Holiday wardrobes are a funny thing as it’s often the time when you feel like you want to bring pretty much everything in your wardrobe “just in case”. From past experience, the reality is that (believe me I’ve learned this the hard way) I will only ever wear a small rotation of outfits when I’m on vacation. I can stuff my suitcase to the brim with a variety of different looks but I will always fall back on certain combinations that are easy and no-fuss. It’s also never nice dragging a heavy suitcase around from destination to destination so I’ve actually become pretty ruthless when it comes to what I pack. We were away in Europe and the UK for a few weeks on our recent trip, so I knew I had a number of different activities to cater for with London being more about sightseeing, while various destinations in Italy we’re largely going to be about relaxing and spending time by the water. So, what to pack? Well, these are the pieces I brought with me and I can attest to the fact they made getting dressed out of a suitcase so much easier and fun.
Pack separates
Yes, I packed dresses but most of the time I packed a key number of separates that I could mix and match into different looks. I found this expanded my outfit repertoire while I was away but I also made sure that I was working with a particular colour palette. This allowed me to bring separates that could work together in various ways.
Bring good basics
Much like my regular wardrobe at home, basics are king. I can’t survive without a good rotation of basics to form the building blocks of different looks. One thing I made sure I packed a lot of were multiple tanks in various colours to match with pants or skirts. This proved to be a good move as I created so many outfits by just rotating my tanks with various bottoms. Plus they’re really easy to pack and don’t take up valuable suitcase real estate.
Matching sets are a lifesaver
I saw a lot of matching sets while I was overseas and I think they’re a really good thing to add to a holiday wardrobe. My favourite is a shirt and short set in a matching print. I brought some of these and they were good to wear together or separately. For example I wore the shirt with jeans, or the shorts with a tank whenever I wasn’t wearing them together. I managed to create multiple outfits from just one set which is so good when dealing with limited suitcase space.
Consider dual purpose items
I had to bring swimsuits with me of course, but rather than just using them for going to the beach, I was a bit more strategic in the kinds I brought so I could utilise them in other ways. I love using my swimsuit as a top so I opted for plain colours such as black, white, olive and chocolate to pair back with long, flowy pants or skirts or a nice pair of shorts. This also proved to be a timesaver as I could easily go from beach to lunch or dinner without having to fuss around with an outfit change.
Tell me—what are some of your fave failsafe pieces to bring on holiday?
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