Hello and how's your Sunday going so far? Are you making time for a bit of chilling out or is it all about catching up with chores? I'm off to church this morning and then I think it'll be time for a bit of housework this afternoon. My week away in Harrogate meant that the cleaning lady didn't appear for a week either - strange that, eh?
My bags aren't unpacked yet so I can't give you a look at all my purchases, but here's a couple of new things. The back view shows the seaming details in black on the citrus faux suede jacket from Primark (£25) which attracted me to the biker jacket worn with these vintage 60's bell bottom cords that I found in the mens section of the Scope charity shop for £4.99. The pink ostrich leather bag was new from a charity shop in Truro a couple of years ago.
Mixing old and new fashion gives me a real thrill. I love to find new things no matter if it's brand new or preloved. In an ideal world I'd like to say I only want to have pre-loved fashion in my collection, but I can't help but to be attracted to the mainsteam stores and online brands to see the latest styles and colours. Shopping responsibly is a message we're all getting and by buying recycled clothing I believe I'm making a difference. It's not my intention to set myself up here as a paragon of virtue shopping-wise as I'm as imperfect as the next fashion blogger. More importantly, my blog is meant to act as inspiration, encouraging you to try out new ideas, not to make you feel bad. What I can say is that these preloved trousers have to be my most favourite find of the whole trip and that's because they're such a quirky individual piece. That's where charity shopping wins hands down every time.
The pairing of the vintage bell bottoms with these sixties vibe ankle boots (from New Look) takes me back to my youth. I love this retro look. It's such fun.
This new photo shoot site is located just below my house where Polly now collects me before we start work in the morning. On a high tide in the early morning sunshine it's pretty perfect, but this is how it looked on Friday when we got together. The zingy jacket was my ploy to brighten up the slightly dull day. That plus my full on cheesy grin - hope it cheers you up too!
My ribbed polo neck sweater also channels that 60's vibe. It's a charity shop find from a long time ago and it's been worn at least once a week over the winter months - the gilt buttons at the cuffs lift it out of the ordinary - God forbid that I might look ordinary!
My silver coloured necklace is by Melissa James and again ties in beautifully with this look. The lozenge shaped ring was from an airport shop on my way to Cape Town and other gold ring was a charity shop purchase.
The pattern on the cords shows up well here. I remember having a pair of bell bottoms in a khaki green corduroy when I was about 12 years old. My dear brother poked fun at me as my rounded thighs rubbed together creating a friction noise from the cords as we walked home from the shops together - body hang-ups can start from the most playful of jibes when you're a sensitive wee lass.
And here I am, some 50 years later with the same rounded thighs (which seemingly are perfectly normal when you're a woman by the way) and at last am able to smile at the rub of corduroy against corduroy. There's always something to feel down about, something that we feel we need to match up to, someone to make us feel not good enough, thin enough, young enough, pretty enough. It's so easy to fall into that trap, especially if you're feeling a bit down. But instead I try daily to inspire myself, to be pleased with my efforts at throwing myself into the sea on the chilliest of days, to be happy that I've found a new colour combination I've not tried before, to be impressed that I've managed to get two loads of washing on the line before I go to work. Tell me what you're pleased to have achieved this week - I'd love to hear from you!
Anna x
