April 9, 2021
She’s Going to Swim, This Year
On Wednesday, we started with this:
Our very happy heroine’s travel capsule wardrobe is this:
Earrings – Chan Luu; cool aqua blue tee – Lands’ End; navy merino cardigan – J.Crew; watch – Skagen; cotton scarf – Ralph Lauren; tie-dye boat shoes – Skechers; navy linen pants – J.Crew; Long-sleeved swim tee – Lands’ End; navy linen shirt – J.Crew; navy gingham shirt –J.Crew; deep aqua splitneck Henley – L.L.Bean; white cotton cardigan – J.Crew; striped tee – L.L.Bean; cool aqua blue and white tank tops – Lands’ End; white denim shift dress – J.Crew; navy knit skort – Lands’ End; white linen crop pants – Lands’ End; swim skirt – Lands’ End; navy shorts – L.L.Bean
But she can’t travel – and she certainly can’t go to the beach – with only 1 pair of shoes, no sandals, no hat, and no sunglasses!
So let’s work our way through getting her travel wardrobe completed!
This is 2 of the most important things to pack; surely by now we all understand the need for covering up from too much sun, right?
Long-sleeved swim tee – Lands’ End; tankini bottom – Lands’ End; white cotton cardigan – J.Crew; hat – Kangol; sunglasses – Ray-Ban; tote bag – Hortons England
If she’s outdoors a lot, she may not need a mask constantly, but we’re all going to want to have masks with us for the foreseeable future. Of course she wants a towel, and good sandals… I couldn’t resist a cover-up too!
navy linen shirt – J.Crew; tankini top – Lands’ End; swim skirt – Lands’ End; face mask – Lands’ End; beach towel – Lands’ End; swim cover-up dress – Lands’ End; water sandals – Lands’ End
Simple earrings, the most obvious 2 colors of nail polish, and simple sandals…
when you click through this nail polish colors, you will be taken to a choice of about a DOZEN blue polishes, and at least 4 or 5 white shades…
navy gingham shirt –J.Crew; tank top – Lands’ End; navy knit skort – Lands’ End; navy glass earrings – All We Are; “Yoga-ta Get This Blue” nail polish – OPI; “I Cannoli Wear OPI” nail polish – OPI; sandals – Splendid
She finds that necklaces bother her in hot weather, but she LOVES the look of a bracelet… And it feels natural to look at abalone and other shells for jewelry for a beach vacation, doesn’t it?
deep aqua splitneck Henley – L.L.Bean; white linen crop pants – Lands’ End; abalone earrings – Halogen; beaded bracelet – And Other Stores; sandals – Aerosoles
Keds!
white cotton cardigan – J.Crew; cool aqua blue tee – Lands’ End; navy shorts – L.L.Bean; earrings – Matthew Calvin; bracelet – Chan Luu; shoes – Keds
Sparkly jewelry in a colors that matches some of her wardrobe and contrasts with other parts is an easy way to dress up her simple dress and cardigan:
navy merino cardigan – J.Crew; white denim shift dress – J.Crew; earrings – Rosespina Firenze; bracelet – Rosespina Firenze; sandals – Talbots
The weather could turn a bit cool – a nice scarf can help with that, and doesn’t take much space at all to pack:
white cotton cardigan – J.Crew; striped tee – L.L.Bean; navy linen pants – J.Crew; pearl earrings – Talbots; scarf – Talbots; espadrilles – Talbots
This is everything that she will be adding to her suitcase. Yes, it’s a LOT of shoes, but everything else should pack easily. Probably it will all fit into her tote?
I used to do this kind of massive family beach vacation every year, and I miss it still…
love,
Janice
p.s. Two years ago, we started with Picasso and finished with a travel capsule wardrobe in grey, orange and green!
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So many shoes!!!! How deliciously indulgent. Throw in a pair of jeans (even in the summer, can’t live without my jeans!), and possibly another top (yellow? coral? pink?) just for a change; this could be my wardrobe for a whole summer! Fantastic job as always Janice. Happy Friday!
Sigh….I miss family beach vacations as well. We’ve had to postpone for the second summer now, but I still dream of one day being able to go back to it.
Love the accessories. I could definitely travel with this and not be tempted by all the shops along the boardwalk and the main street.
hahahaha Having reached the end of our time in Hawaii, I have one addition – little footie socks to wear w/shoes… After two days of walking my blisters had blisters, so I picked up three deliciously colored little footie socks. ahhhhh My son thought it was ridiculous I hadn’t brought any to begin with! I wore just one pair of earrings the entire time – just easier for me to not have to track a bunch of small things. I did bring one shirt I didn’t wear at all. Interestingly enough, it’s the white graphic tee I bought earlier this year – I just can’t bring myself to wear white. Can probably figure something out when I get home, but didn’t want to chance spilling on it here.. sigh. Perhaps not one of my better buys. Have a great weekend everyone!
Oooh, I never thought of that! Good suggestion…
hugs,
Janice
Hi Janice and Everyone! Very nice comprehensive collection for a beach vacation. I highly advocate for a swim cover up – I have one from Lands End that can pass for a very suitable dress. But for me, the white cardigan at the beach has Stain Magnet written all over it.
Agreed that it would certainly get dirty at some stage, but we can’t go through our entire lives avoiding things that might stain. Can we? (I’m sure someone does!)
I’ve had great luck with things coming clean after I’ve believed that I did something completely ruinous. Maybe that’s just me!
This might be the perfect time for something that was purchased second-hand; we might all feel less worried about wear and tear if we know that our sweater already has a lot of mileage…
hugs,
Janice
That *is* a lot of shoes. 7 pair total! How long is she going for? If it were me I would eliminate a pair or 2. I think the strappy navy sandals are the most obvious choice for leaving at home. Not versatile enough and the gold flip flops would almost certainly do in their place. Also, the boat shoes seem surplus to the keds and espadrilles. Then again, if they make her heart go pitter pat…
Seven is a LOT. But sometimes you have to indulge! I travel with virtually all of my earrings, for no good reason I can think of. But in all fairness, earrings are much easier to pack than shoes!
Maybe she’s one of those people who leaves shoes EVERYWHERE in the house?
hugs,
Janice
I love the abalone earrings, turquoise bracelets, and navy espadrilles. (I can’t deal with a bracelet with that kind of closure, but that would be adorable to replicate as a necklace!)
Vacation shoes confuse me. A lot of the shoes that we see, I don’t understand how they are comfortable for long periods of walking/standing around. Sheila’s experience really brings that home to me.
This is an ideal Florida wardrobe! The colors are my palette and could easily be expanded with some accent colors, either pastel or tropical brights. Totally agree with the idea that necklaces in hot weather can be uncomfortable, but bracelets are okay. Thanks for a great warm weather collection!
Love the sparkly and abalone jewellery – perfect for catching the light of a sunny day or golden sunset. I rarely wear nail polish but I’m quite taken with names of the iridescent blues and teals for being by the sea.
I try to ration my shoes and sandals….
So. Many. Shoes. OMG, the shoes. Me, when I’m at the beach, I’m barefoot as much as possible. I’d probably pack 1 pair Birkenstock sandals, 1 pair slip-on sneakers, and 1 pair for dressy. Done. (And I might avoid the dressy pair, depending)
I’d avoid a dress and shorts altogether, add a pair of old faded jeans and a pair of loose linen pants. This is like saying “Perfect wardrobe, I’d just change at least half of it!”
I’m short and round. I like to keep my flabby thighs covered, I hate stuff that’s tight in the summer. I am incurably casual and simply hate dressing up. So long skirts, loose pants, comfy old jeans, tunics, light layers, that’s me in the summer. I’ve settled into a blue/white/lilac-to-purple scheme in the summer (more black and grey get added in the winter). I’m still weeding things OUT of my closet, rather than adding things into it — although if somebody found a great tunic combining blue and purple, in 3xl, I’d love to jump on that!
Having been a long-term reader, I’ve learned a TON from these posts. Now I can look at something and say to myself “I could change this and that, and be happy” — or “that’s lovely, but it wouldn’t be me at all. Like to look at it, though!” — it’s a good feeling, finally knowing what I like and what looks well on me.
So thanks, Janice, these are ALL great posts!
I’m also on the hunt for a floral top in a blue/lilac ditsy print. I’m hoping that when the charity shops open next week (in England) people will have spent lockdown clearing out their wardrobes. There’s little point shopping in going to normal high street shops because many of the chain stores have gone bust during the lockdown or been taken over by Boohoo and Asos. It will be a while before I pluck up courage to go to a large town centre.
I’m a person who travels with minimal jewelry but maximal shoes. My feet are terrible and often they get tired of wearing a pair of shoes after a few hours. But bare feet are not good for them either. I always have to have the ugly shoes/sandals that I can comfortably wear for long stretches. Also, for the past several summers I’ve worn turquoise polish on my toes and they seem to go with a surprising variety of clothing. If not, I wear closed toe shoes that day. – nancyo
Love the look of polished toes but hate changing the color to coordinate with daily outfits, so I just don’t bother with polish. Turquoise is one of my best summer colors and, like you, I’ve learned how well it goes with so many other colors. But not once have I considered it for nail polish. Time to invest in a really good quality turquoise polish and take your advice – on days the turquoise doesn’t go with what I’m wearing, reach for closed toe shoes! Thank you, nancyo!
That swim skirt is a wonderful option! This whole wardrobe with accessories has got me planning to shop! Thank you as always, Janice.
Janice, So adorable!!!