Zara's "It" dress of 2019

Hello again!

Hi there, and thanks for joining me. It's been a glorious few days of weather here on the Isles of Scilly and this was my outfit of the day yesterday for another scorching day. As the mercury rose I did have to abandon the belt and change the boots for sandals as it became uncomfortably hot later in the afternoon. Thank goodness for living only 100 metres away from work!

This Zara dress was the It dress of last year, but I was oblivious of that when I bought it. (Google Zara It dress 2019 and you'll see umpteen photos of it.) For me, it was merely a pleasant departure from my usual bright and colourful plumage. I wore it for one of my summer exhibitions during the summer (see here) and again dressed it with boots. I laughed when I went back to find those photos as I discovered how similar my styling was both of these times. I clearly like silver and boots with this frock!

The material is light and airy and even with a belt it's very comfortable and still wafts about in a floaty manner, perfect for a summer's day. Increasingly I seem to be drawn to black and white outfits and do wonder if it might be a sign of my tastes maturing at last? Will I ever stop dressing up like a clown in garish, over-the-top garb? Probably not, but I do enjoy a touch of black and white sometimes to help me feel elegant and stylish. I feel well put together, cool and in control when I'm sporting a monochrome look which is no bad thing when you want to give off the right vibes at work.

My New Look boots were bargain basement finds at only £5. Ridiculous, I know, but I couldn't resist buying my first pair of white boots as an adult at the age of 60. Since then, I've gone on to buy another white pair of Doc Marten type boots to make up for a lifetime of lack. After decades of avoiding white trousers and white boots, I'm suddenly making up for the hunger years. They may not be to everyone's taste, but I'm all about pleasing me!

The silver chain mail belt and rings are all second hand.

My sunnies are fab retro round framed ones, this time from Radley London. I've just checked out their website and to my dismay they now have a pair called Anna and they're gorgeous.  I say dismay, because of my self-imposed 12 month shopping ban. Booo-hooo!

I'll be back on Friday. Until then, take care!

Anna x

Dressing up for work again

Yay, it's Friday!

Thanks for joining me again this Friday. The usual Friday feature has run its course as life returns to normal. That's the new normal I mean. As we adapt to different regimes, we're all still trying to find things that were the same as before the virus shook the world. So, for me, that means getting dressed up every day for work. The routine of work after furlough is very welcome especially as the job calls for looking smart rather than casual. 

Taking a break from shopping has been a great way for me to be forced into trying on forgotten clothes, such as this jumpsuit. This made its debut onto the blog five years ago (see here) and hasn't been seen since. I can't imagine why I've neglected it for all this time as I really love both the pattern and style. I bought it in Tesco all those years ago and was thrilled with such an exciting find while I was doing a mundane food shop. It does make me wonder if the thrill of the chase is what fuels us on with our retail obsession. That sense of excitement at finding a lovely new piece of clothing or pair of shoes, the inner battle as to should I/shouldn't I? and finally that devilish feeling of thrusting it into the trolley with gleeful abandon. At the checkout, bubbling with joy at this unexpected purchase, I'm feeling like a teenager playing hooky from school, the happy rebel. Once the newness and sparkle has gone, we come full circle, leaving us in need of that shopping thrill once again.

The nutmeg in this beaded belt (from Sainsbury's many moons ago) is what caught my eye when I was rummaging through my belt box, looking for inspiration. The first time I wore the jumpsuit I kept the self tie belt but this time I wanted to change it up a bit. 

The turquoise beading was a great lead-in to some turquoise coloured jewellery. The rings and bracelet are all charity shop items and work perfectly with the belt. I almost added a turquoise necklace, but decided that it might be overkill.

The round framed sunglasses give a lovely retro feel to the outfit. These were from River Island last year.

I've no assistant working with me currently which means that Steve, by default, is still my photographer of the day. I have to be a bit more organised, planning my outfits in advance for work so that we can take photos the weekend before I wear them. These scorching shots were taken at 9am in the morning last Sunday which proved to be one of the hottest days of the year so far. I must admit I took refuge indoors most of the day as it was just too hot for me! The neutral tone wedge sandals are by Europen brand, found in TK Maxx.

And that pretty much rounds it up folks! Thanks again for dropping by to see me. Cheers too, to those of you who leave me a comment or send an email - I do appreciate your input and the time you take to keep in touch.

Until next time, take care!

Anna x

White jeans and gingham top

Welcome back!

Hello there! How's your week going? The Monday rush pushed my post back into to Tuesday, but here I am resplendent in my new white jeans. No, I've not broken my shopping ban - I've been rummaging through my stockpile of goodies that I've not worn yet. The last time I was on the mainland was February and that's when I bought these River Island jeans. I picked them up in TK Maxx where they were reduced to £16.99. I'm a late bloomer as far as white jeans go, but have ended up with two new pairs both bought out of season at bargain prices. 

Much as I like how white jeans look on others, I've always struggled with how they look on me. I've not helped myself by choosing wide legged cropped jeans as they can only serve to broaden and shorten the wearer. Oh to be six foot tall and willowy as a beanpole!

That old trick of standing sideways sometimes helps... Nah!

Anyway, moving swiftly on. I've  chosen this checkered top with frilled sleeves as partner today, adding black and white hessian platform sandals as a kind of bookend look. The blouse is years old and was a supermarket purchase from Asda at the time. It's particularly useful as it requires minimum care beyond chucking it in the wash and line drying. I've not had to iron it, ever.

I bought the wedge sandals last year in the Harrogate branch of TK Maxx for £14.99. I love the chevron sole plus the fact that they're a broad fit and therefore all day comfortable. 

I decided to pep up the look with orange as an accent colour by way of these two perspex rings (pre-loved), matching necklace (a boutique purchase many years ago) and these retro sunglasses from Topshop last year.

So this is my second week of being open to the public again and I'm pleased to say that I'm getting used to it. The islands are looking like normal again, which is great for business, but can be tricky as far as remembering that this is our first (potential) exposure to COVID19. Anyone travelling to, from and between the islands must wear face coverings for the journey and I'm seeing people coming off the boats choosing to keep their masks on as they walk around the bay past the Gallery and beyond. The islands offer a carefree, relaxed beach holiday experience and as such are enjoying a veritable stampede for bookings. I've heard that Tresco is fully booked until mid October. Hurrah! Our Tresco visitors are very grateful to be able to come back to the island and as such are happy to comply with our local safety measures and restrictions. We've seen shopping queues on TV for months and now our local supermarket has one every day too. I'm offering appointments for viewings at the gallery and am as busy as ever. Even though the risk assessment for the building is for only two people at a time I'm still managing to keep up with demand. All in all, it's good to be back in the swing of things.

                                                                                          Anna x

Friday means dressing up!

Hurrah, it's Friday!

Hi there! How are you? I'm ready for the weekend, aren't you? I worked right through last weekend, getting the Gallery cleaned and prepped for re-opening on Monday and it's great to be back. I've loved seeing all of the familiar faces of our regular visitors, and it's also good to have that sense of control that working gives too. I'm offering viewings by appointment only and in between times am trying to catch up on the admin as well as unpacking the new artworks being delivered. It looks like this summer will be hectic as ever. The great thing about that is that the days simply fly by - in fact I can't believe it's Friday already! 

Steve and I took these photos a couple of weeks ago and already I can see how my hair has become much more unruly since then. I'm at the stage of having to wash it much more often so that it looks presentable. Have you been to the hairdresser yet?

I'm taking part in the Dress Up Friday feature again this week, but decided to opt for this much loved and pre-loved trouser suit for a change. I adore the deep midnight blue colour and it's also got massive deep trouser pockets and oh goodness, I do love a deep pocket! It's a man's suit, hence those pockets and the reason I have to roll up the sleeves - but hey, that salmon pink lining looks okay revealed doesn't it?

You'll remember seeing these shoes last Friday (see here) when I wore them with my colourful vintage frock. From Primark these babies cost me £5 - I just can't help bringing up the price of these bargain beauties!

My other feminine addition is this heavily beaded top (from Next). Like lots of my clothes it's a charity shop find and actually came in under a fiver! It even still had the dry cleaning label on it. One or two of the longer beads were loose, but it only took a few stitches to repair and now it's good as new. Sunnies are by Quay Australia.

Today's blue rings are recycled too.

Are you back at work again now or are you still working from home? I must admit that I did love to have the focus of Dress Up Friday when I was at home. Searching through my wardrobe, trying on clothes and finally taking the photos was all a great reminder that there was more to life than just housework! I'm a glass half full kinda girl however and did love my time at home, becoming more domestic with every week that passed. Already my house is looking a bit neglected and forlorn. I plan to have a big blitz on Sunday, although if the weather forecast is correct, we may have high pressure about to bring a sunny spell our way. Gardening may well take priority in that case.

Thanks for joining me again today. Do leave me a comment if you like the outfit or even drop me an email if you want to chat - it's great to have your feedback.

In the meantime have a super weekend!

Anna x