Most loved outfit of the week

Hi there! How are you doing? Did you watch much of the TV coverage of the Coronation this weekend? I did. I watched the entire thing on Saturday and then enjoyed the concert this morning as I was doing some hand sewing. It's been a really uplifting time; makes me proud to be British. 

So, this was my most loved outfit of the week at work last week. I received so many lovely compliments on this trouser suit. Hurrah for the Iris Apfel and H&M collaboration of a year ago! This is probably only about my 6th time of wearing the (almost famous) Pea Pod Trouser Suit, but every time I do, I try to mix things up so that the accessories are different giving it a fresh look. This time I've popped on my Frida Kahlo tee shirt which has the same aqua colour as the suit and looked pretty fab, I must admit. The other addition are my new boots from MOMO in New York, recently bought on Vinted. They were brand new, with the labels on, and I saved $200 buying them second hand - result!

The tiny patch of aqua on the toe of the left boot was all it took for me to know that these would be a dream pairing, well that plus the ornate design and little pearls too. I'm thrilled to have these in my shoe collection. They are made from old sari's which appeals to me for its recycling.

The pearl belt is my go-to piece to wear with the suit, simply to match the pearl pea pods. I found it on Amazon and think it was a great buy. I've layered up necklaces, three this time, along with bangles and rings in turquoise and aqua. You'll probably recognise my old favourite sunglasses by Quay Australia too.

On the home front, I've spent most of the Bank Holiday weekend sewing. I'm all a bit OCD about this latest hobby of mine. I've nearly completed my second linen dress, this time in aqua, but am being held up waiting for interfacing to finish the neckline. It's all very frustrating as I know how easy it would be to find this in a shop on the high street if I lived on the mainland, but hey ho, such is island life! In the meantime, I'm finding lots of alterations I can do now which is quite exciting. I'm not sure if the word alteration is a bit grand as sometimes these are more along the lines of a botch job, but mostly they're wearable which is all that matters.

My lovely husband coined a great phrase about me recently, saying I was born audition ready as I appeared in yet another over-the-top work outfit. I love his total acceptance of my need for all that's glitz and glamour. I recounted this to a friend who visited me at work the other day when she said I looked as if I was about to go on stage! The gallery surely acts as my everyday stage, hahaha.

Thanks for swinging by and I do hope you have a great week ahead!

Anna x

Bank holiday weekend

Hi there! How's your Bank holiday going?This is me on our fine Bank holiday Monday taking a breather on the quay at New Grimsby. At last we have some fine weather here after an entire weekend of fog. It's been the World Pilot Gig Championship festival on the Isles of Scilly this weekend and some of the races have been affected by poor visibility. The event finished on Sunday meaning today will be a leisure day before the crews all start to disperse and make their way home. I personally haven't been involved but the vibe is always a positive one over these weekends.

I've had a week off work to play at my sewing machine, although it's not been fun and games all the time. I'm a bit held up while I wait for supplies to come through the post which is painfully slow. I've started sewing dress number two despite dress number one still needing adjustments around the neck. I think I need to replace the interfacing as it's too heavy. This is all very hit and miss, but is a very good learning curve for me.

Apart from sewing, my other tasks were to defrost the freezer (done, tick) and make a batch of soup for my lunches (two week's portions, done, tick) and then to undertake the bi-annual clothes changeover (done, tick). Which is where today's outfit comes from. The gingham seersucker shirt was new from TK Maxx last summer, but this is the first time I've worn it. In addition, the gingham baseball boots were a new purchase also last summer from Primark but never worn. It was great to discover them when I opened one of the suitcases; in fact I've come across a few other things that still have labels on them that were packed away at the end of the season. My jeans are by Curve Appeal (old) and are uber comfy with lots of stretch.

I do love filling my wardrobe with all of my colourful summer clothes! I can't wait to get back to work now. One of the other things I've done in the midst of this changeover is a big dejunk. I've thrown out 22 pairs of shoes that were truly sad and worn through - much loved to the point of being worn out so off they go to the bin. In addition I've filled an entire holdall with shoes and anther with clothes that I'll be selling on Vinted over the next few months. I've been quite honest with myself and decided that these will never be worn by me again, so off they go!

The 60's necklace and bracelet were both charity shop finds as was the funky ring. Sunglasses are by Radley London.

I'll probably nip out later to swim on the high tide this afternoon and then I'll spend another couple of hours at my sewing machine before dinner. My week off has been lovely, very restorative and just what I needed. 

                                                                                          Anna x

Bring Me Sunshine our SNA challenge for April

Hello and welcome to this month's Style Not Age challenge as chosen by Emma from Style Splash seen here sporting this sunny yellow frock M&S. She's styled it with an across the body bag in blazing orange and blush pink sandals - see more on her blog.

Gail has gathered her favourite sunshine colours together in this bright and cheery outfit. Like most of the UK the weather still had a cool edge hence socks, scarf and hoody to ward off the chill winds. Catch up with Gail on Is This Mutton blog.

A wonderful splash of golden sunshine comes from Jacqui of Mummabstylish in this sunray pleated dress. Rain nearly stopped play for her as she tried to get out to take photos but she managed to capture this between the showers - see the backstory on her blog.

Hilda wears a veritable rainbow of colours in this co-ord by Never Fully Dressed. That's the best thing about a two piece isn't it - no worries about matching items or colours - it's all done for you! Catch up Hilda's latest on Over The Hilda blog.

My offering for this month's challenge isn't what you (or I) quite expected I'm afraid. The promise of my first ever home made frock didn't materialise when the matching petticoat flummoxed me at the last jump. The orange dress would have been perfect for this month's challenge too, but hey, such is life! For those of you who aren't on Instagram here's the latest photos of both frock and petticoat -

I'm still tweaking the neckline of the dress as it's not quite sitting flat, but I've got a couple of things I can do to hopefully resolve this. I've had lots of feedback to say that I could wear the petticoat on it's own as it's so pretty and I may now fully line it to give me that as an option. I'm finding that the more I sew the braver I'm becoming about these tweaks. Hopefully by next week all will be ready for the big reveal. I've ordered a new necklace and footwear so fingers crossed it'll all be fine for Monday...

My stand-in outfit is this bright pink trouser suit bought last summer from Primark, but never worn before. I think I mentioned at the time that I'd at last found my perfect pink trouser suit and this is it. I can't believe that something so stylish and surprisingly good quality could found on the high street for only £42!

The satin blouse is from Zara (last season) and my white belt is from Amazon, white patent boots from Deichman and favourite sunglasses are from Quay Australia. The pink of the suit is verging on neon which meant I got quite a reaction, but that's no bad thing.

There's nothing new jewellery-wise - rings are both pre-loved, as is the brooch and the necklace was bought from Charlie Dodge a couple of years ago. 

At least my photos are fulfilling the remit of Bring Me Sunshine on this bright blue day!

Anna x

Wednesdays mean Timeshare party

Hello lovelies and sorry for the tardiness in my posting this week, but this is the reason. I'm in the middle of my latest obsession meaning every spare moment is being spent sewing. I hope to showcase the dress on Monday for our monthly challenge so please do swing by again to see the fruits of my labour.

So, as the title suggests, Wednesday means Timeshare party here at Gallery Tresco and this was me after the event last night. Timeshare and Island Share owners have bought into Tresco life and as such this weekly gathering is one of the perks. It's the perfect opportunity for everyone to get together to chat about all things island as well as comparing what each property has to offer and to boast about who's got the best view!

It may not look like it, but I'm struggling to find things to wear at the moment as I've not yet done my bi-annual clothes changeover. My wardrobe and shelves are still full of winter woollies and boots, but hopefully next week I'll be taking some time off and that will be one of my chores. That said, I did receive lots of compliments about outfit of the day last night which is always a lovely boost to the morale. Nothing new here at all; the suit was a charity shop find in Harrogate a long, long time ago (it was on the men's rail, so do remember to rummage everywhere), likewise the vintage blouse, another charity shop find this time from Exeter many moons ago, the boots were from Diechman just before Christmas and the pink handbag is rather ancient too.

The pink handbag by Furla is my mini Candy bag which unfortunately didn't show up in quite the right colour - it's much more pink than that! Not quite the same colour as my boots but still acceptable fashionista-wise I think. More importantly, it's the only pink bag I have.

Nothing new with the accessories either. Sunglasses are my old faves by Quay Australia, the bejewelled watch was a charity shop buy and only recently rediscovered in a box, the huge pink resin ring was a gift from a friend and the other a charity shop find too. The necklace was a purchase a few years ago from Gallery Tresco and is by Charlie Dodge.

My beaded belt, an Amazon buy, always gets lots of comments. It's so utterly feminine isn't it?

So, you must excuse me, but I've got to return now to my sewing machine. I'm trying to make a pink net underskirt to wear under my orange linen dress, as one does. The slight problem I have is that I don't have a pattern and despite looking at lots of tutorials on youTube I'm really none the wiser. I have no real idea what I want to achieve apart from it being a flash of colour as I walk. 

As ever, thank you so much for dropping by and hopefully I'll see you again on Monday!

Anna x