Slightly different post today, but this has been in the writing for 2 weeks so today is the day.(skip to the bottom if you don't want to hear me ramble about packing tips and tricks, where you will find the outfits i created whilst on my holibobs)
You see I used to hate packing, detest it infact. The thought of not having my wardrobe to hand each morning for me to peruse and casually pick out what i fancied that day, horrified me. There were two reasons for this.
Firstly i had a wardrobe of components that didn't intermingle with each other well. So each morning would see a new dress or a whole new outfit that i had specifically bought to go together.
Secondly i never used to have a 'style', granted its fairly loose now, but i know where i want to be and each time i make a purchase it enhances my wardrobe rather than working against every other piece in there.
My wardrobe is now filled with items that are friends. Pieces that love to play together and intermingle.
This makes packing a whole lot easier.
When packing i find it best to go with a colour scheme.
The key is to pick 3 colours that will all work well together.(i say 3, but there's no hard and fast rule here, its just colours you know will work well together)
Mine this time around was
navy, white and red.
I also had pops of colour with yellow and a green, but each worked well with all the others so it worked.
If your a Brit you will know that the weather here is a smidge unpredictable(just a smidge..who am i kidding..?!), if you're an international friend then know, if you are visiting the UK you are going to need to have outfits that will cover every weather eventuality.
One day to the next you will not know what the weather will be like.
For our trip to Cornwall last week i had religiously checked the weather forecast daily to see what could be instore. And to my prediction, it was a bit of everything..so the norm then really.
So what to pack?
Here's what i took and wore
Knitwear
I took 3 out of 4 of these as my knitwear option (to be fair the green is more of a tee as has short sleeves). One chunky knit, one fine knit and one short sleeved. These all did the trick for me covering a range of temperatures, but in keeping with the colour scheme.
Tops
So this would be your standard tops and tees:
Stripes! I couldn't possibly go anywhere without ma stripes with me. Instant outfit maker right there. It was inevitable that stripes would be part of my packing as it really is a large (shamefully large) part of my wardrobe.
So we have
2 x Breton tops, one red one black
1x Navy tee
1x Crochet pretty top, nice for day wear or dressed up for an evening.
Bottoms:
I opted for 3 jeans
1x M&S cropped jeans
1x White skinnies
1x
Warehouse Girlfriend jeans
Again nice to be able to work any of these for an evening or all to be worn for day wear, each can be worn with any of the tops and knitwear.
Wildcards:
I added in to the mix
1x Navy jumpsuit
and
1x Navy maxi
I've classed these as the 'wildcards' for the simple fact of i didn't know if i would wear them. The maxi dress is perfect for a sunny day if for if the temperatures became warmer, which is always a possibility. The Jumpsuit i actually ended up wearing as my travel outfit, so comfy, it's liek wearing a tracksuit, yet a leetle more stylish;)
Outerwear
Coats and jackets. Verrry important part for a UK holiday
I decided to cover off both sunny days and rainy days with just two jackets.
1x Next red soft biker style jacket. Perfect sweatshirt material, comfy yet looks good with all the tops i had packed.
1x Raincoat. My
Seafolly Jacket from
Seasalt Cornwall has been going strong for 2 years. Its the best rainy day coat i have ever owned and well worth the investment. I had previously purchased some rain macs that were as much use as a glass hammer, totally wet within 5 minutes of being out( i passed that coat on to my mother, i'm a nice daughter like that ;) But this baby makes rainy days ok (good job really as we do have a lot here in ol' blighty!) If you're on the hunt for a rain-coat.. look no further. I highly commend and recommend Seasalt Cornwall with their life (or outfit) saving rain-coats.
Shoes (EXCUSE THE PHOTO.. you're not drunk i promise, i was rushing at this point to actually pack the damn stuff in to the holdall)
3 simple pairs
1x Sneakers
1x Footbed Sandals (
slippers birkie equivilant)
Boden Alice smart lace up , yet comfy, flats
For this holiday i knew that heels weren't needed. It was a family holiday to the seaside,with lots of activities and fun things to do. No heels required, long gone are my days of floating around a marina with a cocktail in hand in a swishy dress and heels.
So the above 3 pairs were all i needed. Again, each worked with all the bottoms and tops and even the wildcards for if i needed to get a bit dressier one night (and i use the term dressy there very lossley) the Boden Flats would work perfectly.
Extras:
So my extras just included
1x swimsuit for pool antics with Neo
1x scarf of same colour scheme as above. I went for my lovely Yosa
anchors away scarf that i thought would be very appropriate for a seaside holiday
1x beach bag, for carrying towels etc..
1x leopard print belt;practical and pretty.
and my day to day bag that i used the whole time; Classic tan, goes with everything.
And the only other things were me undies.. which i will save you the photos of.
Lastly:
Makeup & Cosmetics
I am a makeup tart. I have drawers and drawers of the stuff and have been known to go from brand to brand without a care, then hoard it all and still by more. It's a problem, i know. But it's something i am trying to stop.
With minimizing my wardrobe i also am trying to standardize my makeup. Years ago i would wear bright blue eye-shadow or green and purple. Now i am happy with the same makeup routine daily of neutrals that work for me.
I pack a simple CC cream, concealer, mascara, eyeliner, brow pencil, powder, blush, bronzer and 3 lipsticks.
Its sounds a lot when i say it out loud, still slightly excessive? Possibly, but its an improvement for me, plus i use the items all the time. This is my war-paint.
And then finally the mini's, which i love about holidays. I always try a new brand of shampoo in trial size on holidays.
I have here
Dry Shampoo(my saviour)
Sea Salt spray
Hairspray
Mouse
Shampoo & Conditioner
2 small body wash and my eye drops.
I also missed out, my Simple face wipes to remove makeup (i usually use micellar water but for holidays i find wipes easier) and my Vichy night cream i apply religiously.
So there we have it. This all folded down to fit in one half of a holdall (hubs had the other half, actually he had a quarter, Neo packed his games in there which were of the utmost importance, obvs.)
All eventualities covered in very little packing.
And the outfits i made whilst there?
Monday: Travel outfit, navy jumpsuit which is sooo comfy and my red jacket and Boden flats
Day 2: At Lappa Valley Steam railways, Red jacket again as was a lovely sunny day but a bit chilly in the shade, breton top, Warehouse jeans and comfy sneakers.
Day3: White jeans and my little green knit, added some jazz with a funky necklace and the leopard print belt. Finished off with comfy sandals. This was what i started the day out in, but managed to spill coffee all down my white jeans (the exact reason why i fear wearing white jeans.. i should honestly not be allowed to buy them let alone wear them) So then changed in to my stand-by outfit (which consisted of something i made up, blue jeans, white and navy striped jumper above and navy tee)
Backup Outfit:
Day4: Fistral Beach
The day started off a little grey and chilly, so my
Seafolly jacket was the perfect choice. It turned in to a pretty blue skied day but still a little chilly and windy, so the lightweight jacket was a great wind breaker against the elements.
I paired the coat with my M&S kickflare cropped jeans,
boden lace-up's and the
anchors away scarf.
Day 5: Homeward bound on a rainy miserable day, so the Seasalt jacket was perfect once again. Such a worthy investment. Paired it with a simple red breton, boyfriend jeans and sneakers and the scarf again.
So there we have it, my holiday outfits made up from a little bit of well planned packing.
I loved my holiday outfits, which is the sign of good packing.
Are you a good packer?
Are there any essentials you always like to take?
