High Fashion Low Stress
If you’re like me, you get excited at the thought of curating the perfect looks for vacation. Many people say it’s not a fashion show, relax, wear whatever. I do not think I have it in me to not wear styled outfits for each part of the day. Dressing up on vacation brings me great joy and happiness. That is what I hope for you too! If this does not come naturally for you I will guide you on how to achieve this below.
Vacation style does not need to be complicated to make you feel good. The key is to avoid as much stress around dressing as possible. I will say when I am on vacation, I do want to throw on my outfit and accessories and get to the fun quickly. If you plan the outfit and the details ahead of time it does add ease to the morning and every outfit change. The end goal is to look and feel your best. I am not saying spend hours getting ready to look perfect. I am saying to dress to feel your best and with a little planning it can be a breeze.
Choose your colors. Are you a bright dopamine dresser or an old money neutral dresser or a mixture of both? There is no wrong answer. You can go with your tried-and-true color story that you use on a daily basis or mix it up and use a fun vacation centric color story. Why this matters is it lays the groundwork for your vacation wardrobe capsule. The color story serves as the base the capsule is built on. Without a clear color story your travel wardrobe capsule will not work as well as it could. A color story is a series of colors that work together. This usually consists of 4-5 colors. A common error when putting together a color story is picking too many colors. Believe me you don’t need that many.
A great place to start is in your closet. You likely have a few go-to pieces you love that you can’t imagine not taking with you. For me it's my sundresses. This could be a pair of denim shorts or a flowy maxi skirt. Pull out these pieces. This could be just one piece or a few. These are a great place to start. They are familiar and comfortable which is important too. A travel wardrobe should be comfortable as much as fashionable. Build from there. The number of days you are on vacation is important to keep in mind too. You don’t need a new pair of shorts for every day. A few pieces that mix and match create many outfit options and save suitcase space. Pull out additional pieces to fill in.
Now that you have your pieces laid out. Look at your itinerary and make sure the outfit options laid out work for each occasion. If you have a fancy dinner you want to make sure you have more than just casual site seeing outfits planned. This seems obvious but it is good to do checks along the way to not miss important pieces. At the same time additional pieces like shoes and accessories can elevate outfits. Along with the itinerary make sure to check the weather. You would not believe how many people forget to do this. Make sure to not only lookout for rain or disasters but also how cold the temperature gets at night. Is it 80 degrees at night or 50 degrees? Does that mean you need a cardigan or cozy pants? I still pack some of these items either way but is it a light cardigan or a heavy wool one? These pieces I keep neutral to go with whatever I am wearing at any given moment. Which are all important details to keep in mind.
Before you pack these items, try every single piece on. Both new and old pieces. Is it in good shape? Does it need to be laundered or repaired? How does it feel? Watch out for fabrics that irritate your skin. Are you comfortable in it and being seen in it? I like this question better than does it fit as just because you can get it on your body does not mean it is boosting you up mentally/emotionally. Do not wear pieces because you feel you have to in order to be fashionable as it shows. A clothing item that triggers negative emotions sabotages your trip unnecessarily. You deserve to wear items that make you feel good and even incredible.
Jewelry time! You do not need to bring 30 pieces of jewelry. Just like clothing pieces you want pieces that mix and match. Often these pieces are already in your jewelry box. When I have my outfits laid out, I like to lay my jewelry out on top to make sure the pieces are interchangeable. For necklaces my sweet spot is 2-3. I find when I pack more, I don’t touch more than my 2-3 favorites so all they do is get tangled in my travel jewelry box. For earrings this depends on the number of piercings you have. I pack 2-4 fancier dangly earrings and then 2 studs for each piercing. Little studs are easily lost so it is good to have a few backups. Speaking of backups, I always keep a few backup earring backs in my travel jewelry case just in case. For bracelets this depends on how you style bracelets as you will need more if you like to stack them. I am not a bracelet person, so I do not pack them, but like the other categories you need less than you think.
Shoes take up so much room in a suitcase and if you pack lots of them you run into space issues immediately. This category is always a struggle for me, but the hard truth is you only need a few pairs. For the pool and travel I like a cute sandal that is easy to slide on quick and run off to have fun. Think super cute but neutral. This is your signature sandal of the trip that elevates every casual outfit. If you are going to do more athletic activities, make sure you have a pair of nice sneakers that are appropriate for the activities in question. These can still look great but are important to pack as hiking or biking etc. in flip flops can be dangerous. Finally, your evening shoes for dinner and dancefloors. This is a pair or two of shoes that works with each show stopping evening look. For space saving this should really only be 1 pair of evening shoes however, in full honesty I seriously struggle to pack less than 2. Before packing shoes make sure to try them on and walk around a bit. Do they fit? Are they in good shape? Do they need to be cleaned? Do they rub or stab in any place you will need to plan for. Even if they are all fit and feel good, I still throw some neutral band aids, and blister pads in my toiletry bag just in case. Important to be prepared as you want to catch blisters early.
Now it is time to pack. We have articles that go into detail about this. Once everything is laid out packing it up is a breeze. Do not forget to leave time for this as organization is key. Now that you have easy and incredible outfits you planned and packed you can enjoy your vacation. If you follow the steps above you will be able to elevate your vacation style game. You and your closet have what it takes to make this a reality. If you are looking for additional help, we offer great styling consultation resources, so you feel as comfortable as possible. Make sure to tag us in your photos rocking your vacation style. We know you can do it and can’t wait to see it!