Wrapped up in fur and animal print

Hello lovelies! How's things with you?

The weather forecast for this weekend is for freezing temperatures and snow, hence this wintery outfit of the day. I'm so pleased that I've got a chance to wear this fabulous fun fur swing coat again. It's been a long term favourite of mine, getting dragged out year after year for the past two decades and yet it still looks on trend. Animal print seems to be forever in fashion (thank goodness) and today I'm mixing snakeskin and leopard print for a rich bit of pattern play.

The glamorous look is enhanced by the big coat collar, turned up against the wind in true Hollywood style! There's no way you can play down a look like this, is there?

I added these jumbo pearls (very old, from Debenhams) along with my white and black dappled Quay Australia sunglasses to ramp up the glam factor, finishing off with two rather ancient rings to tie in with the colour of the dress.

You'll have no doubt seen this dress before on the blog. It's a classic shape that hangs so nicely and is very flattering. I bought it online from the Topshop sale nearly two years ago now. I changed the matching belt for this white stretch one that I found in a charity shop. It's one of those frocks that always earns me compliments.

The shirtwaister is a dress that never seems to go out of fashion either and the sharp pleats makes the dress a surefire winner. 

The moss green sock boots are from Zara, maybe three years ago. I love the funky angle of the silver heels.

This swing coat was born to swing!

And that's about it for another week! I'll add some photos of the sewing project for those of you who might be interested. I've created a mix and match look so that I can keep ringing the changes. Yesterday my sewing machine was playing up and if I were experienced enough I'm sure I would have coped much better. Instead I was like a crazy dervish by the end of the afternoon and all because I wanted to finish it so that I could have today off. 

I maybe ought to have taken these photos before I'd lounged about on the top of these cushions for a couple of days. 

I'm sure I've missed a few permutations but you get my gist!

Anna x

Still shopping my closet!

Hello and here we are in February! How are you doing in Lockdown3? Are you coping okay? I'm so pleased to notice the difference in the daylight hours as the evenings start to stretch out day by day. Just that little bit of light adds a ray of hope to our days, don't you think?

It was a year ago since I was last on the mainland and a year ago that I ventured into a (charity) shop.  By March last year I'd bought my last piece of clothing online (see it here) and that was to be the final item I would buy for the next 12 months. The most influential read to spur me on to taking a break from retail therapy came in the form of The Year of Less by Cait Flanders. I'd been feeling overdone clothes-wise for some time prior to that: knowing that I had too much to wear despite it being pre-loved and therefore less of a financial drain, it still bugged me that I just couldn't fit anymore into my wardrobe. But not just that; the minute I dropped clothes into the recycling centre, I was driven to replace them with more. This had to stop.

So here I am almost at the 12 month finish line and I'm amazed at not only how easy this has been, but also I have to admit that I'm still finding pieces of clothing with the shop labels attached that I've not yet worn. My shopping ban couldn't have been more timely as unemployment figures soared with families having to prioritise their spending, leaving clothing at the bottom of the list. Reuse, re-style and recycle and buy less, wear more are the kind of hashtags trending on social media, helping me to feel more in step. As we eventually emerge back into normal life again I fancy that we may all find our buying habits and choices have changed forever due to the impact the pandemic has made on the High Street.

Anyway, enjoying our clothes be they new or recycled is what I'm all about and today's look is gathered from the past few years. The jacket is three years old and was a boutique find in St Andrews (the brand is FDJ). The culottes and boots are both from Zara, again about three years ago and the blouse is from H&M. The retro sunglasses are from Topshop.

The rings are pre-loved and the necklace is from Topshop.

The jacket is a fake suede but isn't lined. I've not worn it often and yet looking at the back view of it, I do wonder why. This is often the story with so many of my clothes. It's only when I see them on the blog that I remember what attracted me to them in the first instance.

These bronze boots look as if they have fishnets over the top of them - I do get that remark often. The colours make them very wearable with lots of outfits.

And finally, I've managed to start on my long term sewing project again. I can't remember how long ago it was (maybe six years ago) that I decided I'd like to recover my old sofa. In the meantime, I've collected some fabulous velvets and other sumptuous fabrics together to add to my initial cache and have a renewed enthusiasm for the task. Today I finished one cushion cover and hope to keep the momentum up over the week ahead. 

The other side of the cushion looks like this. I'm so pleased to get back sewing again - it's a joy to be creative and to improve our surroundings at the same time. 

None of this would get me into the Great Sewing Bee, but it's great to have an indoor hobby at this time of year.

                                                                                       Anna x

My new Adidas trouser suit

Hi there! Yes, it's a rather shocking headline from the woman whose 12 month shopping ban isn't over yet, but hang on, this was hubby's birthday present to me last week. Of course, I did give him lots of guidance. No matter, it's beautiful, don't you think?

Best of all, this two piece by Adidas is still on sale on ASOS now - see here. I have a thing about trouser suits and am always on the look out for another to add to my collection. This salmon pink corduroy number caught my eye when I was searching for Christmas presents and I earmarked it mentally for my birthday. I was delighted to find it had been reduced in the sale when I went back to search for it.

The high waisted trousers are great fit for my figure and best of all the fabric has stretch in it too. I couldn't wait to get out in this lovely weather to showcase it. This is me on the ramparts of Blockhouse Castle, but the view down to the beach below looked pretty inviting too...

The jacket is quite boxy, slightly masculine and for me that needed a bit of softening with either frills or lace. I opted for this lace top from Zara with a vest underneath for warmth. 

That's the problem when you set up your camera and tripod on your own. No-one to zoom in or out ...

Suffice to say I was still having fun!

Silver rings and leather belt are all second hand.

I like the ribbon stripes down the side of the trousers. My leather boots by Besson were from TK Maxx (a Christmas present from Steve).

It was glorious on the beach here. So much so, that I went straight home and put my swimsuit on so that I could swim here in the afternoon sunshine. This was on Monday when I think the snow was falling on mainland UK. 

I swam from Cook's Porth to Cradle Porth and back again. See a wee video from the other beach on my Instagram feed here.

My latest project is some sewing (at last). I'm trying to make new covers for my sofa and armchairs, but it's a challenge to say the least. However, you know me, I do like a challenge! In due course I hope to be able to show you the fruits of my labour. In the meantime, I wish you a super weekend.

                                                                                         Anna x

Lounging at Home, our Style Not Age Challenge for January

Hello again! Yes, here we go with our end of the month fashion challenge and this month we're visiting that most popular of trends, Lounging at Home, chosen by Gail this time. I recently featured this topic in my post Lockdown loungewear and therefore had to dig a bit deeper to find another loungewear offering. Anyway I'll tell you all about that later, but first let's see how Gail herself tackled this one...

Gail's two piece is snuggly warm and perfect for a night in front of the TV. She bought this from Mango, but do swing by her blog for the full details - Is This Mutton? 

Jacqui of Mummabstylish is wearing another two piece, this time in animal print which is her outfit of choice for lounging around at the moment. You'll find her here most days, having fun in her newly decorated dressing room - the envy of most fashion bloggers, including me!

Hilda is chilling out in her sporty pair of leggings and crisp white top, finished off with a cool pair of animal print pumps. Do pop across to see more on Over The Hilda. 

Emma of Style Splash wear joggers from Asda (love that touch of sparkle!) paired up with a starry sweatshirt. Do please take a moment to check out my fashionista friends.

My take on Loungewear is an all in one from ASOS (similar one here). Sasha bought me this for my birthday under my guidance. I love a bit of leopard print and this is a totally glam bit of loungewear in my opinion. I do have a pair of leopard print sheepskin slippers that I meant to include, but by the time I'd set up my tripod and camera I'd completely forgotten about them.

A handful of gold jewellery, none of it new, ramped up the glam factor. My version of Loungewear took on a very Jackie Collins look didn't it? Think racy, perfume laden boudoir and that's more or less it.

The jumpsuit has an elasticated waist for comfort and the sash tie is nice a finishing touch. There's no zip or buttons to fiddle with and the deep V neck is a flattering focal point. The wide legs are another comfort feature too. As I said previously, my go-to loungwear is my flower sprigged velour jogging suit, but I do look forward to wafting around at home in this alternative. I'm not working at the moment, but still haven't actually found much time to lounge around. I've been busy catching up on the home front and do hope to get to do some sewing this week...

Many thanks to those of you who left me a comment on my birthday post yesterday - catch it here if you missed it. I had a fabulous day with Steve taking some shots for the blog, then a very lively swim at lunchtime and finally the kids came down for a roast dinner in the evening. I've had clothes and potions and lots of little bits and pieces as presents. It was a super day and I'm thinking that 63 looks pretty good from here.

                                                                                                  Anna x