Black trouser challenge 6

Here we have week 6 of my black trouser challenge featuring these fabulous frilled lovelies from River Island. You don't often see me wearing red - last time was at Christmas with this red skirt- but today I've rediscovered this M&S linen top that I bought in a charity shop last summer and this is its first showing.

Red and black may well be everyday wear for most of you, but this is a giant step out of my comfort zone. Having said that, I realise that finding the right shade of red makes my skin come alive. I've previously shied away from reds thinking that they didn't suit me, but that's because I've been trying reds with a blue tone in them as opposed to this which is a tomato red that veers towards orange. The vintage handbag doesn't come out much for all the previous reasons so this is a great excuse to showcase it once again.

Outfit details - trousers: River Island, top: M&S, belt, bag,bangle and rings: all charity shopped, necklace: gift, shoes: BCBGeneration.

On Sunday I'll be featuring my outfit for our first summer show so please join me to see how I kicked things off this year.

Anna x

Art deco culottes

I bought these fabulous art deco print culottes last year and this is the first time I've worn them. Why has it taken me so long I wonder? 

I'm not sure if these really constitute culottes? Maybe they're just long shorts? Or short longs? Hahaha, I can't help myself sometimes.

Anyway, I love them and also like the knobbly texture of my clutch which I cleverly matched up with the knobbly textured top today - also new and never worn. Items like these tend to take a back seat in my wardrobe, often getting overlooked for more eye catching pieces. And yet once this is on I think it's pretty eye catching too!

Must dash now as I've an exhibition to open today with our reception party this evening. Over the next few days I'll be featuring the party outfit and also showcasing my black trouser challenge at some stage too so do swing by to check out the blog for the latest from these golden isles.

Today's outfit details - culottes: Topshop, top: Tu, sandals: Sixtyseven: clutch: no brand (charity shopped), sunglasses: Quay Australia, bangle: charity shopped, rings: c/o Gemporia.

Anna x

5Over50 round 3

Hello again, and thanks for joining we five over 50's fashion bloggers with this monthly style challenge as created by Gail (see how we started here). This month it was the turn of Laurie to choose our subject and she came up with "50 shades of monochrome". It's probably no surprise to hear that just one colour didn't really rock my boat, (sorry Laurie) so I turned to the more common understanding of the word monochrome like this -

A drizzly damp morning meant the need for a brolly on my photo shoot which pretty much led me to this particular outfit. Now let's see how my blogging friends interpreted the monochrome theme.

First let's see Gail who was lucky enough to have the beautiful Greek island of Skiathos as her backdrop. 

Gail opted for various shades and textures of white to offset her golden tan beautifully, from her oversized pearls right down to her sparkling silver nailpolish. See more on her blog Is this mutton here.

Jacqui chose zingy shades of yellow to wake up this challenge, with the palest lemon clutch, paintbox yellow trousers, finishing with her burnished gold sandals. I wonder how long it took her to find this perfect setting? See the full post on her blog Mummabstylish here.

Ashley is currently in the USA but that hasn't stopped her from channeling the same cool summer vibe as Gail with this gorgeous white ensemble right down to the use of a pretty lace top to add that extra bit of interest - great minds eh? Catch up with her blog Lazy Daisy Jones here.

Last of all Laurie chose the palest of nude pinks to play her monchrome hand. In the hands of an expert this simple top and pleated skirt are pure sophistocation. Visit Laurie's blog Vanity and Me Style here.

I'd like to think that we 5 over 50 represent a broad spectrum of women our age. Would you have chosen the same palette as us? Have we inspired you? What does monchrome mean to you? Please leave a comment if this feature has you searching through your closet to mimic one of our looks.

Linking with 

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Anna x

Black trouser challenge 5

Yep, it's week five of my self-imposed black trouser challenge and I'm still going strong. I thought it was about time to inject a good ol' dollop of colour this time by way of this floralfest of a blouse. One of my favourite stylings of this fabulous blouse was featured on the blog here. Cost-per-wear for my trousers has dropped down to a comfortable £8 so I'm a very happy bunny. Let's take a look at this week's offering shall we?

So what can I say about this five week love affair? The ruffles still make my heart somersault, the fit is still good after lots of wash'n'wear, and I'm finding black such a dream to partner up with the contents of my wardrobe. This morning I found another clutch of tops which could easily have made an appearance here and not looked out of place in the least. I do wonder if I would have been quite so inspired if I'd chosen a plain, basic cut pair of black trousers for my style challenge, but hey, you know that I wouldn't have fallen for anything less than wonderful to convert me to the joys of black breeks! My sole concern is that you, my dear reader, are tiring of the repeated exposure to these fancy pants. Please whizz on by if this doesn't enchant you as it does me - I'll understand.

Trousers: River Island (still available here), blouse: Next (charity shop find, so may be quite old), shoes: New Look, rings: charity shopped, sunglasses: Quay Australia, heart pendant: boutique find, but no idea of the name, sorry!

This is a non-sponsored post.

My next post will be on Monday when I feature the #5Over50 challenge - hope to see you then!

Anna x

I can't get enough of these summer florals!

It's summer at last, so there's no need for me to apologise for this overdose of all things floral. The foundation of this outfit is this pair of magnificent billowing trousers. At £5 from New Look many summers ago I knew they were going to be worth it. I had them relined with a lovely swishy fabric as they had a stretchy lining which didn't enhance the grandness of them at all. Now, when I move about the gallery in my swishy pants, I exude an air of the VIP, which of course I am, being the manager. 

Any minute now and we'll hit July and August, our busiest period of all at work. It's a crazy mix of the most wonderful and most terrible of times - wonderful, as it's the culmination of all of my winter planning, and terrible, as it's so very busy that I have very little time to stop and enjoy it. Our exhibition period sees Polly and I like speeded up versions of ourselves; hanging, selling and taking down paintings in our very own groundhog day. But we love it, every single minute and make sure we laugh at ourselves as we unpack, hang, sell and re-wrap repeatedly in a flurry of bubble wrap and fragile tape over the most hectic 60 days of the year. We host 6 exhibitions in those 60 days, yes that's one every 10 days and they flash past us so quickly that one day, we look up at each other to discover that it's suddenly September. Crazy!

In the midst of all of this I try to ensure we get time to recharge our batteries and my favourite way of doing that is to hop onto our little boat and take off to a quiet beach somewhere. We took our friends Anna and Charlie off to an uninhabited island last week during that amazing heatwave and for us all it seemed like a day in paradise.

Not for us, those sandy sandwiches - no, we're terribly posh with our table and chairs to host the finest of fare. A huge coolbag stashed underneath to keep the refreshments cool and we're good for the next few hours. Now what else did the maid pack?

Just drop us over there, my good man.

The boat comes with this rather dashing boatman. All at no extra charge.

Please join me on Friday for the 5th instalment of my black trouser challenge. Today's outfit details are - trousers: New Look (very old), blouse, belt, clutch, bracelet, rings and sandals are all charity shopped, sunglasses: Quay Australia, green pearls: Almost Perfect.

Anna x

Scuba-doo skirt

I wore this scuba skirt during our recent heatwave and got so many compliments that I realised I need to showcase it more often. We had a leaving do for some locals a few days later and out it came, styled a bit differently, winning lots of approval. I didn't get any shots of that evening, but rest assured I'll wear it all again soon.

There's something about wearing a big net underskirt that gives me a real buzz. A sense of dressing up, of high jinks, frolicking fun and general joie de vivre are all embodied in this most feminine of undergarments. If you're looking to add impact to your wardrobe I would encourage you to take a leap of faith and buy one of these. Mine came from eBay and didn't cost very much at all. They are transformational for any full skirt or dress. Perhaps you could keep it for NYE or a party if you feel a bit timid wearing it for the first time. I swear that it will give you such a boost in confidence to whoosh about playing the part. Do try it, and if you do please let me know how it went.

Details - skirt: H&M, underskirt: eBay, top: gift, belt: charity shopped, sandals, New Look, jewellery: charity shopped, sunglasses: Quay Australia.

Linking with -

Catherine of Not Dressed As Lamb

Patti of Not Dead Yet Style

Cherie of Style Nudge

Anna x