Recycled fashion styled for a winter's day
Wrapped up in fur and animal print
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.
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
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...