Fake fur, frills and tartan

The British weather is in the news lately thanks to the recent storm which blew across the land dropping record levels of rain onto the North of England, leaving thousands of families homeless after the floods. I can't begin to imagine the heartache of this, never mind in the run up to Christmas. Here on the islands we've suffered much less rainfall, but constant gales have been sweeping over us for days on end. My camera and tripod haven't been out for well over 10 days which is when this was taken. If I'd known what was ahead I would have spent the entire day filling my draft box with outfits!

I'm proud to say that today's offering is made up entirely of pre-loved items. All purchased at different times from different sources, each element is a joyful find. The retro patchwork leather boots cost me £20 in Exeter and have buffed up beautifully. The tartan skirt a la Vivienne Westwood came from eBay, as did the faux fur bolero. And the gorgeous russet blouse is from a charity shop in Truro along with the stretch belt. My sister Sandra found this wonderful necklace in a charity shop on Orkney (I think she's enjoying coming across trophy pieces for my blog too).

I'd like to take a moment to say thank you to all my followers for joining me every week to chart the progress of this my island fashion blog. To those I know, hello and I look forward to seeing you again soon, and to those of you across the world who don't know me in person, but who may be getting to know me through the stories and events I share, hello to you also and thank you for coming back time after time. I love to chart my audience, to see it grow and see new countries being added where I have viewers and imagine the people on their phones and at their computer screens. And finally thank you to the newly discovered world of fashion bloggers - this community has been warm and welcoming to me, giving me feedback when I thought no-one had the time to chat. I've had my moments of doubt about running a fashion blog. Am I a fool to show how vain, shallow, needy and narcissistic I am? Or is this type of thinking just a by-product of living in a small, insular community? I think that may be so. And then I take a look at all the other blogs out there, and I can see the pleasure in doing something entirely harmless, see this dialogue that's non-political, non-religious, a hobby that's inclusive for the ordinary, which shares and brings happiness into so many lives, creating new friendships across the globe. Thank you to all who have joined me on this joyful journey.

Anna x

RIP Mary Jane's

You may recognise the photography style as a bit of a blast from the past - yes, Polly was at work here. This post has been tucked away in my draft box ready for, well, today I suppose. 

Instead of my signature riot of colour the theme today is pattern - paisley print tights, jungle print skirt, animal print blouse and the over the top frou-frou patterned fur and feather bit of fun that is masquerading as a handbag. This mish mash of patterns came about quite randomly as some of my outfits do with the only real thought going into my choice of shoes. I didn't want to vamp it up too much, hence the cute Mary Jane's with the little bows. These sweet green shoes have lived in my closet for years now without many outings, but this was their day. And I'm so pleased that they have made their debut, because after 10 years of being in store they have cracked and had to be sent on to the big shoe retirement home in the sky. The final two pieces of note are my beautiful leather jacket as seen here previously and the fabulous Vivienne Westwood pendant which adds the wow factor.

Jacket: charity shop. Skirt: charity shop. Blouse: eBay. Handbag: old. Shoes: Debenhams. Tights: old. Pendant: Vivienne Westwood. Rings: East.

Linking with 
Not Dressed As Lamb 
Not Dead Yet Style 
Kremb de la Kremb 
Elegantly Dressed and Stylish 

Below I just wanted to feature my new jewellery box which was a recent find in a charity shop. Like most fashion bloggers I do tend to collect jewellery as well as clothes (and shoes) and am always struggling for storage space which also lets me see what's what. This beautifully decorated box was only £10 and doesn't have a mark or scratch on it. Best of all it's huge - 40cms x 40cms x 20cms and holds lots of treasures.

Although this only houses a token of my jewellery collection I do feel a bit more organised now. It was a joy to come across something as lovely as this in the shop window of one of my favourite charity shops in Truro. I just love the fact that each compartment is decorated differently, and every one in such a pretty colour too. Aaaahhh, joy of joys.

Beautiful Benetton jacket

Trying one of those arty shots with a shaft of sunlight...

This shows the unusual tucks at the back of the jacket.

I have a little cache of photos all taken on a fine Sunday afternoon this autumn. It seemed like too good an opportunity to miss, and was also good experience for me to fiddle about with my camera to get to grips with the timer. This particular outfit really is all about the jacket. I bought it at half price in the Benetton sale a couple of years ago for £30 which seemed like a good price for such a lovely weighty woollen jacket.  I've just rediscovered it recently and when I tried it on with these skinny jeans decided that this was the look that was needed to show the jacket off to its best. I'm in love with it again, which is my sole reason for buying anything. At the trying on stage I know if I'm going to buy something when I clock my smiling reflection in the mirror. Love it or leave it is my motto. And, of course, let's not forget that it's orange (my favourite colour), and tartan (my favourite pattern). So the pairing with these purple skinny jeans from Gap is perfect in my eyes. I've kept the top simple with this marled grey thin polo neck sweater. The shoes are Dr Martens in pewter which I've dressed up with black and silver metallic windowpane check socks. And it was time to bring out my leopard print hat again, along with the cute handbag and pistachio coloured leather gloves.  

Jacket: Benetton. Jeans: Gap (charity shop). Shoes: eBay. Socks: Primark. Polo neck: H&M. Belt: H&M. Philip Treacy hat: eBay. Gloves: Enjoy. Handbag: charity shop. Necklace: gift.

Linking today with 
Elegantly Dressed and Stylish
Style Crone
Not Dressed as Lamb
Not Dead Yet Style
Kremb de la Kremb

Michael Kors boots

Yet again TK Maxx has come up trumps with these Michael Kors boots.

The movement in this photo was a matter of click and run!

I had a quick visit to the mainland last month and managed to fit in a mini splurge in the shops. Confessional over. I normally share my shopping spoils with you, but have had to hold back as I'm waiting for something to come back from the Dry Cleaners before I do. However, I couldn't hold off showing you these any longer. From good old TK Maxx, these Michael Kors boots were reduced from £195 to £43! I've been on the hunt for some little booties (I've discovered that ankle boots are booties according to the blogging world which I think is really cute) ever since I saw these cream ones on Greetje's blog No Fear of Fashion as seen here. (Yes, I know I've spoken about them before, but I just can't get them out of my head.) These pay homage to hers although they are quite different, but equally stylish methinks.

The trick was to find an outfit that said upmarket,as these heels were hailed as hot stuff when I proffered them for inspection at the hairdressers in Truro the day I bought them. No flashes of skin was a good start. The next thing was to pull together this skirt and jacket combo. Now that looks good. And the patterned polo just gives a bit of personality and stops it all being a bit bland and too safe. The final flourish is to add my net underskirt to give volume and shape to what is actually a very heavy woollen skirt. Plain brown tights to lengthen the legs, a coral belt to emphasise the waist and some choice jewellery finishes the styling challenge - I'm really pleased. Now where am I going to wear this lot on a quiet Sunday afternoon on this little island of mine?

Booties: TK Maxx. Jacket: charity shop. Skirt: charity shop. Polo neck: eBay. Belt: vintage. Rings: charity shop.

Linking with
Not Dressed As Lamb
Not Dead Yet Style
Elegantly Dressed And Stylish Style
Kremb de la Kremb

And finally...

On Thursday evening this piece of an American rocket was washed up on the shores of the Isles of Scilly. There were many locals and coastguards involved in bringing the  piece of fuselage onto the beach at New Grimbsy (just 300m from my workplace) so I had a birds eye view. By Friday the environmental agency was present and soon local news reporters turned up to cover the find. The BBC and local radio gave details of the event during the course of the day. The exact identification of the rocket is still a matter of question and where the piece will end up is under discussion. We're used to flotsam washing up from time to time, but this beats the lot.