Planning a holiday wardrobe

When you're going through hard times it's good to have something special to look forward to, to help you feel more positive. What could be more special than the wedding of my dear friends Callie and Emilio in Florence, Italy? 💕I'm flying to Italy on Friday 6 July, so it's time to plan my holiday wardrobe.

If you're going abroad for a wedding too, or planning your summer holiday in a hot climate, no doubt like me you are wondering what to pack. There are plenty of blog posts to inspire you, however I've found that many of them are talking about beach holidays and packing lots of swimwear. I'll be in Rome as well as Florence, so I don't think swimwear will be appropriate, do you? 😎

I also hope to fit in some sight-seeing, which may include visiting churches, so I need to have suitable clothes for these activities as well as the actual wedding. Apart from the wedding outfit, my holiday wardrobe will be casual, comfortable and hopefully chic! I am looking at mostly natural fibres, with linen trousers (yes, I know they will crease!), cotton tops and a few mixed fibre items. As usual, I will decide on a colour palette that should let me mix and match my clothes to create different outfits.

This blue and white top is so light and cool that it's a must for my holiday wardrobe! I am
also taking the two pairs of linen trousers shown: the slightly cropped dark grey ones in the middle and the full.length navy ones on the right. As you have no doubt guessed, my neutrals will be
navy and grey.

 

Here are the tops that I plan to take, which will add a touch of colour. I am also going to pack the turquoise and striped dresses shown on the bottom row.

No prizes for guessing my favourite accent colours: turquoise, orange and red. I will pack my navy and coral Decathlon shoes for walking, as they are so comfortable, plus two pairs of ballerina shoes for a slightly smarter look in the evenings.

I love Decathlon's ballerina pumps for walking!

Orange ballerinas. I'll take red ones too.

I am adding colour with accessories too. A totally neutral outfit isn't my best look and I need contrast in my outfits. I will also include a wrap and/or lightweight scarf to cover my shoulders if I enter any churches when sightseeing.

How about you? Are you planning a holiday in a hot climate and, if so, any tips to share?

PS I hope to have a photo of my wedding outfit to share with you on my return.

It's too darn hot....

It's summer time - at least for those of us who live in the northern hemisphere - and our main concern fashion-wise is to keep cool. Many of us moan about the long, cold, wet winters and then as soon as we have the sunshine we craved we start moaning about the heat!

Yesterday I was wearing shorts and a loose top (thanks to all of you who gave me the thumbs up!), whereas  today I am wearing a sleeveless top with long, loose linen trousers. Both outfits are comfortable and help to keep me cool. Linen is perfect for a hot summer's day: I possess three pairs of linen trousers plus a short skirt. I don't have a linen dress though, so I decided to have a look on Polyvore and see if I could create a suitable outfit using a linen dress.

Perfect for the summer heat

I love the look of this dress: it's in a bright summery colour, it seems to be loose but not baggy and it's short, but it doesn't appear too revealing. In other words, it ticks all the right boxes for over 60 women. I also love the look of midi and maxi dresses, but they just don't work on someone as short as me. I have included a pretty hat though I'm not a hat person, but I'm trying to encourage my readers to be more careful in the sun than I am!

Living in Spain I would add one more key accessory, which all Spanish women carry around with them during the summer months.

My must-have accessories

Honestly, I don't think I would survive the summer months without having a fan in my bag!  Lastly, but the most important items of all, don't forget to add a high SPF sun-tan cream or lotion before you leave the house and have a bottle of water handy. Keep cool!