I want to share a secret with you




Hello again! How has your week been? Here we are, suddenly in May and I can't account for where April went. I've been so busy of late, both at work and home, dashing back and forth to the mainland three times in four weeks for various health checks and honestly it's been hectic. I'm off to the mainland again tomorrow for my Glaucoma check-up which has been delayed since 2020 and then hopefully things will settle down.




Anyway, I do want to share a secret with you today, and it's a website called Secret Label - please click on the link to see more. This family-run online clothing outlet has made it its business to save clothes from going into landfill sites by taking on the excess from designer brands such as Karen Millen, Coast and Reiss as well as high street brands Zara, M&S, Phase Eight, Warehouse, White Stuff and Monsoon to name a few. All clothes are brand new with the only concession Secret Label makes is to remove the labels meaning they can then offer huge discounts on all of these brands. 




I've been a customer of Secret Label for some time now, buying clothes for both my husband and son for Christmas as well as finding bargains for myself last autumn. More recently the brand invited me to become an ambassador for them. Their ethos is one that I can honestly support as diverting fashion from landfill surely has to be a commendable way to run a business. To recycle clothes in any shape or form is a good thing, one that I have advocated on the blog for years, and this intervention is another way to keep clothes in the loop and best of all, at a discounted price. And never has there been more pressure on the retailer to keep prices down as the consumer is on the brink of one of the most difficult economic times in recent history. As energy prices continue to soar and food prices rise we'll all be looking for ways to save money when buying clothes. 




My frock today is from Joules via Secret Label. I do pop into the Joules branch in Truro but the prices are what hold me back rather than the clothes themselves. I'm thrilled to be gifted this to showcase to you as part of this promotion. The dress is 100% viscose and has a lovely, weighty drape to the fabric that lends itself to the odd twirl or two. The shirt front opening, buttoned sleeves and fabulous fit and flare skirt are all finished to the high standard you'd expect from Joules. It's an utterly feminine shape.




The navy and pink colourway is classic and so pretty too. I chose to accessorise in pink and purple - the stretch belt in purple is an oldie but goodie as are my pink sock boots from H&M.




My mini pink Candy bag by Furla is the perfect ploy for this fun look today. My pink ring was a present from a friend and the white one was a charity shop find from years ago.




Pink fishnet tights are my way of adding my own unique style to the look - essential for me if I'm basing my outfit on high street fashion. God forbid that I might look too ordinary!




My necklace is from Zara and sunglasses are my old favourites from Quay Australia. 





Ooops, I almost forgot to mention that if you use my code ANNA15 you can get 15% discount on your online order with Secret Label. That's pretty much the icing on the cake when you see what bargains can be found on their site!




Thanks for joining me again today. Later this month I'll be celebrating my 7 years of blogging and I already have a rather fabulous outfit to share with you for that. Now that's sorted I simply have to alight on the perfect photo shoot location on this tiny but diverse island. Not too terrible a chore, eh?

Wishing you a great week!

Anna x

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This Old Thing, our Style Not Age challenge for April




Hello lovelies and welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge! Gail has come up with this month's theme of This Old Thing sparking a variety of offerings. Mine is an old thing that my sister Dianne saw on a mannequin in the window of a charity shop and immediately thought of me. Someone had clearly tired of it and decided to move it on, but their loss is my gain - I love it! Let's see what everyone else has to show us with shall we?




Jacqui has shopped her closet for this month's feature coming up with her old favourite this denim jacket, paired with cream culottes and matching boots - read her back story on Mummabstylish.




Hilda seems to have gathered together a host of oldies but goodies. The trenchcoat is over 40 years old, boots are 20 and jeans are 15. A self confessed hoarder, Hilda was more than prepared for this month's theme. Read more from her on Over The Hilda blog.




Proving that Emma is as trim as ever, here she is wearing a pair of cut-off shorts that she's had since was 13. Wowee, how fab she looks too! Catch up on her story on the Style Splash.




Gail is sharing her grandma's jewellery for the challenge and noted that her cat also falls into the category of an Old Thing as she's 16! See more on Is This Mutton blog.




Another week, another photo-bomber! This time it's my dear friend Jilly who stopped to collect a painting on the way past.






Jilly thought the all-in-one delivered the wow factor and I must admit it did earn me a few compliments at work. There's no brand label, but the care label did say AX Paris SS19 denoting it's three years old.




The jumpsuit has a zip up back and an under the bust tie which cinches in at the waist making for a very flattering silhouette. I popped an old sweater from Primark underneath for warmth and  added a long wooden animal necklace, found in a London charity shop 4 years ago.




My rings are pre-loved and the rose gold watch is by Michael Kors.




My Zara boots are quite old, so much so that I've forgotten how long ago it is since I bought them, but they're still looking sleek as ever.




Probably the most notable feature of the jumpsuit is the additional front layer of fabric that floats about flapping in the breeze in an eye-catching manner. Fiona insisted that I hold these out to let you see these better. I do hope this has proved to be another inspirational post for you, maybe giving you some ideas for this week's outfits.


Keep well everyone!

Anna x

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Baggy trousers




Hello and happy Easter to you! Have you enjoyed a lovely weekend? And did the Easter bunny deliver lots of choccies to you? This is my Easter outfit which I would have worn had we gone anywhere. Instead we've been helping my son to move house from one side of the island to the other, and some four days later we're still not done. Today is all about culling the gathering of some 6 years to fit into his brand new home. He's keen to create a minimalist pad, but that takes a bit of discipline at this stage. Dejunking is the name of the game.




On to the outfit. This is from my recent shopping trip, a super spring outfit bought from various shops in Truro. The stars of the show are these fabulous baggy trousers which I found in TK Maxx, although the brand is Zara. I love the colour and the fabric, but it took a little bit of mending to get them wearable. The heavy woven material had one of those nasty catches where a strand of thread had been dragged through to the front which is probably why they were reduced to £9. I managed to tease the thread through to the inside of the fabric and then pulled them back into shape. The other issue was that they're an XXL and I'm a medium in Zara... I loved these straight away and bought them regardless of the size and when I got them home I stitched them up along the seam on the derriere taking in a couple of inches. They're still oversized, but the bright orange belt helps to cope with that.




The rest of the outfit came from Primark - belt at £2.50, ribbed body £4 and ribbed cardigan £6. The whole look is fresh and very spring-like don't you think? I'm so pleased with it all.




This pic makes me want to sing Baggy Trousers by Madness! 




Nothing new jewellery wise: pre-loved rings and rose gold heart pendant a long time ago purchase from a now defunkt boutique in Truro.




Old sunglasses from River Island many moons ago work nicely with this look.




My Missoni style trainers are by LA Gear and again aren't new by any means. Another purchase from TK Maxx some years ago and are still going strong.




I'm looking forward to wearing this new ensemble to work one day this week. It's one of those feel good outfits, perfect easy wear trousers and the sleek body helps to give a streamlined fit that avoids that constant tucking in. Pastel shades are always flattering to the skin too, don't you think? Until next time, have a super week!

                                                                                            Anna x



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Two in five million




So, here's the explanation for my recent absence. Steve and I were two of the five million people in the UK who reported having Covid19 last week. And that's just the five million who reported it, not those didn't. It's alarming isn't it? And yet, this is indeed our new normal where businesses are closing temporarily or paring down their services to accommodate the prevalence of the virus. Tresco, like the rest of Great Britain, is awash with the illness. Steve and I are still at home waiting to show a negative test result or at least feel well enough to return to work. What about you? They say that one in 14 of us has the virus currently so we all know someone who has it. If it's you then I'd say stay home until you're well, keep warm, take paracetamol to control your temperature and pain, drink lots of fluids and suck on ice chips to soothe an inflamed throat.




Today's post is from last month, Mother's Day to be precise, when we went to the beachfront Ruin Cafe at Old Grimsby for lunch. Our table view was pretty idyllic and being indoors meant we were out of the driving Easterly wind too. I had flowers and gifts from my children, including a gift card for TK Maxx, but more of that later. I dressed a la 70's style for my lunch date.




It's been a while since I've worn this flower power jacket by Anja Rock. I remember I bought it when I was in Manchester four years ago on my modelling stint with JD Williams - read all about that here. TK Maxx in the centre of Manchester was a wonderful haven full of all sorts of fashion delights and bargains. See the first time I showcased the jacket here - it was a fabulously bright and breezy post that's worth another look if you missed it.




Steve and I had taken a stroll home through the woods after our leisurely lunch when we hit this golden pool of sunlight. Too good an opportunity to miss, eh?




The heart patterned flares were from Asos, the sweater is totally ancient, and the stone coloured boots of the moment are also from Asos. The observant amongst you may have seen that my pre and post-lunch sunglasses are different, but both are from Quay Australia.





My 70's jewellery collection is all pre-loved charity shop finds. 






My print clutch bag is from Zara and was actually part of the gift packaging of a new blouse, a birthday present from my dear friend Bo in January. See here for that




My boots of the moment are these chunky ecru dreams from Asos. The beautiful Chelsea boots can be found here




So, in between Mother's Day and Covid19, I've been to the mainland again for another health appointment, this time for some pre-cancerous cell removal on my face. The upside was that I went off clutching the lovely gift card and oh my goodness, what a super time I had! Not only did I shop there, but I snapped up some fab charity shop purchases too. 




These beaded sandals were from TK Maxx and the almost matching necklace was a charity shop find, hurrah!




Gradually I'll showcase these and give you the lowdown on where and how much etc, but in the meantime you'll just have to feast your eyes on the pretty colours and textures of my new springtime wardrobe. The fact that I've ousted 32 boxes of clothes and shoes out of the house means that this has been a guilt-free splurge - whoohoooo!


Wishing you a super week ahead!

Anna x

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