Summer holiday packing

Many people end up returning from holiday with unworn items in their suitcase. Now that airlines are getting more and more stringent on baggage allowances, the order of the day is to ‘pack less and wear more’. This requires strategic packing, which is easier said than done. Follow these top tips to help you on your way…

Checklist

- Pack jackets, trousers and shorts in neutral shades.

- Keep your colour palette to a maximum of three colours that work together.

- Double up your travel bag as a beach bag.

- It’s easily to go mad on shoes. Instead, try to stick to packing ONE dressy, ONE casual and ONE closed-toe. Wear a pair of trainer-style shoes for travelling.

- Use jewellery to dress up day clothes- such as maxi dresses. It’s easier to pack just silver and gold jewellery, which will go with everything, rather than trying to pack lots of different colours

- Kaftans are a great universal holiday item. They can be worn as a beach cover-up during the day and then teamed up with a pair of shorts or trousers for an evening look. However, it’s worth packing a belt to wear with your kaftans because many tend to have a lot of volume, which can swamp slim figures.

- Put everything you are taking on a flat surface to make sure that items go together.

Suitcase essentials

It’s sometimes easier to talk about the theory than to actually put things into practice. Therefore, before my last two week beach holiday, I made a note of what I packed as a practical guide.

Here’s my list:

1. One swimming costume and three bikinis (the swimming costume can be worn with shorts for sight-seeing or lunch). My favourite high street collections can be found at Debenhams (the Melissa Odabash brand) and John Lewis (their own brand collection is chic and affordable)

2. Four beach cover-ups. I like matching cover-ups and Debenhams have maxi dresses to match their swimwear. My cover-up collection includes a ‘Saress’ (£24.99, www.saress.com), which is a clever beach dress that works like sarong. I highly recommend this as a beach essential item.

3. Two hats.

4. One pair of white linen shorts.

5. Four short sleeved tops (my colour palette is blue, green and purple).

6. One maxi dress.

7. Two evening sundresses.

8. One white cardigan (just in case there’s a cooler night).

9. One pair of white linen trousers (chic and goes with everything).

10. One pair of jeans.

11. One skirt (denim).

12. One black jersey jumpsuit (a great packing essential that can be dressed up with heels and jewellery or down with flip flops).

13. Two belts – one black and one gold.

14. One gold clutch bag for the evening.

15. Four pairs of shoes – a gold pair of heels, a gold pair of sandals, black beach flip flops and silver bejewelled flip flops (ideal for both day and evening).

16. Two pairs of sunglasses – one high street pair and one designer pair.

17. Three necklaces – a gold one, a gold and brown disc necklace, a silver necklace (Wallis have a great range of jewellery).

18. Two bangle sets – a gold and wooden set and a silver bracelet (to match the silver necklace).

19. Three pairs of earrings – silver, diamante drops and gold hoops.

20. Underwear – mainly nude coloured and black.

The one week beach holiday list

If my beach holiday was for one week, I would pack the following items (excluding accessories):

- One pair of jeans.

- One pair of trousers (white linen would be my preference).

- One pair of shorts.

- Two dresses (a sun dress and maxi-dress).

- One skirt (I would take a denim skirt, which is very versatile).

- One kaftan (or a Saress…see above).

- One ‘dressy’ top.

- Three t-shirts.

- One cardigan / jacket (a lightweight cover up).

- Four pairs of shoes – a pair of trainer style shoes (also used to travel in), a pair of sandals or flip flops, a pair of heels and a pair of ballet shoes.

- Three pieces of swimwear.

- One hat.

Hopefully, these tips will help make planning your holiday wardrobe a lot easier….Bon Voyage!

To make an appointment with Tanya Arturi, Colour Me Beautiful consultant, call 07811 430 730, email tanyaarturi@btinternet.com, or visit cheshireimageconsultants