Anna's Island Style

Brocade and burnished gold for Christmas

Yay, it's only 11 sleeps 'til Christmas!

How are you today my lovelies? Are things coming along nicely? I start back to work again today and know that it'll be like the fast forward button being pressed in my run up to Christmas. You may have caught my Instagram post about me making my Get Ahead Gravy a la Jamie Oliver recently see it here. Well, apart from that I've really not done much more prep for the big day. The mail has become sluggish all of a sudden and I'm slightly stressed that everything will arrive on time. The courier services to the islands add up to a week extra on top of normal delivery times so all in all, we do feel at the end of the line here.

But, hey let's focus on something that I can control ... Here's another dose of style inspiration for you, straight from my closet. There's nothing new here, but I fancy I may not have showcased all of these separates previously, namely the gold jeans and the pale gold shirt. Burnished gold is a wonderfully festive take on Christmas don't you think?

It's only a matter of weeks now for me to conclude my 12 month shopping ban and what a sound lesson that has proved to be for me. Of course it's been made a whole lot easier by not leaving the island for the past 9 months, but I had made this decision before Covid-19 appeared. I've learnt that I don't need new clothes every couple of weeks, nor do I need that rush of excitement as I carry a basket full of new clothes to the checkout. I've fought the hunter gatherer gene even if it's only short term. I can't wait to see what I shall do when I get to the end of this ...

Anyway, the inspiration for this particular Christmas outfit was the fabulous brocade jacket by Clements Ribiero, which is actually part of a two-piece (see it here). This is only the second time I've worn it in two years, so shame on me for neglecting such a glorious piece of design. The 3/4 length sleeves are flattering as is the collarless round neck and slit pockets without flaps - all work together to allow the brocade star billing. The green and gold stitching gleam together and are so flattering for my colouring. This was a dry run of the ensemble before the Gallery re-opens next week when I'll definitely be wearing it.

It'll be no surprise to hear that these rings are both pre-loved.

The amber mirrored sunglasses are by my favourite brand, Quay Australia.

The glitter jeans (second hand) are by South and the patent boots are by Topshop.

My thanks go to Fiona for today's photos. We were surprised and delighted to find that one of our favourite backdrops had been upgraded to this buttery yellow colour. The metal door fronts the fire engine shed and so far we've managed to avoid getting caught up in any emergency.

See you again on Friday with my next festive dose of fashion!

Anna x

Hurrah - it's only 14 sleeps 'til Christmas!

So, here we have as promised my Christmas styling of the Scottish icon that is the kilt. I bought mine in a charity shop for only £5 and have been mulling over how to style it up for ages. Can you make a kilt funky was my question and hopefully I've answered that with an emphatic Yes!

The addition of the big, bouffant petticoat goes a long way to reinventing the staid image of the kilt, as does the mighty powers of pattern play by way of paisley and leopard print. The red lurex tights pick up the red within the woollen plaid and also connect tonally with the metallic jacket. All in all, it's a wild rendition and I know, not one for the faint hearted!

Piece by piece the outfit reads like this: metallic biker jacket by Missguided, bought from TK Maxx some years ago: paisley print shirt by Lands' End, second hand: kilt by The Tartan Shoppe, second hand: black petticoat from eBay: red lurex tights are charity shopped: leopard print pony skin courts by BCBGeneration from TK Maxx.

Nothing new jewellery-wise - the rose gold necklace was a boutique purchase when I was in St Andrews a couple of years ago: the big jewelled ring is pre-loved and the other ring was a find in a street market in Cape Town.

I'll be back again on Monday with another dose of sparkle and style for your Christmas inspiration. In the meantime, have fun with your preparations and last minute shopping. My shopping has been totally online this year and thank goodness, the mail is still coming through at this end of the country.

Anna x

Hello lovelies! Here I am strutting my stuff on the island catwalk aka The Flying Boat Club slipway. Fiona and I grasped our opportunity of fine weather on Sunday to show you my latest offering of Christmas dressing.

I promised you fur and lurex and here they are together with these fabulous paisley print flares with gold thread running throughout. The bell bottoms are from H&M and are quite old, but are perfect for festive outings. These hipster trousers have just the right amount of stretch to allow an extra mince pie or two.

Velvet and fur are fabulous Christmas fabrics, beautifully combined in this second hand Karen Millen coat which I bought a year ago when I was in London. If you missed that post you can see it here. The two fabrics combine to say luxury at its best.

The lurex polo neck sweater is old (from H&M too). It comes out every year at this time and is a real workhorse of a piece. You'll probably have noticed that polo necks are essential winter wear for me. I love the simple figure hugging lines of this kind of sweater which also provides warmth and a physical barrier against the cold. The sparkle yarn of this one lifts it out of the ordinary and works with so many separates, so you'll no doubt see it featured again this month.

I've piled pattern onto pattern with these amazing black and gold brocade platform boots from River Island (old). To say that the colour palette is rather restrained today, the overall effect still delivers the wow factor. The richness of the fabrics counter what could be read as a brown outfit and God forbid I'd be seen in boring old brown, especially as this claims to be a post about Christmas fashion inspiration!

My mirror Quay sunglasses were a gift from a friend a couple of years ago.

Both golden rings are pre-loved.

Coming up next time will be the second hand kilt that I bought in a charity shop for £5. I'm styling that up for Christmas to add a flavour of festive fun to what might be perceived as rather staid traditional national dress. It really is just a case of our imagination being the only limitation of our style. I do hope you'll join me on Friday for that one.

In the meantime, take care!

Anna x

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.