My mermaid dress


Helloooooo!

Yes, here it is, my mermaid dress. I've had this stashed away in my wardrobe since last summer when I found the silk beaded beauty in a charity shop in Truro and was delighted to pay £12 for it. The brand is Scala and it still had the dry cleaning label attached, therefore felt like an absolute bargain. The moment I saw it, I envisaged a sea themed shoot somewhere, wondering if I might be able to swim in the heavily beaded gown without having an underwater camera to catch the whispy hemline floating behind me. 




I know that this gown isn't quite as sensational as my other mermaid outfit (see here), but it still conjured up watery images when I found it. The ragged hemline is akin to a tail perfect for dousing in the wash of the waves. The previous owner donated this to their local charity shop probably expecting it be whisked off on holiday, perhaps as cruise wear and here I am wrecking it in the sea! In fact, the dress recovered very well, with no staining at all. 




I was quite relieved that there was no-one else on the sandbar to see my antics as I skipped and splashed around in the sea. This was the second photo shoot (catch the first one here) and had involved a quick outfit change and attempt at hair taming in the breeze for this very al fresco session.






I had earmarked this sandbar for a photoshoot last July when Steve and I had spent the day on St Martin's. I had espied the pure white spit of sand and it conjured up all sorts of romantic images of me in something equally glamorous. See the post here when the sandbar revealed itself in the beautiful heart shaped form. 










I'm once again wearing my favourite Quay Australia sunglasses. The necklace was another charity shop piece costing me all of £6.99. This whole outfit is testament to the joy of thrift shopping and how it can help one create a look of individuality. Things that crop up in charity shops are mostly well out of fashion and not available on the high street which is why I prefer to shop this way, making my look unique to me which is surely what we all aim for.




                                                                                                      Anna x

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62 and good enough




At the weekend Steve and I had our first outing on our boat this year. It's been a funny old year as we all know and it had taken us some time to decide if we'd bother getting our boat into the water. But we have and it was lovely to get away from work and home on Sunday. We pootled off at no great pace, enjoying the sights and sounds of being on the water during such a beautiful spell of weather. 




We neither of us take our life here on the Isles of Scilly for granted, making sure that we talk about our good fortune often, especially on days like this. There's something utterly timeless about these boating days which spans our 40 years of being together. The simple freedom of having a boat opens up opportunities to visit other islands in the archipelago, be they populated or uninhabited. Mostly we take ourselves off to an uninhabited spot, aiming to have a beach to ourselves. On Sunday we weren't alone in that thought.




During the summer months these Fortunate Isles are a lure for the yachting community and it almost has to be an act of stealth to land upon a stretch of sand that hasn't been claimed by a like minded party. Local boats can be seen circling the islands looking for their very own private beach. And that's what we did for almost an hour as the tide was receding that morning. 




At Old Grimsby there's a tiny smattering of rocks, hardly islands as such, called the Small Islands where Steve and I had spent many a courting day, catching shrimps and having picnics long before we married. These rocky outcrops aren't blessed with pure silky sand and offer little to do for families and therefore were a great place for two young lovers to escape to. It became a favourite spot for us.  We'd clamber up over the rocks onto the grassy tussocks on top to eat our picnic and view the world from our vantage point, people-watching as boats zig-zagged below us and windsurfers whizzed past on their way to nowhere. Later, laying down on our blanket, we would become invisible to the world as we watched clouds scudding by, terns screeching overhead. 




This particular islet is called Foreman Island where we enjoyed an idyllic few hours on Sunday. We spread a blanket and enjoyed our time just like we used to. The decades slipped away as we talked about our lives when we had first met. The fabric of these islands hasn't changed for thousands of years. Superficially yes, buildings have been erected and castles have crumbled, but the core of the Scillies remains the same. I take great solace in that. Generations will come and go, but barring some terrible natural disaster, these beautiful islands will always be the same.




Vapour trails are still a rarity in the skies above us. One of the best things about lock-down was the untainted skies overhead for months and months.






I had earmarked this sandbar as a good location for a photo shoot, bringing a mermaid frock with me for the moment when the tide dropped enough to reveal the white blond silky brow of sand. As we made our way out towards the Eastern Isles we could see that our plans were coinciding with others. The colourful sails of little toppers signaled company and as we got nearer we could see some kayaks there too. However, by the time we had transferred onto our little dingy, the interlopers were leaving and the sandbar became ours.





I hadn't planned to do a bikini shoot, but when we hit the beach the idea came to me I decided that it was the right thing to do. Unplanned, you see me without fake tan on my white belly or beach mules to lengthen my legs. The hand placed on that soft vulnerable spot of my tummy eventually drops away to reveal the truth of a 62 year old woman. Sea swimming is my only form of exercise, well that plus the frantic bit of cycling to and from the beaches, but in an ideal world I'd workout to keep myself more toned and trim. Having Madonna as a role model for my age is a tough act to follow and I do wonder sometimes if I had my own chef and personal trainer would I be sporting a springy, nay rock-hard body like hers.









A lifetime of dieting and feeling dissatisfied with my body is at last giving way to believing that I'm good enough - that this body is good enough. In years to come I'd love to think that society will have its focus on other things rather than our exterior selves. In the meantime, I'm the result of my upbringing, of a father who poked fun at my chumpfy thighs and of a gym mistress who pointed out how I had the whitest legs on the cross country team. My formative years were plagued by these shortcomings and only now have I laid them to rest. Happiness by way of body confidence doesn't rely on the word perfect. I'm 62 and good enough. Hurrah for that!


PS The mermaid dress will be showcased next time, so do please swing by again at the end of the week to see it.

                                                                            Anna x

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A double paisley day


  

Thanks for joining me again today. Yesterday I had a double paisley day wearing an outfit that you've probably seen me in before. The forecast was for it to be the hottest day of the year and for that reason alone I decided that long and floaty would be the perfect ploy for a day cooped up in the greenhouse of a gallery that is my second home. However the weather on Scilly didn't quite live up to the predictions. As so often happens, the high temperature created sea fog which swirled in and out all day long. On the upside the fog does play with the light making the colours of my outfit really pop.


Long and swooshy, the skirt was lovely and cool all day although I hadn't really thought things through work-wise as I spent a fair bit of the morning climbing up and down the ladder as I rehung paintings. For some reason all of my appointments were in the afternoon giving me the luxury of a free morning to review the artworks. Normally at this time of year I'd be showcasing a new exhibition every 10 days, but under the current restrictions our shows and their opening night parties have all been postponed until next year. Fingers crossed that things will revert to normal by then.


My latest obsession with the face mask continues. Once I'd decided that this was to be the outfit of the day, I decided that I needed the perfect mask to match. Yes, an hour before I was due to go to work I set about cutting fabric, lining and interfacing to create this natty little number in complimentary colours. On reflection, these decisions of mine do make me seem like a workaholic or maybe simply a crazy person.


I haven't had a major sewing project for ages and these little masks are giving me instant sewing satisfaction. I hand finish attaching the little tube over the nose that houses the wire for a snug finish. The turquoise elastic pleased me enormously - such little things give me joy!




Jewellery today is a gold chain (from Primark) and rings which are charity shopped. My sunglasses are by Radley London. I must admit that it tickles my funny bone to have my photo taken with a mask on, merely because I can chat and laugh without spoiling the photo! 






These embroidered slippers complete the ornate look of the day's ensemble. The skirt and shoe combination did result in a few compliments yesterday which is reward enough in my little world of clothes obsession. It particularly pleases me as I'm still shopping my closet and feeling rather smug that my wardrobe holds these delights.




Outfit details read like this - the top is from H&M (a hand-me-down from my daughter), the maxi skirt was a charity shop find, the brand is Blue Deise (there's no belt - this is the glitter stretch waistband of the skirt) and the shoes were from TK Maxx. I love the timeless elegance of these posh slippers and how well they work with jeans for a dressed down look too.




For those of you in mainland UK I bet you've been blessed with another scorcher of a day today. We on the Isles of Scilly have had a mixed bag of weather. The morning started off looking very promising, so Steve and I packed a picnic and jump aboard our boat to head off to one of the uninhabited islands. Within five minutes of setting off however the fog just started to roll in. We continued a while longer, but could see that it was only going to get worse and so decided to come home. I've still managed to have a lovely day off, culminating in the rare event of an afternoon siesta! 

                                                                                                            Anna x

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H&M silk jumpsuit


Hurrah for August!

Hello again. Like the rest of the nation, if not the world, we here on Tresco are trying to establish this new regime as normal and hopefully August will see things continue in the right direction. However, one thing far from normal is that last week the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were here on the island on holiday. It was a private visit, a family time for them to enjoy a bit of anonymity and it seems that not one photo of them was taken or leaked to the press. Four years ago the couple were here for a day trip and at that time we all hoped that they might return. Last week Tresco proved to be the most idyllic place to spend a family holiday without having to leave the country.




If you're a long term follower of mine, then you may remember the last time I wore this fabulous jumpsuit was at a summer exhibition five years ago. My current break from shopping has me working hard at reviving old clothes that I've dismissed or overlooked for years. This jumpsuit hasn't had an airing throughout these five long years and I'm so happy to find it again. I wore it to work yesterday and these shots were taken the day before when Steve and I popped along to Saffron Bay for a quick photo shoot.




The silk jumpsuit is beautifully lightweight and floaty as you can see from this series of shots. I wore it with a short sleeved tee and white pumps for a practical look. The wide trousers were a challenge to begin with, tripping me up as I dashed upstairs for the first time, but thereafter I just treated them like a maxi skirt, grabbing handfuls when I was bobbing up and down the staircase or even hanging art. 




I suppose the low cut back is mean to show off a young and firm back view, but I overcame that with a skinny ribbed tee shirt (very old) which fitted perfectly under the slim cut bodice. The jumpsuit has a side zip as well as the tie back feature.  I pulled the whole look together with this ornate buckled belt which draws the eye to the waist as a good counter to the voluminous trousers.








"Old lady jelly arms" alert here!






These ribbon tied Puma trainers have become my go-to shoes during my busy working life of late.  They're squashy and comfy and perfect for climbing both stairs and ladders and generally being on my feel for 12 hours a day. My working role has expanded to me becoming cleaner at the start of the day, to Gallery Manager, administrator, art curator, packer and unpacker of goods as well as shipping co-ordinater. There's something very satisfying for the control freak in me to know I have my finger on the pulse of every aspect of the business for the first time ever. Ask me any question about our website, artists who have been to stay, art stock both in the Gallery and the 100 cottages, new works about to arrive or paintings en route to a client and I'll know it without having to ask an assistant or refer to files. It's a satisfying position to be in and one that I'm relishing despite the longer hours.




Today's jewellery is all old too, so much so that I can't recall where I got the rings. The necklace came from the Gallery and I fancy it's made from some African bean that's coloured naturally... My sunglasses are by Radley London.







And this was yesterday's early start. I bumbled into work at 4.30am while the moon was still high in the sky. That may seem ridiculously early I know, but once I wake my brain just starts whirring away making notes of all of the jobs pending for the day ahead. At that stage there's no point in trying to roll over and go back to sleep. Much better to just get up and get going. Thank goodness I love my job! 

                                                                                                                                     Anna x

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