Another birthday present!

Hello again! Yes, mine is the birthday that goes on and on, but goodness isn't this latest worth the wait? My family clubbed together to buy me this fabulous faux fur coat last month, and after a couple of false starts delaying things (the sizing is very generous, meaning I returned it twice and downsized from a 12 to a 6 eventually) here it is in all its glory! You can tell how excited I am about this, can't you?

The coat is from River Island and I'm a bit gutted to see that it's now been reduced to half price in the sale - see here. However, I can see that it's sold out in a 6 which does help. 

I dragged my son Jamie to the beach in between storms this weekend and elevated him to the role of Blog Photographer and wow, didn't he rise to the challenge? The sun shone and the wind continued to blow, but we made the most of things and I was thrilled to gad about in my new ensemble. 

I've been panicking that the coat wouldn't get an airing until the autumn, but this cold blast of wild weather was the perfect excuse to get out and about on Saturday afternoon. Not a soul was in sight as we dropped down onto Cradle Porth on the low tide. The blond sandbar was the perfect backdrop for this monochrome outfit. It's quite a change for me to opt for such a muted palette, but honestly the look still delivers the wow factor, don't you think?

The camo two piece was also from River Island (see here). The stretch fit makes for easy weekend wear, either for working out or lounging around at home. Oh, and the camo print is fabulous - I've got a thing about camo at the moment. The leggings are sold as bum sculpting with a high waistband and the fit is great, even on my ageing derriere!

A touch more glam comes by way of the Radley sunglasses and two pre-loved rings. 

My favourite boots of the moment are perfect for this monochrome play - they're from Asos and you can find them here. 

I'm in full "cat who got the cream" mode here. This is one of those outfits that I could wear day after day and still feel fabulous. What a joy!

                                                                                      Anna x

My pretty new Zara blouse

Hello again! How was your weekend? Mine seemed to go past in a bit of a blur of cooking, cleaning and yes, dejunking. The boxes are mounting up as I clear out cupboard after cupboard, moving out anything that's not useful, beautiful or loved by us. Even poor Steve was involved as I attacked his guilty area of workwear calling on him to help cull his large, but very tired, collection of checked shirts of which there seemed to be many. We're still in the midst of the job, barely half way through the entire house, but as they say, out of chaos comes order!

So, this is my new blouse, a birthday present from my friend Bo who lives in Portugal. It's from Zara, but I can't find it online here. The fabric is lightweight and will be wonderful to wear in the summer (I'm imagining it with white jeans and sandals), but I was so impatient to try it on then decided to winterise it with my pre-loved Ralph Lauren fairisle vest.

I teamed up the blouse with my ochre Kate trousers from J D Williams - see them here on sale now. I love the fit of these slim trousers mainly because of the stretch which makes them super comfy. This is the first time I've worn them despite having them for years - yes, I really mean years. It's only due to the big clear out that I rediscovered them, still with tags on, and decided to try them on. How fab is that to find a great new pair of trousers hidden away? And doubly fab when they match my new blouse perfectly!

My pre-loved perspex rings pick out some of the colours in today's outfit adding to the pattern play too. Dark green pearls and Quay Austalia sunglasses complete the accessories.

Russet platform boots give a bit more leg-lengthening height to the look which is never a bad thing. These are very old indeed and were from Office.

And just to add a bit more pattern to the mix, I wore my Joe Brown's woolen 3/4 length jacket. This one is out of stock now, but I did find another cute jacket - see here.  The lining is a wonderful bit of pattern play too!

It seems that here in the UK we'll all be hunkering down for the rest of the week as we have two gales lining up to give us a bit of a battering. I'd planned to get some outdoor photos taken on the beach at the weekend, but I'll maybe have to come up a plan B just in case. Do take care, wherever you are and thanks for dropping by!

                                                                            Anna x

My snazzy new co-ord!

Hello again! How's things? Hasn't January just whizzed by? I can't believe we're already a whole week into Feb. So, anyway, here's me in a snazzy new outfit which was Sasha's present for my Christmas. While she was on the mainland in November she had messaged me from Primark to show me this fab co-ord and without a moments hesitation I said Yes! The brown and white colourway wouldn't normally have been my choice but the geometric print and cut of trousers and jacket were a winning combination easily outweighing my reservations.

I hadn't planned on the windswept look for this shoot, but Sasha invited me over when she was staying in Nautilus for her birthday (week) and I'd had this vision of showcasing the suit outdoors on the deck. 

I did also take some indoors shots...

The straight legged jeans work great with the fitted denim style jacket don't you think? I had planned to pop a high neck sweater underneath but it made the whole thing look a bit mumsy. 

Instead I opted for my white ribbed and chiffon sleeved top by Wild Flower, a purchase from TK Maxx a couple of years back. The see-through sleeves lighten the look and are just a bit more fresh and funky. 

I matched the flower motif pattern of the suit with various pre-loved pieces of floral jewellery to give a bit of a 60's vibe. My sunglasses are from Radley London. 

The fab new suit gives me the opportunity to bring out my ecru Chelsea boots which I bought from Asos not so long ago. They're still available here. I've not had the chance to wear this outfit to work yet as I've had a couple of weeks off work spanning my birthday weekend (spent on the dejunking project). However it's just a little over 4 weeks to go now until the Gallery re-opens and I'll be sure to be gadding about in this natty ensemble as soon as I can!

                                                                              Anna x

New year, new challenge!

Hello and welcome to our first Style Not Age challenge for 2022!

January's challenge comes from Emma who has alighted on the Eye of the Tiger, relating to the Chinese New Year which starts on the 1st of February. 2022 is the Year of the Tiger and we fashionista friends are all interpreting this in our very own way. My choice of outfit was guided by the simple fact that I only have one item of clothes with a tiger and this sequined top is it!

Gail has opted for a red and black outfit to showcase her Tiger's Eye pendant. Catch up with her on the blog Is This Mutton?

Jacqui's tiger print blouse is from New Look, paired with faux leather trousers from F&F with slouch tan boots. See her back story over at Mummabstylish.

From top to toe Emma's outfit reads like this - hat from eBay, shirt from Topshop, trousers from Zara and tiger necklace is from Palava. See more from Emma on her blog Style Splash. 

Hilda's tiger print piece is this fabulous handbag, borrowed from a local boutique - way to go Hilda! Find out more on Over The Hilda blog.

My sequinned tiger tee was a sale find in H&M some time ago. I've not worn it very often so am delighted to bring it into play today. A bargain basement piece for only a fiver I have to mention! My shark's tooth necklace was from Charlie Dodge jewellery and my rings are  preloved, sunglasses from Radley London.

The rest of my outfit is all old, seen before, but still makes for a good show, don't you think? The orange sequin jacket is padded and therefore lovely and cosy. Steve says that it's so sparkly it can be seen from outer space! 

I deliberately chose to take myself off to a remote spot on the top of Tresco so that I wouldn't dazzle any passing traffic. I'd hoped to be pretty inconspicuous out at King Charles' Castle until I looked out to sea and there was the local gig crew thrashing on their way down the channel. I think I was a bit more exposed than I planned!

My faux leather jeans are from H&M (old) and as are my patent Chelsea boots (Topshop). My sequin jacket was from TK Maxx and is one of those pieces that stays in my wardrobe all year round. It manages to avoid the seasonal changeover as the sparkly orange vibe can work for any time of year. 

I'll leave you with this splendid view out towards Shipman's Head on Bryher with the wild Atlantic Ocean beyond. This is a terrific vantage point as well as a great spot to escape from whatever may trouble you. There's nothing like the big outdoors to help you get things back into perspective!

                                                                              Anna x