Party season and the pitfalls of indoor photography

This isn't a how-to post, more a personal insight of my difficulties in moving from outdoors photography to indoors. We're starting at the end, where the camera flash finally worked and the backdrop was uncluttered enough not to distract.

This was a mid light problem where the automatic flash refused to work and left me in this murky twilight zone.

 I felt the lighting was gloomy using the overhead light.

Too much daylight overhead was a challenge for my camera too, as I couldn't seem to get a sharp focus.

And this was to be my perfect indoor location, but my temperamental auto flash wouldn't co-operate, aaarrrrhhh!

Maybe this light level is OK?

But trying to get the camera to focus on this pattern was a bit of a problem though.

The party season is upon us meaning lots of sparkle and bling and trying on of last year's party dresses to see if we can justify a new one. Well, that's what I've been up to this weekend. My photo shoots normally take place outside in daylight, but wild winds forced me indoors and this proved to be quite a challenge for my all-singing, all-dancing camera. I'm sure my wonderful camera knows what to do, the problem is in the operator - me! I've only recently started using the timer with tripod, and am just about getting to grips with that, but incorporating the flash with timer has been a bit of an issue. And just to compound things, I had problems locating my perfect backdrop. The spot I thought would be ideal was the one place where the flash wouldn't fire which was so frustrating. I had this master plan of revealing three party outfits today. My thinking was that my fellow bloggers might give me their opinion as to what to wear to the big island bash on Saturday. However, two hours later I admitted defeat and this offering is what I've managed to pull together.

Trinny Woodhall of "What not to wear" fame, was in the newspapers this week giving women styling tips, one of which I must admit rings true with me. That being, women should think of their body type, not their age when chosing an outfit. I wear this shape of dress to work often and love the simplicity of it. Even though it's very slim fitting, the long sleeves and round neck feel demure allowing me to show of my curves without looking too flashy. Although that doesn't quite hold true with this silver geometric print version which really comes into it's own at this time of year. I bought it from TK Maxx a couple of years ago and have worn before it on New Year's Eve. Our annual island party is a big gathering at our local bar and restaurant and covers all ages from across the entire island. It's a great excuse to dress up which I know most of us will be embracing. In addition to this one I have two knee length dresses in the running, but also two maxi skirts and one maxi dress as well, so I'm far from decided. All I can say is that by this time next week I'll be hoping to show you what I wore on the night (providing my camera doesn't play up!)

One final word about underwear. Bodycon dresses really need clever and comprehensive underwear not matter what age you are. With this dress I'm wearing an underwired bra topped off by a brilliant all-in-one which starts at mid thigh and gives smooth cover over hips and bum, tum and waist all the way up and over the back leaving the bra front uncovered. Don't make the mistake of buying magic wear in too small a size (they always seem to be very small in sizing) as it will just make you bulge and push lumps out at the extremities. It needs feel comfortable too, so you want it to contain, but not be so tight you want to take it off after the first 20 minutes.

Dress, shoes and tights: TK Maxx. Clutch: boutique (unknown). Necklace: Dorothy Perkins. Brooch: gift.

This week I'll be linking with
Not Dressed As Lamb
Not Dead Yet Style
Elegantly Dressed And Stylish
Kremb de la Kremb

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.

Ping pong post

Classic lavendar courts with pale blue tights and ?

Well, this biker love affair continues, but that's no surprise is it? What it's covering may be however...

...yes, nearly 60 and I'm wearing a mini.

Ping pong refers to the game I've been enjoying with my dear friend Samantha Blair from Fake Fabulous where we dare each other to test our style limits. It started when Samantha wore her over the knee boots (as seen here) and I suggested she try them with some shorts. She egged me on to wear some shorts too, not realising that I already have (as seen here). And recently Samantha has posted her shorts styled (see here) for the winter in a lovely autumn themed colourway. So, here I am with my next challenge from Samantha - to wear a mini with coloured tights. This is the outfit I wore for our end of season party, but Polly and I were too busy having fun to remember to take photos for the blog. Anyway, we had glorious weather on Sunday so I did a bit of photography for my blog and thought I'd showcase this. Ping...pong...ping...pong. Ball's in your court Samantha, what are we planning next?

The vintage mini dress was from my September shopping trip to Exeter. When I tried on all the clothes the changing room had no lights so I didn't notice that the hem of the dress had come down. After putting it in the wash, I hand stitched the hem back to it's original length and discovered that it wasn't knee length, but in fact a mini. Problem is, after all my sporting efforts during my youth, I have decidedly chunky thighs! Please don't try to tell me otherwise; them ol' thighs have done a whole lot of running, played volleyball, basketball, and hockey in their day building them up to perform all of the tasks required. And I'm happy, nay proud, of their achievements, but they're not these slim, lithesome legs that look fab in a mini dress. Having said all that, this is still wearable for me and is as short as I would chose to go.

The next bone of contention could be the photos showing mini dress, drapey neck and wrinkled face - do these things sit together in harmony? Well, and here's the rub, I'm happy with who I am, otherwise I wouldn't be here doing this. But somewhere out there, "those who sit in judgement" may well be shaking their heads. And to them I say, "So?" 

The beautiful fashion blogger Catherine Summers of Not Dressed as Lamb runs a campaign called # I Will Wear What I Want (as seen here)- and I wholeheartedly agree with her sentiments. As intelligent, thinking women we really ought to get over these "rules" and be our true selves. To quote the wise words of the Bard himself - 

"This above all: 
To thine own self be true, 
And it must follow, as the night the day, 
Thou canst not then be false to any man."

Jacket: TK Maxx. Dress: Vintage charity shop. Shoes: TK Maxx. Tights: charity shop. Necklace: Charlie Dodge. Blue ring: charity shop. Turquoise ring: old.

Thank you to all the ladies I'm linking up with (see the links on the right) 
Jess of Elegantly Dressed and Stylish
Catherine of Not Dressed as Lamb
Patti of Not Dead Yet Style
Ann of Kremb de la Kremb