When it rains ...

Hello again! Today I'm working on the principle of When life gives you lemons, except I've applied that to rain. My outfit choice was led completely by the need to take some photos for the blog despite the rain, plus the fact that the only umbrella I could find was this tartan one.

So, apart from the addition of a brolly, I've been chomping at the bit to bring out some of my festive clothes. Much like the sudden crop of Christmas decorations appearing both indoors and outdoors across the land, I'm keen to have this dazzling distraction from the woes that plague us currently. Therefore, I shall be littering the blog for the next few weeks with lurex and glitter, tartan and fur, and even the odd very cheesy Christmas jumper! 

But let's start with today's offering. This feather trimmed tartan shift dress was a Zara purchase some years ago. It's a wonderful twist on what is a simple shape made glamorous by the addition of feathers. 

I've layered it up with an M&S long sleeved thermal top and thick thermal tights, finishing with these rather fabulous tartan ankle boots also by M&S.  I love a bit of tartan at the best of times and it warms my heart how much we associate these checks or plaid (depending on where in the world you live) with Christmas. As a Scottish exile, it's wonderful to wear my national cloth with pride at this time of year. I have a real McCoy tartan kilt lined up for you, brought up to speed with an unconventional partner - so please keep coming back to see that!

Do you remember when you were young being asked what you want to be when you grow up? Well, I've just discovered that I want to be the Instagram fashion icon Blair Eadie. I hope you'll take a moment to click on the link to see what a delight this woman is. It's not her model girl figure, nor her youth that I hanker after, but the absolute magic she conjures up with her style. She covers every trend, colour and fashion turning them into a confection of playfulness and joy; in fact most of the time she does look utterly edible! When she does understatement it's sleek and sublime and likewise when she goes big, then it's totally fabulous! I realise how unachievable this level of perfection is, but it's so good to have a dream. We all need a bit of style inspiration and golly, this girl is mine.

Accessories are: rings pre-loved and Tree of Life pendant was a boutique purchase, but is old. Umbrella was from our local chemist on St Mary's.

My thanks go again to Sasha for her time taking these soggy day shots. I'll leave you with this atmospheric scene looking towards Samson island. 

Thanks for joining me. See you again soon!

Anna x

A touch of sparkle, our Style Not Age challenge for November

Hello and welcome once again to our monthly style challenge! Never one for understatement, I'm kicking off this month's challenge with a very liberal dose of bright orange sequins as my touch of sparkle. However, you'll see that I'm not so out of step with my fashionista friends with this month's quest as we all limber up in readiness for Christmas.

Hilda has plumped for the glitter option of sparkle in this pretty bronze blouse with black trim to match her black chiffon skirt. Catch more from her on Over The Hilda here.

Jacqui's black and silver sequinned top dazzles in the sunshine, but teamed with these velvet trousers epitomises evening elegance. Read her blog Mummabstylish for her style story.

Gail's take on this month's challenge could be called Glitter, Sparkle and Shine as that's how wonderfully she has embraced the theme! Find out more from her on Is This Mutton blog. 

Emma's interpretation is an eye-catching mix of damson sequins and emerald green chiffon frills. What fun! Do please scoot across to find out all of the details on her blog Style Splash.

As you'll all be aware, I'm on a 12 month shopping ban currently and despite the odd wanton browsing of the Zara website (see this rather stunning bit of sparkle available at the moment), I'm happy to say that this tightening of the belt has only served to show me how much my wardrobe holds. The orange sequinned jacket was from TK Maxx a couple of years ago and the brand is Anothereight. I last wore it almost a year ago (see here) and this is the 4th time I've shown it on the blog. 

And what does one wear with a bright orange sequin jacket? Why, bright orange satin pants of course! These are from the Conscious Collection at H&M, but are quite old. Thank goodness, however, that they're not so old that they don't fit. I have a friend who used to say that some of her clothes tend to shrink in the wardrobe if she doesn't wear them for a year or two ... I know exactly how that goes!

The skinny satin trousers called for statement footwear and these old beauties came to mind. By Office, the chestnut suede ankle boots are far from new, but the towering heels and platform soles still give me buzz regardless. 

Accessories read like this: the gold framed mirror sunglasses (they were just begging to team up with this burnished ensemble!) are by Quay Australia, rings are pre-loved and the rose gold heart pendant was from a boutique in Truro some time ago.

My jewel bright cashmere sweater works so well with today's orange sparkle. In case you missed it last time I was gifted this beautifully soft two ply cashmere jumper by Cashmere Specialist, a mail order company in Slovakia. Please do check out their extensive website and if you quote ANNA10 you'll get 10% off your order, but be quick as this ends on the 2nd of December! 

Many thanks to the ladies of the collective for their joyful contributions and also thanks to Sasha for being the photographer of the day. I love how she managed to capture the reflection of these exotic palm trees in my sunglasses.

Take care and see you next time!

Anna x

That Friday feeling!

Hellooooooo! How are you? I'm pleased to say that I'm very well, thank you. This is my Friday outfit, a bright pop of pink which is a wonderful dose of of colour therapy. As November draws to a close, I feel the darkness of the winter months continue to unfold in front of me and know that I still have quite a battle to wage as I fight off the winter blues. My best armour for this battle has to be joyful clothes in vibrant colours, hence this lovely ensemble.

I'm delighted to find these fuschia separates are such a good match; it's the first time I've put them together. I love the different textures of them too; the fine pleats of the chiffon skirt are the perfect ploy for the fluffy winter sweater. This is the first time I've worn this skirt - it's by Sabrina Diamanti, an Italian brand, and was a charity shop purchase from long ago. The sweater was from Enjoy Clothing in Truro.

The white lace top has a very prim Edwardian look to it and reminds me of the kind of fashion that Princess Diana wore. I bought it from Zara last summer and it's been a great addition to my wardrobe.  And talking about Diana, are you watching the new series of The Crown? I'm trying very hard to spin it out and make it last. Riveting viewing as always, but more than ever I find the reality of it so very sad.

I've mixed preloved and new with my jewellery: the rings are both thrift pieces and the Tree of Life pendant was from a small boutique in Truro. 

The black and silver geometric tights were another charity shop scoop, paired with these silver leather ankle boots by Buffalo London, bought from TK Maxx. Once again, nothing is new, but that doesn't detract from the pleasure of the outfit.

So as I head off for home, I'd just like to remind you that the last Monday of the month is time for our Style Not Age challenge. "A touch of sparkle" was chosen by me, so no surprises there then. I do hope that you'll be able to swing by to see the fabulous outfits that very much serve as a warm up to Christmas.

Hope to see you all on Monday!

Anna x

Bold in gold

Hello again my lovely readers! Yes, I'm bold in gold today as I try to feel more like my old self. To be perfectly honest, I'm still a bit washed out and not exactly bursting with energy, but I'm working on getting my fitness levels back up to speed. I've been back in the sea again a couple of times this week and golly, what a shock that was to the system! I could barely catch my breath when I got in on Sunday. Those first dozen strokes had me gasping as I submerged my face in the icy cold water. Seemingly the average sea temperature for Scilly in November is about 12 degrees which would definitely take your breath away! 

After my most recent post I set myself the challenge to perk up my dressing as I thought I'd drifted into the gloomy levels of brown, brown and more brown. Hence today is all about the gold! I'm still shopping my closet and delighted to showcase these old items which epitomise enthusiasm when paired together. 

The gold sweater is from H&M, is very old and was a hand-me-down from my daughter quite a few years ago. My Toxic3 jeans are a couple of years old and did I tell you, that I actually bought two pairs of these as I was worried that they'd go out of stock by the time I'd need to replace them? I wear them both in rotation so that they look the same. Crazy? Maybe...

The gold Chelsea boots are very old and are from River Island. They're real leather hence they are just going to keep looking better and better as they age. 

The wide band ring was a charity shop find and the other one was a concession purchase as I went through an airport. 

The oval link gold coloured chain was a Primark purchase a couple of summer's ago. It's one of those timeless pieces that work with so many outfits. The round framed sunglasses were from River Island a couple of years ago - cute aren't they?

My thanks to Sasha who stepped into the breech with today's photos. The winter is always a challenge weather-wise and she just happened to be in the right place at the right time - well, at least I thought so! 

Take care and let's catch up again soon!

Anna x