April Showers, our SNA challenge

Hello and welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge! April Showers is very apt for all of us as this has been such a chronically wet month here in the UK. That said, we had a lovely run of sunshine recently which did cause me to panic that I might have to take my photos in bright sunlight, but here I am on a showery day last week. 

Hilda chose this month's theme and doesn't she look stylish in her Max Mara trench? Catch up on her latest on her blog Over The Hilda. 

Jacqui has shopped her closet for this month's challenge; the full length trenchcoat is a perfect example of 80's style. Read her back story on Jacqui's blog Mummabstylish.

Another trenchcoat from the wardrobe of Emma; this one is from Boden in a jewel bright colour. Get all the news from Emma on Style Splash blog. 

Gail has splashed out on a new raincoat from ASOS and with this fab umbrella she's looking bright enough to chase the rain away!  See more from her on Is This Mutton blog.

April showers have indeed been very evident here on the Isles of Scilly. Unlike my mainland friends, my trenchcoats haven't been man enough for the job this month. Instead my silver raincoat has been a more practical option with its roomy hood and heavy duty repellant fabric means it's ready for the next sudden downpour. My sunglasses are by Quay Australia and rings are both old, pre-loved.

The rest of my outfit comes from Vinted. Purple skinny jeans are from River Island and the yellow sweater is cotton but had no label - I do love these colours together!

The lilac Chelsea boots were a recent Vinted purchase. I could be accused of having ankle boots in every colour, but I'd dispute that (I think...)

I love how the different photo angles have me looking like a giant in one shot and a teeny weeny critter in the next!

Thanks for joining us for this month's challenge. We're always hoping to inspire and entertain you, as well as having a bit of fun along the way. Take care and I'll see you soon!

                                                                        Anna x

Style Scientist

Hello again! Yes, I'm back after my mini break at home where sewing was the name of the game. It was glorious, stressful, frustrating and a joy, as well as a battle as I struggled to overcome my personal limitations with both machine and brainpower, but mostly it was fun. 

Here I am wearing my new jacket, lined in burgundy satin to give it a bit of both body and style. This was one of my minor sewing projects, causing me less of a headache than others. Initially I'd planned on lining this £6 Vinted three quarter length jacket in a baby pink satin fabric but it didn't excite me so I regrouped, coming up with the clever idea of buying a satin dressing gown to repurpose instead. This meant that I had the basics already in place - seams all sewn and in the right places too. 

I removed the sleeves using only the body of the material to line the jacket, attaching it to the neckline and sides. It's a fab new addition to my wardrobe, especially at this time of year as my annual clothes changeover happens. 

Anyway, I'll be peppering my blog with other lovely sewing successes in due course, but today I wanted to say thank-you to a kind blog follower and friend who recently came to chat with me in the Gallery. Rosemary has coined the phrase, Style Scientist, applying it to me. According to her my experiments with clothes and accessories do have a place in the style choices of the likes of her and many others who follow my blog or pop in to see what I'm wearing while they're on holiday. She said that my recent neon boots (see here) were an inspiration for her and even though she considers herself fairly conservative in her dressing she said that these boots could earn a place in her wardrobe. I recently wore them with a pair of black jeans and a simple crew neck black sweater especially with Rosemary in mind - it was a cool look, even if I say so myself!

The explosion of colours in the jacket acted as a springboard for today's outfit. I've run with the patterns and embroidery stories too which give this a very maximalist look - I'm sure that Iris Apfel would have been proud of me! Sometimes you just have to submit to the more is more mode of dressing, and if my happy dressing is infectious then that's an absolute bonus.

I'm wearing my pale pink Replay trainers (old, from TK Maxx) along with this new shopper that Sasha recently gave me. She's on a big clear out like me, which suits me fine if I'm going to benefit from pieces like this!

My rings are both very old, pre-loved and worn with my only other accessory, my Quay Australia sunglasses. The lace blouse is old, from Zara a few year's ago and the trousers are from Vinted.

Photo bombing continues to be a favourite sport for some of the locals ...

... many thanks to Mitch and Lorna for pepping things up! But maybe I ought to stop being a sitting duck.

So that's the latest from me. I'll be back on Monday, the last one of the month which means it'll be time for our Style Not Age Challenge. Please do swing by if you get a moment.

                                                                        Anna x

Gone sewing!

Thank you for coming, but sorry, I've taken a week off work and blogging and life in general to satiate my need to sew! I have lots of upcycling, mending and making planned and know that I'll only achieve a fraction of it, but goodness what fun it is to be sitting at my machine for hours at a time. I'll be back next week and hope to show you some of the results - providing they're a success of course!

                                                                        Anna x

Sieze the day!

The sun came out today making it a no-brainer for Fiona and I to capture some images for the blog. We finished work and wandered along the road towards the quay at New Grimsby to escape from the brisk north wind. Tucked in behind the hedge we dodged across the road and onto the last patch of sand as the incoming tide swallowed up the beach.

I've been itching to wear these new boots since they arrived in the post last week. Rain and yet more rain meant it's been impossible to get outside for blog photos, so today's bright sunshine was too good to resist. I've paired the neon bright flatforms with a yellow ribbed body underneath my soft green tweed shorts suit (from Primark). Boots, tights and body are all from Vinted. 

I can't explain the appeal of these chunky workwear boots as my latest passion. My son did question how these and my orange ones have become my style statement of the moment and I really can't answer that; I just know that I love them!

Nothing new accessories-wise this time. Necklaces are old/pre-loved, as are my rings and sunglasses, but that's not to say that they're not well considered to match the outfit of the day.

Fiona had a bit of a surprise as a wave suddenly swept round about her - luckily she was wearing her wellies!

 

I chose orange as my other accent colour today. The handbag is by Oliver Bonas and the coat is one of my new winter buys - it's by Superdry and was brand new from Vinted at a cost of £60.

Fiona kindly told me that I look like a bright orange caterpiller. She may be right, but the coat is all about keeping warm and if that means I have to sacrifice some style in order to keep cosy then so be it!

                                                                    Anna x