Tartan and fur for that festive feeling


Hurrah, Christmas cometh!

Hello again my dear readers. I suddenly find myself on that crazy roller coaster ride that is the countdown to Christmas. I have a mixture of joy and panic flipping inside my tummy currently. Yes, I bought a lot of presents, but no, I've not checked if all the festive food menus are going to work out. This weekend I'll be nipping to St Mary's to have my hair cut and check out the last of my to-do list at the shops. How about you? Are you making progress towards the big day?



I've rolled out one of my favourite Christmas looks today with my teddy bear spruce green fur coat supported by a very healthy dose of tartan (or plaid for my readership across the pond). I'm terribly partial to bit of tartan which probably has something to do with being Scottish I suppose.


My beloved tartan boots were from M&S last year.  I must admit that my skirt and boots together remind me of my clan tartan.


This is Kerr tartan, the fabric of my clan. I wonder if this was worn to battle hundreds of years ago?


The only battle I was facing was with the driving winds, but that was a small price to pay for this stunning backdrop across the harbour at New Grimsby over to Bryher.


So, the outfit comprises of the fur coat by The Vintage Collection which came from TK Maxx last year, tartan skirt and black polo neck are both pre-loved and black cotton rich tights are from Tesco's. 


This has to be my favourite black sweater. I love the figure shaping ribbing plus the gilt buttons lift it out of the ordinary. Wash after wash it seems to hold it's shape beautifully. My necklace was a charity shop find, silver and black rings are one pre-loved and one from many moons ago.




My thanks for today's photos go to my lovely friend Fiona who gave up her lunch break to gad about with me looking for the right backdrop for our shoot. I hope you've enjoyed another peek at my island home. Have a great week and I hope to catch up with you again soon!

                                                                                    Anna x

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High heeled wellies?



Hello my lovely readers and welcome!

Yes, you did read correctly - high heeled wellies. What on earth? As you know I'm not one to hold with the rules of fashion and today I thought I'd share an outfit that reflects a different aspect of my island life. Jeans and jumper were the practical choice for a day of moving and crating art, but add to that the annoying mixture of weather - sunshine and showers with puddles underfoot and downpours suddenly appearing from nowhere - and you end up with me wearing a crazy combination of everything from sunglasses to wellies. 


So yes, this is what I stomp about in on these blustery winter days. The metallic raincoat (Tokyo Laundry) came from TK Maxx and is as waterproof as any wet gear I've ever owned. The purple jeans were preloved and from Gap.


And here they are, my high heeled wellies! I'll be honest with you, I didn't go searching for these. No, they found me. I was on holiday in St Andrews in January when I came across them in a charity shop. I decided to wait and think about them overnight. On telling my sister she informed me that they'd surely be gone by the next morning, a size 6, in great condition and only £6. I took great pleasure in assuring her that no, I'm the only woman this side of the border who would even consider buying them!


My fluffy pink sweater is by Wild Flower and the wellies have no brand name at all.


And just to prove my point about the mixed weather, half way through out photo shoot Fiona and I got caught in a shower. Cue my tartan brolly to the rescue. This has to be my most fashion faux-pas post ever! But hey, I don't care. This was indeed the outfit of the day and you can make of it what you will.


The silver and black rings make great partners even though they come from different sources, one of which was a charity shop. And my old faithful sunglasses are from Quay Australia.




Don't you just love the fickleness of the Great British weather? Dazzling sunshine between blustery showers. Oh what fun!

                                                                                  Anna x

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Style or mish-mash?


Welcome to my midweek mash-up!

We none of us live in a bubble and sometimes I'm very happy to dip into the latest magazine to see what's trending or what those in the fashion know are predicting. Other times, like today, I have no fashion compass, no style road I'm trying to follow or icon I'm trying to emulate. Today is all about colour and very much harps back to my fashion motto of "Let's bin the beige and have fun with colour".  


The fun comes by way of the vibrant mixture of checks, leopard print and another pair of vintage boots - not so very different from what I wore in my last feature actually!  I didn't plan this or even notice the connection until I started putting this post together and noticed the similarities.


The season of winter coats is well upon us now; this beauty of mine is a vintage piece from Sicily. You'll have seen it over the past couple of winters no doubt, but not paired with these stretch trousers (Zara). You know how I love a bit of pattern play!


The leather cowboy boots are vintage too, bought from a charity shop in Penzance last year.


The fluffy jumper is a bit old, so much so, that I've forgotten where I purchased it. No matter, the power of the fluff is all that counts. I've layered a thin thermal top (M&S) underneath which truly signals that we're in winter now. 




Today's necklace and rings are pre-loved and my sunglasses are by Zara.


With only 20 days to go until Christmas I'm starting to look out my Christmas jumpers along with all of the sequins and sparkles I've got stashed away ready for the festive season. My recent shopping expedition to London has supplemented the cache which is very exciting. Is it too soon to be adding a glitter cardi to the outfit of the day I wonder? I'm off to check out some of my favourite bloggers to see if they've succumbed to the lure of the glitter yet ...

I'll be linking up with -
Catherine of Not Dressed as Lamb
Jacqui of Mummabstylish

                                                                                           Anna x

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Print frenzy


 
Hello and happy Sunday to my dear readers. Here I am today on the 1st of December enjoying the dry, sunny weather. No wet-gear or winter coat required, hurrah! You may remember seeing this leopard print top from a recent shopping trip (see here). Well, this is my first bit of styling. What do you think?



The top is by Tahari and came from TK Maxx (£19.99). It's a soft and cosy man-made fabric and I chose it mostly for the colour which is neither blue nor lilac. At the time of purchase I had no idea what I'd wear it with, but a quick root around in my wardrobe resulted in this outfit.


Apart from the top, I have say that I see these boots as the star of the show today. They're DKNY and must be at least 20 years old now. I had a good look at the box when I rediscovered them the other day to see that they're called Florence and the pattern name is Wallpaper. Well I can totally understand that name as yes, they do remind me of a wallpaper pattern.


The woollen skirt (by Claire DK) boasts this adorable mini kick pleated finish which flicks as you walk. It's a very grown-up skirt. I love it and do wonder how I manage to overlook it so often when I'm searching for inspiration in my closet. It drew lots of compliments today.


This cute little coral satchel bag pushed into the scene today thanks to the blue edging. I must have picked this up in a charity shop, but it has no label. No matter, it works perfectly to add a splash of colour to the otherwise blue theme. My rings are charity shop finds.


The blue faux leather jacket is an old favourite of mine and just worked to so well with the smart casual look I wanted to create. The brand is Toxik 3. Sunglasses are by Quay Australia. 


The bargain piece of the whole ensemble is this silver chain mail belt which I picked up for £1 in a charity shop. 


Much as I've called this a pattern frenzy, I think the checks, leopard print and wallpaper pattern don't clash at all, but meld beautifully in this melody of blue. I've mostly shopped my closet too, so I always give myself a pat on the back for that. 

Thanks to Fiona, my photographer of the day. She did a great job, despite us being photo bombed by a cat at one point!



Have a great weekend!

Anna x

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