offering - maybe we've given you some inspiration for these last few weeks of summer weather and what you could wear. Thanks for dropping by!

                                                                            Anna x

Summer brights

Hello lovelies! I maybe ought to have called today's post "Better late than never!". August has taken its toll on me, meaning I'm way behind with everything apart from work. Well, maybe even at some areas of my work too if the truth be known... Anyway, here I am in the middle of the night, with a bout of insomnia and an internet connection that keeps dropping in and out trying to put this post together.

My summer brights outfit is a mixture of old and new items - the new being this ruffled skirt, yet another purchase from Number 36 in Penzance dating back to my spring visit to the mainland. The white vest top was from H&M earlier this year too and the pink linen shirt (M&S) was a charity shop find from last year. 

The tiered orange skirt feels flirty and fun and it seemed only right to flounce about on the sand for these photos. Fiona, my photographer extraordinaire, was awol as were family and so I had to make do with the timer on my camera and a bit of hamming up on my own. At least I managed to find a quiet spot on where no-one could see my antics.

I was prepared for the odd flash too by wearing my new bikini. I've yet to do a beach post proper this summer as my every spare moment has been spent helping Steve with our boat renovations. Goodness knows if we'll managed to get it into the water at all this year! Just as we've been trying to finish the last patch of paintwork the weather has turned wet and unpredictable here which is very frustrating.

Said bikini is floral and multi-coloured and is the first new one I've bought for years. Am I bikini body ready I ask myself? Probably not, but it's the only body I've got and may well be on display in September when I've booked a week off work. If the boat isn't launched by then, I plan to take myself off to the beach every day (weather permitting) for a high tide swim and then have a picnic and laze around reading a book and sunbathing. I've already put in for a dose of good weather so fingers crossed that will all go to plan!

There's nothing new jewellery-wise and the Radley sunglasses aren't new either. The beaded belt is very old indeed but has been brought out to tie in with my sandals which again were bought in the spring (from TK Maxx) and haven't made it onto the blog previously.

Side by side, the belt and sandals do look as if they match perfectly which for me it terribly satisfying. Matchy-matchy or clashy-clashy whichever is the plan always makes me happy if I manage to pull it off. Such little pleasures in life please me immensely.

So that's just about all from me. I'm having an overnight trip to the mainland this weekend to have my eye's tested but don't expect I'll have much time for shopping. I say that to almost prepare myself for any disappointment. I also have to get a new passport photo taken and have done an online search, but do wonder how reliable that is - one of the venues is KFC! Anyway, wish me luck and I'll be back on Monday with our Style Not Age challenge. Hope to see you then. Please leave me a comment if you've enjoyed this post.

Thanks for dropping by!

Anna x

Cool dressing for another heatwave

Another week and another heatwave outfit - who'd have thought it? Friday's work outfit was all about keeping cool in the stifling heat. It was another scorching day on the Isles of Scilly and at work we had no way of escaping the intense temperature despite having the doors and sky lights open - there wasn't a breath of wind.

I chose this new airy smock dress (from TK Maxx) to keep me cool and it was pretty successful. The fabric is light and the cut very generous to allow lots of movement and air circulation - not that this was on my mind when I bought it as I simply loved the mix of paisley and floral patterns together. This was another purchase from the spring when I was on the mainland and I had scooped up some new clothes for the months ahead. 

I'd spent most of the day longing for a sea swim at the end of work. The thought of the refreshingly cool water was what kept me going as the mercury rose. At one point while I was serving a customer I bent down to get a paper bag and felt two beads of sweat trickle from bra line down over my tummy - how little exertion was needed to work up a sweat! 

The end of the day couldn't come quick enough for Fiona and I so we had a lazy walk to the south end of the island to find a spot for the photo shoot. It was a bonus to find an empty beach in the height of the summer - this is known as Bathing House Beach. Afterwards we crossed the road behind here and dropped down onto Appletree Bay for a delicious cooling swim.

The outfit was all about comfort so I opted for my sparkly flower sandals to finish off the look. These were from Amazon and are a wonderful mix of comfort and style - the insoles are nicely padded making them all-day wearable. 

My sunglasses are from Radley London and the chunky necklace (Topshop) earned me lots of compliments as it picked up most of the colours of my dress. 

Nothing new jewellery-wise at all. The rings are both old, but work fine with this look.

The islands are busy as ever at the moment which is exactly as it ought to be. We're having a bumper time in the Gallery for our artists too. Sales are strong and I'm just about to fill our art container ready for shipping to the mainland this week. We no long host exhibitions, instead we showcase one painting per artist and from there offer private viewing for the clients to see more from their chosen artists. The gallery has a wonderful mixture of paintings, a real eclectic gathering of styles offering something for everyone. We've hit upon a winning combination for artists and clients alike. I love this new format and as a business model it's a huge success. Hurrah!

Wishing you a great week ahead!

Anna x