Style Scientist

Hello again! Yes, I'm back after my mini break at home where sewing was the name of the game. It was glorious, stressful, frustrating and a joy, as well as a battle as I struggled to overcome my personal limitations with both machine and brainpower, but mostly it was fun. 

Here I am wearing my new jacket, lined in burgundy satin to give it a bit of both body and style. This was one of my minor sewing projects, causing me less of a headache than others. Initially I'd planned on lining this £6 Vinted three quarter length jacket in a baby pink satin fabric but it didn't excite me so I regrouped, coming up with the clever idea of buying a satin dressing gown to repurpose instead. This meant that I had the basics already in place - seams all sewn and in the right places too. 

I removed the sleeves using only the body of the material to line the jacket, attaching it to the neckline and sides. It's a fab new addition to my wardrobe, especially at this time of year as my annual clothes changeover happens. 

Anyway, I'll be peppering my blog with other lovely sewing successes in due course, but today I wanted to say thank-you to a kind blog follower and friend who recently came to chat with me in the Gallery. Rosemary has coined the phrase, Style Scientist, applying it to me. According to her my experiments with clothes and accessories do have a place in the style choices of the likes of her and many others who follow my blog or pop in to see what I'm wearing while they're on holiday. She said that my recent neon boots (see here) were an inspiration for her and even though she considers herself fairly conservative in her dressing she said that these boots could earn a place in her wardrobe. I recently wore them with a pair of black jeans and a simple crew neck black sweater especially with Rosemary in mind - it was a cool look, even if I say so myself!

The explosion of colours in the jacket acted as a springboard for today's outfit. I've run with the patterns and embroidery stories too which give this a very maximalist look - I'm sure that Iris Apfel would have been proud of me! Sometimes you just have to submit to the more is more mode of dressing, and if my happy dressing is infectious then that's an absolute bonus.

I'm wearing my pale pink Replay trainers (old, from TK Maxx) along with this new shopper that Sasha recently gave me. She's on a big clear out like me, which suits me fine if I'm going to benefit from pieces like this!

My rings are both very old, pre-loved and worn with my only other accessory, my Quay Australia sunglasses. The lace blouse is old, from Zara a few year's ago and the trousers are from Vinted.

Photo bombing continues to be a favourite sport for some of the locals ...

... many thanks to Mitch and Lorna for pepping things up! But maybe I ought to stop being a sitting duck.

So that's the latest from me. I'll be back on Monday, the last one of the month which means it'll be time for our Style Not Age Challenge. Please do swing by if you get a moment.

                                                                        Anna x

Gone sewing!

Thank you for coming, but sorry, I've taken a week off work and blogging and life in general to satiate my need to sew! I have lots of upcycling, mending and making planned and know that I'll only achieve a fraction of it, but goodness what fun it is to be sitting at my machine for hours at a time. I'll be back next week and hope to show you some of the results - providing they're a success of course!

                                                                        Anna x

Sieze the day!

The sun came out today making it a no-brainer for Fiona and I to capture some images for the blog. We finished work and wandered along the road towards the quay at New Grimsby to escape from the brisk north wind. Tucked in behind the hedge we dodged across the road and onto the last patch of sand as the incoming tide swallowed up the beach.

I've been itching to wear these new boots since they arrived in the post last week. Rain and yet more rain meant it's been impossible to get outside for blog photos, so today's bright sunshine was too good to resist. I've paired the neon bright flatforms with a yellow ribbed body underneath my soft green tweed shorts suit (from Primark). Boots, tights and body are all from Vinted. 

I can't explain the appeal of these chunky workwear boots as my latest passion. My son did question how these and my orange ones have become my style statement of the moment and I really can't answer that; I just know that I love them!

Nothing new accessories-wise this time. Necklaces are old/pre-loved, as are my rings and sunglasses, but that's not to say that they're not well considered to match the outfit of the day.

Fiona had a bit of a surprise as a wave suddenly swept round about her - luckily she was wearing her wellies!

 

I chose orange as my other accent colour today. The handbag is by Oliver Bonas and the coat is one of my new winter buys - it's by Superdry and was brand new from Vinted at a cost of £60.

Fiona kindly told me that I look like a bright orange caterpiller. She may be right, but the coat is all about keeping warm and if that means I have to sacrifice some style in order to keep cosy then so be it!

                                                                    Anna x

Sunshine and showers

Hello again! Today I'm trying to find a plus with the British weather and that can only be the excuse to buy a new weatherproof jacket and wellington boots. The orange jacket is by Barbour and cost me £40 (brand new from Vinted) as were the Joules wellies. 

My ongoing wardrobe clear-out has extended to the downstairs coat cupboard now where I'm dejunking like a frenzied idiot, getting rid of coats that I've had for years despite never wearing them. In their place I'm replenishing my coat collection with all sorts of lovely (and mostly orange) coats and jackets. I'm suddenly aware that my next milestone birthday will see me becoming 70 and am trying to buy coats that will be useful to me at that time of life. Mostly, I'm slightly worried that I'll be an true OAP by then and may not be able to afford a good winter coat or two.

My friend Fiona and I hooked up for a lunchtime walk yesterday, timing it perfectly between the showers. It was still a good chance to test drive my boots as we hopped around the large puddles that have grown to almost mini-lake size after this dreadfully wet winter. The jacket was on its first outing too and proved to be light and yet fully windproof too. Steve has a few, very old, Barbour jackets and all of them are very heavy, never mind terribly dull in that boring old greenish brown colour.

This look is great compromise of style and functionality. The jeans are new too (from Vinted) and are by Twiggy for M&S. The fit is great as they have a bit of stretch in them, perfect for our yomp around the island. The white top is old as are the sunglasses.

The wellie boots are so cute, don't you think? I couldn't help but show them alongside our local daffodils. Spring is truly here!

My Zara necklace was a birthday gift last year and the rings are pre-loved and also very old. Easter has come and gone and the island is full of happy families enjoying island life despite the changeable weather. Personally I'm fed up with the rain and am very keen to do my clothes changeover, but can't justify it yet. In the meantime, my love affair with Vinted continues as I find temptation only a click away. My other passion currently is sewing and I hope to post some images for you to see next time. I've upcycled a pair of pink corduroy jeans and am working on a beautiful summer duster coat that's too big and is proving a battle to alter. That said, I do so enjoy the challenge of how to approach these items to make them fit. 

Thanks for joining me and Happy Easter!

Anna x