Holiday capsule dressing

So I've just got back from my holidays, and I have to say the old capsule wardrobe totally came into its own.

Normally I make a really big deal out of packing for my holidays. I look through everything in my (let’s remember HUGE and overcrowded) wardrobe and pick out maybe 10/15 things I think I might want to take. And then I convince myself that all my clothes are too 'London' and won't work on a beach, or in a European city (despite the fact that they have all the same shops as us & so by logical extension are probably wearing the same clothes...).

Maybe I can wear my normal clothes on holiday?

So I write a list that inevitably includes some king of chiffony beachy number, something in a lurid colour made out of t-shirt material, shorts with fruit on them, a couple of flimsy strappy tops and some wedges I can't walk in. I spend AGES sourcing these things, I pack them, and then spend the entire holiday wondering why everything I've brought with me either makes my bum stick to the sun chairs or causes my boobs to fall into my food. Half way through the holiday I'll realise I can't take it anymore and waste a day shopping for clothes identical to ones I already have at home.

Every time!

I get wrapped up in this fantasy that because I'm on holiday I'm suddenly a graceful unicorn, who walks along a beach at sundown with the wind in my hair. In this fantasy my husband isn't frantically slapping away mosquitos, I haven't twisted my ankle as a result of towering shoes and pebble beaches being a terrible combination, and somehow it's possible to clamber around to the best bits of beaches without either wearing something practical or accepting your skirt is getting tucked in your knickers.

All I get out of it is a daily reminder that I am not a unicorn; I'm a clumsy, ungainly girl who just looks like she's dressing up as her mother when she wears chiffon. (Actually make that someone else's mother - mine's not really one for chiffon either). The local charity shops do well out of it I suppose - assuming there is a market for second-hand micro shorts with bananas on them!

This year - I didn't have any option. So I didn't think about packing until the day before we flew, and then just chucked a few things in the bag. I packed the 3 frocks I've been wearing all summer, plus a new long one I bought for India, and wore jeans, my denim shirt and my cardi on the flight. I had my sandals, a pair of hiking sandals (clambering over rock faces counts as an activity in my book - so these are well within the rules), a swimming cossie, and my mac. My bag was super light - I never felt short of anything to wear, looked like myself all holiday and wasted zero time shopping. 

It was awesome. And because I was wearing clothes I felt comfortable in I could clown about on the beach, climb over rocks and spend full days hiking without losing a layer of skin to a beach chair, or my dignity drinking cocktails. Weirdly this holiday - without my fantasy wardrobe, dressed as myself I was closer to the graceful unicorn than I ever was before.

Relaxing on holiday in clothes I actually wear in real life

So there you go. A bit of a capsule triumph.

I started this challenge because I was disgusted to realise how many families of disabled children go without heating or clothing in order to meet the extra costs of raising a Disabled child. Contact A Family are working tirelessly to change this. If you want to make a donation you can do so here. 

But maybe you don't want to make a donation? Well on the 28th of October there is an exciting different way you could support the cause!

I've teamed with Bella's Bits & Bobs for a special night at Soho House - taking clothes right out the mix to reveal the bits & bobs of two hot life models for us to draw! Naked models fuelled by drinks & delicious food. If that doesn't already sound like the perfect night, it's all to support the amazing charity Contact a Family (helping thousands of families in the UK with disabled children) and so all profits from the evening will support this extremely worthwhile cause. Come and join us for a fab night with a little bit of nudity & a whole lot of good karma.

Please email Bella for ticket details - it will be a super fun night!