Pretty in Pink, our Style Challenge for September

Hello and welcome to our monthly Style Not Age Challenge! We're back again and this month my style sisters and I are all Pretty in Pink, thanks to the theme choice from yours truly. I've recently purchased this glorious pink frock from Hush - it's called Kloe and is still in the sale here. I've been having a pink moment, searching for the perfect pink trouser suit which then led me to find this loose and airy summer dress which is an absolute joy to wear. More of that later, but first, let's catch up with the others shall we?

Jacqui from Mummbstylish has been shopping recently too, buying these fab pink trousers and animal print shirt, both from M&S. Such a cool look! 

Gail from Is This Mutton has embraced the pink theme completely. It turns out that pink is her favourite colour and therefore wasn't too hard for her to find in her wardrobe. Those metallic pink boots are right up my street! 

And here's Style Splash's Emma sporting the most fabulous dose of pink! The trousers and jacket pulled together make the most pretty trouser suit indeed leaving me green with envy.

Hilda has brought out an old faithful pink coat for this month's challenge. The maroon handbag and pale pink are a very pretty pairing aren't they? See more on her blog Over The Hilda. 

This was me, last Monday on the beach just below The Old Blockhouse Castle on Tresco. We'd had a lovely run of Indian Summer weather making my day off perfect for this photo shoot. I've been wearing this lovely pink dress to work at least once a week since I bought it about a month ago. I'm smitten with the bright fuchsia colour as well as the flounced shape. The fabric is Hemp, making it cool and yet not flimsy; I usually wear an underskirt if the fabric is very see-through, but that's not necessary with this dress. 

I love the self-coloured spots too.

Colour therapy at its best is how I see this kind of dressing. It gets me lots of compliments, but more importantly it makes me feel happy and self-confident. As you know I primarily dress for myself and it's a bonus if that earns approval from friends or family. As I said I've been searching for the ultimate pink trouser suit ever since I saw the gorgeous Louise Minchin on Breakfast TV wearing a rather fabulous version. I've found a similar suit on the ME+EM website - see it here. Stocks of this are low due to it being in the sale and I've ended up ordering the jacket and trousers in different sizes which may be a stupid idea. I'll let you know how that pans out...

Lots of lovely pink accessories here today. The pink Candy Bag gets aired whenever I can justify it and this was the perfect excuse! Pink pre-loved rings and a pink and silver bangle from a girlfriend all add to the pink lusciousness of the look. My silver hooped necklace was from Melissa James at Gallery Tresco and sits perfectly in this neckline, don't you think? And last, but my no means least, are my long-term favourite Quay Australia sunglasses.

 

Another joyful purchase from this summer has been these floral Converse boots. They're super comfy thanks to a cushioned insole, and of course they're just the most pretty pair of shoes I have at the moment. Paired with this flamboyant frock the whole effect is pure fun.

As usual, you'll find me hanging on to summer here on the blog. I've got another lovely summer frock to share with you next time taken during the recent balmy golden weather, so please do drop by again soon.

I hope you've enjoyed this month's challenge and that you'll find time to check out the blogs of my fashionable friends too.

                                                                    Anna x

September razzle dazzle

Summer wouldn't be complete without a post featuring this fabulous shimmering coat on the beach. I may be totally bonkers in this need of mine, but there's nothing finer than swishing about on the sand in this glorious sequinned duster. My ever tolerant husband did the honours when I pulled it out of my backpack (not unlike a magician with his white rabbit), during our recent picnic on the uninhabited island of Northwethel. Two outfits for a beach picnic? Why ever not?

The rustling, shell-sounding coat was made for swishing and swooping and generally showing off. I was in my element, gadding about in the sunshine believing my own hype of how totally fabulous I was! (Well at least for 5 minutes anyway).

The coat is many years old now, but came from Topshop when new. It was a Christmas present and yet has been worn mostly in the summer rather than during the festive party season.

If I could get away with it, I'd swoosh about in this at least once a week. But realistically, I'd look like a bit of a loony if I did. (Please feel free to send me wake-up message if I ever drift that way.)

The coat holds magical powers over me - behold how beautiful I feel, and therefore I am! Be dazzled by my shining presence! Oh what fun!

The stark reality of my pot belly and cellulite thighs all melt away as I muse over my marvellousness!

My glittering necklace is by Charlie Dodge, a jeweller we represent at Gallery Tresco. 

Rings are preloved, but still rather lovely. And note how the pattern on my swimsuit echoes the shapes of the sequins...

One final, glamorous swoosh and I'm gone!

Anna x

September beach outfit

Oh wow, what a beautiful day we had yesterday! Luckily I had the day off and by lunchtime I managed to persuade Steve to sneak a half day off too so that we could skip off-island to a remote beach. As we motored off in our boat, it felt like it might be the last chance for a summer picnic this year. And we weren't the only ones making a break for it - the sea was teaming with small boats like ours, all hoping to find a secluded spot to claim for themselves. Our favourite beaches over on the Eastern Isles were already occupied so we turned back to Tean (no), then St Helen's (full of kayaks) and then finally across to Northwethel before we could claim our own island for the day.

I'd taken a couple of outfits for my beach romp. I'm sure I've shown these cover-up trousers before as they're my go-to piece for picnic days on the beach. I found them in an Op shop in New Zealand when Steve and I went touring over there in a camper-van. Oh happy, carefree pre-Covid days!

 

The multi-coloured swimsuit is by Boden, gifted from a friend. The very nature of being strapless means it's well constructed with lots of inner support as well as stretch. I haven't worn it for swimming, but I fancy it would withstand the normal rigours of a dip in the pool, if not the sea.

I was very pleased with the impromptu picnic I pulled together at short notice; I made Steve a couple of sandwiches of french baguette filled with mashed avocado, crisp fried bacon, sliced fresh tomato and a sweep of mayo. I had tuna, tomato, avocado and beetroot salad and we both had some sweet baby tomatoes from our greenhouse followed by banana icecream made by yours truly. 

It's ridiculous how quickly this summer seems to have shot past us, don't you think? Indoor and outdoor life aka beach life for me has felt much more normal than last year when we were all quite jittery about the pandemic. Our guests on the island seem much more relaxed too, although this has meant that we have a rising number of cases of the virus being reported on the Isles of Scilly of late which is inevitable. The easing of rules was always going to result in numbers rising. However, the upside is that the local economy has thrived with the influx of cruise ships as well as almost every bed on Scilly being fully booked for the entire season. It's been a great year.

My necklace is by Charlie Dodge, rings are both pre-loved and sunglasses by Quay Australia. Thanks for dropping by. I'll show you my second beach outfit in my next post, so please do swing by again for another dose of sunshine on the beautiful Isles of Scilly. 

Another picnic and another day to count our blessings for our life here.

Anna x

A bit of Hush

Hello lovelies! It's great to be back, especially as I've got these fabulous new pink camo shorts to show you. I've had a bit of retail therapy recently and am happy to show you the results. As you may know, I'm a keen charity shopper, but in times of need I'll resort to a tad of online therapy instead. 

I don't often wear shorts, but saw these being worn by a client the other day and decided they were worth tracking down. They are a great length; not too short for a woman of a certain age nor too long to look as if I might be wearing hubby's shorts either. Best of all these have a touch of stretch making them uber comfy to wear. They come in five camo colourways, but the pink is such a pretty combination that it's my favourite. They are by Hush and can be found here.

My other new purchase is this super sweater from Corinne Carr Knitwear. We sell her hats, scarves and sweaters in the Gallery too. The woolen jumper called Opium is one of her best sellers and you can see why. Its neat fitting style keeps the drafts out with its high neck and of course it's super stylish. I love the marriage of lots of complimentary colours giving a very unique jumper.

I've missed a lot of sea swimming this summer due to the pressures of work, but I'm making up for lost time now with daily visits to the beach and this is going to be my uniform of the day. I love the combo of shorts and sweater for practical reasons and ease of wear. It's ideal for catching a bit of sun on my legs before summer leaves us and yet the sweater keeps me warm post-swim. These shots were from last night's swim on Appletree Bay and it was the first day that I felt that autumn may be on its way.

My sandals are by the brand Lazy Dogz. I bought these in May when I was in Penzance. Today's post seems to be all about that wonderful mixture of comfort and style and I must admit that the padded insole make these the most comfortable sandals of this style that I've ever owned. I love them and am planning on buying other colours next summer. I fancy having them in orange, but will wait until early next year before I do my search. More than ever, I'm practising mindful shopping now. Impulse buys and emotional shopping are a thing of the past for me as I continue to declutter my life, making way for investment shopping to last the later years of my life. Being in my 60's I'm increasingly aware that my working life and the income thereof is limited and so I need to make sure I'm buying exactly what I need rather than having the thrill of shopping for the hell of it.

Many thanks to my swimming buddy and photographer Fiona for these shots. We had a lively swim along the bay and back followed by a hot flask of tea and post-work catch up.

Many thanks for dropping by again and I hope you  have a lovely weekend ahead!

Anna x