Hey Poll!


Hey Poll! Look this way, over here girl!


Pint sized, cute as a button and worth her weight in gold, here she is, the blog photographer without whom my life would be a shambles. (Yes, we know I have other back-up, but let the girl have her moment in the spotlight eh?) Not only does she take great shots, but her banter enlivens me and always makes me laugh; if there's a blog or Instagram photo of me laughing my socks off then invariably that's down to this humorous young lady. 


She's currently away on holiday playing the part of rent-a-bridesmaid to two of her old school friends and in her absence I've been reminded of just how much she supports me in her primary role as Gallery Assistant. As she gads about on the mainland, eating out, meeting up friends and maybe partaking in a little retail therapy, I can sing her praise and post some shots of her too without her censoring. Polly is an absolute gem; hard working and reliable, a skilled trouble shooter with all of my computer problems, sharp as a knife - a graduate in Forensic Science no less, and has better customer skills than I could rival with the best smile ever to greet our customers day in, day out. She embraces island life, revels in her job and hopefully a little local love interest may well keep her here long term too. Anyway, thanks Polly for all that you do, and have a lovely break!


And here I am responding to the veritable ray of sunshine who feeds me jokes and compliments. So let's talk outfits now, shall we? Or more to the point, this totally over-the-top jacket. This biker jacket in a bronze/red metallic finish is about three sizes too small for me (yes, it's actually a size 4!) and was a recent find in (small drum roll please) TK Maxx! Not only that, but it cost me £9.99. The brand is Missguided which is more a Polly brand than mine (targeting the 16-35 market allegedly), but by finding it in TK Maxx it becomes a bit of a free for all. I love to see other mature women rifle amongst the racks labelled MOD BOX - we know there's all sorts of treasures to be found there. I had every intention of keeping the jacket for a party, but, and my friend Sheila will understand this, the very newness of it begged a quick outing. What if I had kept it for months, and then discovered that it pinched or squeezed or just didn't deliver the wow factor I had envisaged?


Well, rest assured that all is well, wow factor duly delivered. And now I want you all to forget that you've seen this as I may well have to wear it to my next birthday bash. "Rocking the 60's" is one idea for the theme so far, but as it's not until January I have plenty time to improve on that. 


Cue lots of gregarious flouncing about in response to the quip of the moment. Polly brings out the show-off in me. Strike that. I bring out the show-off in me. I'm human Marmite - love me or hate me, you just can't ignore me.


Rings are preloved, trousers are from TK Maxx by Costume Nemutso.


Bronze and black mesh sock boots were from Zara last year. I raved about these kinda boots recently, so enough said.


Razzle dazzle in my Quay Australia sunglasses.


Life is fun.


This is me.



60 rocks!

Anna x

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Sizzling sock boots



Hello and how is your Sunday going my dear readers?


Well, it's taken me a couple of weeks, but I'm happy to say that I've finally gotten my head around this new season. All thoughts of white linen trousers making a last minute appearance have evaporated along with the scorching summer sun, but these sizzling sock boots are spreading a little bit of joy instead.


You may remember these from last winter when I chased them from H&M where they were all sold out by the time their brochure was published, until I managed to locate them on eBay. I paid double the price, but haven't regretted it as they've not been packed away since I bought them. Dresses, trousers and culottes all have been pepped up by these red hot lovelies over the past 12 months. As the temperature drops I'll be adding tights in all sorts of colours with eye catching effect - I think I have a pink psychedelic pair just waiting for their moment!


For those of you who haven't succumbed to the pleasure of the sock boot yet, I'd urge you to try a pair. They tick the style and comfort box in one fell swoop, never give you that worry that they might slip off, but sit snuggly around the ankle without gripping or rubbing. At the last count I have four pairs, but recently saw a black neoprene pair that I'm about to trawl the Internet for later. Fashion trends may come and go, but personal style is what I aim for and that probably comes with age and the ability to know what suits me.


Enough about the boots! Let's move on to the delightful shirt dress which I think may be my go-to autumn frock. I love the romance of a long dress, but have struggled to find one that doesn't swamp me. This type of dress has been around for a while now and many of them have a wider, looser fit that makes me look like a shapeless short-ass. Like many women, I long for that tall willowy frame we see in magazines and on shopping sites. By choosing a fitted button up dress it creates an illusion of height (I'm a tad under 5ft 5in). I came across this ditsy floral delight in the H&M summer sale way back in July. It was reduced to £15 and was the only one on the rack, just the right size too.


A red belt helps to highlight the sprigs of red flowers on the dress to which I added some Perspex rings for a retro vibe. All accessories are either preloved or gifts (thanks Wendy).


I fancy that our daily seaside backdrop will become increasingly blustery from here on. Anna's Windswept Style may be a more accurate title for the blog over the winter months. As the weeks progress another change to my regular spot will be the lack of boats as they are all brought in before the seasonal storms hit us. The harbour boat and a couple of jet boats are all that populate our Westerly exposed bay during the winter months. I have some friends coming to visit at the end of this month and can only hope that we haven't descended into full on gales by that time. Very soon I suppose I'll have to be thinking about the big wardrobe changeover. 


And finally... I spent a evening of pure escapism at the cinema in Truro the other night (en route from another filming session, but that's for another time) watching the long awaited sequel to Mama Mia. It certainly lived up to the hype and fulfilled my expectations, delivering all of the familiar faces and soundtracks that made the first movie the resounding success it was. I sat alone, far enough removed from the rest of the audience to be able to join in with the songs I so love. Seemingly, there's a sing-along version about to be released into the cinemas this week, so why not take some girlfriends along for a life affirming night out.

Wishing you a super week ahead!

Anna x




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And so it begins...


Happy Wednesday to you my lovely readers!


When I say and so it begins, I mean the transitional period which leads me to say goodbye to my favourite season and oh hello, to autumn. Stepping out today in silver boots is a good way to get started. There has to be some joy in every outfit and these metallic beauties are most definitely it. 


Yes, the heels are precariously high and the angle is steep, but heck they are outrageously wild and so much fun. In Sunday's post I talked about sometimes using a conservative outfit to fire me up to wear something so diametrically opposed the next day and this is it. I love the 60's feel to this ensemble which reminds me of Twiggy or Mary Quant - all I need is some white eyeshadow and pale pink lipstick! 


The Peter Pan collar and white cuffs of the tunic are what attracted me to this heart adorned top when I saw it in a charity shop last month. The brand is Boohoo and it cost me £3.50; I've already worn it twice bringing the cost per wear down to very reasonable £1.75. I wear a little vest top under this chiffony fabric along with these eyelet crop trousers which were from Zara last year. 


I do love this outfit and have to acknowledge that this has to be one of the upsides of autumn; the ankle boot does come into its own at this time of year. My sock boots stand at the ready and yes, it won't be long until you see my signature pair of red ones back in harness too.


The look needed minimal styling today with simply two (preloved) rings along with my favourite/ever-so-useful sunglasses by Quay. 



Much as it saddens me to see the change in daylight as the brightness of the sun fades into a softer glow, I know I will adapt and come to terms with the inevitable autumn gloom. What I can say however, is that these next few months usually bring the most stunning sunsets to these islands. Huge cloud formations allow the sun to dip behind them and diffuse the beams of sunlight spectacularly. Of course, I'll feature some of those for you both here and on my Instagram feed in due course. And that pretty much wraps it up for another day. I do hope that you're enjoying some fine September weather and maybe even picking up some new items for the forthcoming/current season too.


Enjoy your week!

Anna x


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Summer in September?


Hello and how are you this fine weekend?


So the question is, can it still be summer in September? Well, when the sky is as blue as this, then I say yes! I was keen to share this outfit with you before I cave to the pressure of autumn fashion. The white linen skirt with embroidered silver and gold dots (by M&S, preloved) has languished in my closet for the past few summers but is rarely given an outing. The yellow top is rather ancient (picked today for those raised dots which tie in beautifully with the skirt), maybe also M&S, but definitely preloved. Today's look came about because of the introduction of the rather swish little jacket which I finally purchased last month after seeing it on three separate occasions over the summer. 



The leaf print jacket is by Heyton at TK Maxx. Each time I saw it, I asked myself if I needed it. Note I say needed, not wanted. I'm trying to reign in my hoarding tendencies, not because I really want to, but simply because I don't have room for much more in my summer wardrobe. My hangers are jammed side by side with barely an inch of movement between them all and my tops, sweaters and trousers are piled high in towers that demand the gentlest of handling lest they will topple over. Clothes are my passion, my addiction and blogging somehow helps to justify this. Please don't judge me.



I crumbled and decided to buy the jacket on the third occasion as it had been reduced to £15 which really did seem to be a bargain for this navy lined, perfectly fitting cute little number. The shape fits my frame well and I particularly like the shorter length sleeve. I seem to recall reading somewhere that the wrist can be a great focal point, particularly for older women - that seemed to be a bit ageist, but still stuck in my mind.



Some of you may think this to be a fairly sober ensemble for me, but sometimes I do like to wear a conservative piece to which I add my own twist - the gold sandals here for example. It's good to underplay things one day as more often than not I find it feeds my imagination for the following day. The blog post coming up next time is the perfect example of this. Today's jewellery goes like this: necklace - gift from Sasha, frilly ring by Emily Nixon, broad gold ring  is preloved, rose gold watch is by Michael Kors, and let's not forget my so-perfect-I-seem-to-wear-them-every-day-sunglasses by Quay.



So you can see the metallic dots on the skirt much better here which were what informed my choice of sandals. Kitten heels or courts might have been more chic, but adding a bit of quirkiness was what I was aiming for. 

And finally, further to my news about my modelling job with JD Williams I'd like to share this link with you to the website. Over the summer months I've dodged back and forth to the mainland for casting sessions, wardrobe fitting and finally filming and throughout it all I've tempered the whole thing with the idea that my contribution would end up on the cutting room floor (such is my lack of self belief). A friend stopped by the gallery yesterday to tell me I was featured on the website as "one of the stars" of the "I AM" campaign. Pinch me, I think I'm dreaming!


Anna x

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