Thrifted style when travelling

The Office for National Statistics report that there were 70.8 million visits overseas by UK residents in 2016 (up 8% from 2015), mostly for holidays. I recently read a Marie Claire article entitled 'This is how much the average woman spends on clothes for a holiday' by Delphine Chui (23/6/17) which got me thinking about thrifting in relation to holiday clothes, and making the most a holiday wardrobe while away.

Silver Tree Jewellery performed a survey of 1000 holiday makers, determining that the average holiday maker's wardrobe including their suitcase was worth an eye-watering £4350!!! Apparently with 82% of respondents reporting that they don't set a fixed budget for their holiday wardrobe, and many of the purchases go unworn (up to 55%). So, I feel 4 things require consideration here - i) type of holiday and duration, ii) budget for any new items required, iii) items complementing each other enough to form a capsule so that iv) all items are worn while away.

Plan

Starting with an outline of the type of trip and potential activities will guide packing choices. Ensuring you have a list of the items you own which will be suitable will allow you to work out what you might need that you don't have. Setting a budget for those items will help you ensure you spend only on the things you need and determining what matches what will ensure you can make outfits from the more limited capsule you can take with you. As a further consideration, you can also ensure that your holiday style reflects your usual style by editing what you take and only buying new pieces you feel reflect your taste, you love, and make you feel good.

For me, the outfit I travel in is of equal importance to my holiday garb. I like to be comfortable when travelling as well as in resort.

Travel outfits can be a slight nightmare when transitioning from one climate (usually Manchester or Leeds for me (usually raining) to the plane (either cold or stuffy depending I can only assume on the pilot's mood) to the resort (either snow, sunnier climes or city break). As a result I tend to go for loose layers so I can add and subtract as required, and flat shoes in case airport walks are lengthy. I know I will split the vote here, with many wearing their heaviest shoes to save on packing (I am thinking of all the ladies in wedges I see going through security) but for me, comfort has to come first. The other thing I like in my bag is socks for the plane (if not already wearing) and a soft scarf (doubles as an eye mask / extra layer etc)

Capsule travel wardrobe - is thrifting this possible?!

The short answer is yes!

I am going to use my wardrobe from a recent trip away to sunnier climes to illustrate how I achieved a capsule of complementary outfits. Not all pieces are thrifted, but I have seen many similar pieces in charity shops around the North of England, and I have tried to include one thrifted piece in every image.

So, I find the easiest strategy is to pull outfits pieces out of my closet, find a vague theme and then plan around that. Patterned pieces are fine as long as there arent too many, and texture is a great way to add interest to an outfit. My colour theme for this warm-weather holiday was neutrals (white, tan, black) with a pop of colour (pink) and a hint of pattern (floral) and texture (linen, jute). I could easily change that up to different neutrals (white, navy, beige) with an alternate pop of colour (red) and some pattern (stripes) etc. Another might be khaki, black, cream with a pop of orange. The possibilities are endless...

Take this white dress - ok; its linen so you might think what a mad thing to take abroad, but actually it proved really versatile! This is just one example and obviously any summer dress would serve this purpose, in any material / style / length. This is an off white colour, so matches a lot of other neutral pieces, and was a bargainous find at my local Oxfam in Moortown, Leeds, last year (2018). I could have worn this for travel (and probably will in future) as it is so comfortable and soft. By adding a top and/or jumper layer as well as a lightweight coat with a soft scarf (my staple), I would easily have been able to remove some layers on arrival. If I added a loose soft kimono-style jacket and a clutch bag, I could wear this dress to dinner. On the other hand, if I just paired it with a sunhat and day-bag (which could double as my hand luggage) I could use it on a boat trip, for a lunch, a trip around a local market - anything really. Also, while on the above trip, I found that a quick handwash followed by hanging out to dry in the heat freshened it up ready for each wear (and to my astonishment, it was pretty much crease-free!).

This Zara bag served as my hand luggage and day bag (and also complements the dress above due to its neutral colour). Note the same tan sliders in each image. Yes, you may not find this exact bag on any given day in the charity shop (although you might!), but I can promise that most charity shops will have at least one wicker / woven / jute bag at any given time.

This is another day dress, worn with a thrifted over-size blouse which I also wore paired with light pink skinny jeans (although I dont have a holiday snap showing me wearing it in that combination so I have attached a UK-taken picture so you can see the effect). The blouse could be worn knotted over the white dress above, and also serves as a beach cover up over a black bikini with black shorts. The pink dress can be also worn in the evening with a clutch bag +/- heels.

Holiday outfit, worn on a summer day in the UK 2018

#cellulit #everybodyhasarealbody

This white top is a really versatile thifted find - originally from Wallis. Again, this was a day trip outfit where I wanted some shoulder coverage from the sun but I didnt want to get too hot. I also wore this top with the pink jeans above for a casual dinner one night, and the shorts were paired with the sheer black floral blouse for the beach. The trusty day bag is again in use, and I've changed to different (more sturdy) tan flats.

This is not absolutely everything that I took away, but I hope it gives a flavour of how to get more mileage from your pieces while away. The 10 items above (2 dresses, 2 blouses, 1 pair jeans, 1 pair shorts, 2 flat tan shoes, 1 pair sunglasses, 1 bag) can make at least 7 combinations that I can count so imagine how many you could make with just a couple of extra tops and another pair of shorts etc as well as paired with heels and a clutch bag.

Is it just me, or do outfits on holiday not need to be quite as varied as outfits at home?! Please feel free to comment your thoughts and let me know if you are interested in any other travel capsules (colder weather, city breaks etc).

PS I am a bit of a fan of @Iskra (check her out: she is an amazing body-positive and inspiring woman) and I have proudly labelled this realoutfitgram image #cellulit!