Hush dress and H&M sock boots

Hello again! How are you and how has your week been? It's been another busy week at work, which is great as the time has just flown by. Weather-wise, it's been a mixed bag of sunshine and fog making the job of getting photos together for the blog interesting to say the least. My good friend Fiona has stepped to the fore, helping out with some end of day sessions which has been great. I know I promised to share the newly-found summer jackets, but this summer dress seemed too lovely not to feature. 

The animal print dress is by Hush, a brand that I hadn't come across until last summer when a customer walked in wearing this exact dress, sparking an in depth grilling from me. I tracked one down online in the summer sale and have worn it again a few times this summer. Today I've paired it with my red H&M sock boots, which gives it a funky edge that garnered me quite a few compliments. Much as I'm not averse to buying high street brands, I do like to style them in my own particular way.

I'm suddenly very aware of the fact that we're hurtling towards the end of September and I still have quite a few summery outfits I want to show you as well as a beach shoot Steve and I did on St Martin's last weekend. We visited Great Bay for a picnic and also managed to take three variations on my beach outfit too. Anyway you'll see those in due course, although I'm not sure if that will be before or after the summer jackets...

The trapeze dress in pink and red zebra stripes with hankerchief hem and side splits is cool and airy, perfect for a hot day in the gallery. In fact, I did start the day off wearing a trouser suit and a long sleeved blouse, but by lunchtime it was simply too hot to bear. I often finish my lunch hour but doing a quick change due to the weather. 

I thought this Topshop tribal beaded necklace was a great partner to the dress, along with two pre-loved resin rings in tonal hues. My sunglasses today are by Radley London. Did you notice the animal print theme continues with these too?

I suppose today's look could be my first forray into transitional dressing between summer and autumn. My sock boots are much loved and do add an element of joy in what might be otherwise seen as the end of summer. I'll be squeezing every last drop out of these golden days of this, my favourite time of year. I'm sure the internet is full of the latest autumn fashion, but I'm not in any hurry to follow suit!

So, here we are, on the brink of the weekend yet again and the question is, what will you be getting up to this weekend? Much as I'm taking a break from retail therapy, I'm very aware that I would normally be taking a week off work at this time of year and be treating myself to bit of clothes shopping within that time. Will you be making your first autumn purchases this weekend, and if so, what are you looking for? Please share all the details - if I can't shop then at least I can enjoy hearing about your shopping. 

Have a lovely weekend!

                                                                                       Anna x

Summer jacket no. 1

Hello again and thanks for swinging by! 

It's half way through September and I'm on a mission to show you four new-to-me summer jackets that I've never worn before. Shame on me for hoarding these for so long! Anyway, here's the first of four. I was drawn to it because of the patchwork fabrics as well as the colours and patterns. It's such a cute little jacket and the first time I wore it was last weekend on a jolly jaunt to the beach. Steve and I cycled to the south end of the island to stretch our legs and get some photos for the blog - a two for one morning.

The outfit was built around the jacket, a lightweight cotton piece which I found in a charity shop in February.

Sorry about the blurry shot. I've never heard of Foul Fashion, so I did a search for the brand and had to laugh when I found a similar jacket, classed as suitable for fancy dress or hen party! Not that it'll stop me wearing this. I think it's great fun and all the more so when I came across this (pre-loved and unworn) long sleeved top (by East) which was lurking in the back of my cupboard. They look great together, don't you think?

I love the floral print and turquoise colours that tie both top and jacket together beautifully. My stretch jeans are from Tesco, a few years old now.

These satin ribboned Puma trainers have really come into their own this summer. They're perfect for being on my feet all day long and after a quick cycle in the washing machine come up good as new!

Today's rings are both charity shop finds, in keeping with the shopping my closet theme of late. 

Good ol' faithfuls, my Quay Australia sunglasses.

Check out the fabulous colourful lining of this too!

The back of the jacket is just as fancy as the front!

My next quest is to find a block colour shift dress from my closet to go underneath this for work. I surely have one of those don't I? In the meantime, I'll be looking at those other three jackets, trying to find some new outfits to go with them. It's 7 months since I last visited the shops and I've surprised myself how easy it's been to shop my closet instead. Are you inspired to give this a go?

                                                                                 Anna x

I've got that Friday feeling!

Hurrah, it's Friday!

Thank Crunchie it's Friday! Wow, what another busy week I've had. It's all downhill now to the weekend! Anyway, here's today's offering from my closet and yet another new-to-me piece to share with you. This lovely yellow blouse (another boat neck) was a charity shop find last year and yet this is the first time I've worn it. The brand is Tu at Sainsbury's and it cost me all of £3. Increasingly I'm finding how much I like yellow and how it really does give me a mental lift. I'm drawn to the yellow and orange hangers in my wardrobe, especially if it's a dull day and I'm fighting the blahs. Dull days do have that effect on me.

The fabric is a lightweight cheesecloth weave with these pretty sleeves and boat neck making it light and easy to wear. It's been very hot at work lately, and I'm finding that loose tops help me from overheating. (Wearing a mask all day is certainly raising my temperature too, that's for sure!)

The jungle print skirt was another second hand piece, this time the brand is River Island. It's a synthetic fabric, silky and light too. I love the big roomy pockets for that slouchy, casual feel - perfect for that Friday feeling!

I don't often wear earrings and that's because I don't have pierced ears. As a teenager I had my ears pierced, twice in fact, but both times they went septic despite the Dettol dousing as suggested, so I finally allowed them to close up. Every once in a while I come across some good old fashioned clip-ons. These beaded ones were bought from a friend who sells vintage jewellery. 

I've had these comfy yellow sling backs for years now. The toes are beginning to show wear and tear, but I'll be keeping them for as long as they hold together. I bought them in the Topshop sale many moons ago - too many to recall in fact. They are fake leather and buttery soft with it.

My sunglasses are old, from Tu at Sainsbury's. The striped perspex ring was a gift from my friend Wendy and the other was a charity shop piece. I just want to say that despite not shopping now since the start of March (in fact the last time I went shopping was actually February, but I had an online purchase in March), anyway, I've really surprised myself how I've not missed shopping at all. In fact, I've been amazed at the number of new-to-me items that are loitering in my cupboards and closet that have never yet seen the light of day. I'm trying hard to showcase these pieces before my seasonal change-over. Summer jackets seem to be abundant and I'll be featuring the first of these on Monday.

And that's just about it from me. Have you any plans for the weekend? Steve and I will be keeping an eye on the weather, ever hopeful that we'll get away for an outing on our boat. The house is however, showing terrible signs of neglect and also signs of the fact that my sea swimming regime is back on track. If only I could clone myself, the other version could be the stay-at-home housewife who kept everything spic and span while I worked during the week and had fun at the weekend! Who knows - in some future realm that may well be the norm...

                                                                                  Anna x

White Stuff aqua top

Hello again!

Golly what a busy week I've had! So sorry to neglect the blog, but I've had to prioritise my time with work coming first. We've had a rush on sales this past week and next week will be equally busy as I have to pack these all up and despatch them to the mainland. The last big shipment I sent off got caught up in the Bank Holiday weekend which complicated matters terribly, so hopefully this next consignment will be a bit more straightforward.

Anyway, here I am on the beach wearing the second of those White Stuff linen tops I recently showed you. See the first feature about them here. The aqua one is perfect to go with my paisley harem pants which are kept solely for beach romps, purely because they're very see through. Steve and I cycled to the beach yesterday to take these shots as I was worried that this might be the last summery weekend we have before autumn properly sets in. When I appeared in the doorway with these trousers on he raised his eyebrows in question at the prospect of me cycling in them without them getting caught in the chain. But I had a trick up my sleeve...

Et viola! From long shorts to harem pants in one easy step. 

The side buttons and ladder stitch insert are little touches that add to this very simple boat neck top. Both the white and aqua versions are proving to be very useful, if somewhat tame as my dear blogging friend pointed out. I suppose I must have a reputation for being flamboyant most of the time! Hahahah. Considering I buy the majority of my clothes from vintage and charity shops it's inevitable I'll end up with some pretty mainstream items, but the brand of White Stuff was too good a bargain to miss. Linen for the summer is a no-brainer isn't it?

The whole outfit today is all about sea colours. I had intended to have this photographed on the sandbar where I recently showcased my mermaid dress - see here. The only trouble was that it's probably a 15 minute boat ride plus hopping in and out of the dingy which I thought would result in a very creased top indeed. 

The only jewellery of the day is this turquoise anklet, an airport purchase from a few years ago - it was from Accessorize. 

My orange leather sandals are very comfy, functional and are still going strong after several years of beaching. The brand is Autenti by Penta and they came from TK Maxx.

This was the view from the banks above Pentle Bay yesterday. Steve and I had been off for a picnic in our boat on Saturday, spending the afternoon on Nornour Island. I posted a feature about this beauty of a desert island in 2018 if you'd like to see more. Sunday was a family day for us as it was my son Jamie's 29th birthday. He and Sasha came round for dinner and I did that mum thing of getting out his baby album (as if he's never seen it before!) - we just can't help ourselves, can we?

Ah, the joy of a sleeping baby eh?

Anna x