MAKING HOLS EASY
Sara Hollamby
Style Counsel
HAVING just come back from a blissful two-week break on a beach in the sun, I’ve washed and ironed all my beach holiday clothes. It dawned on me that year after year, on beach holidays, I wear more or less exactly the same things – items of clothing perfect on holiday, but that just don’t work in the good old British climate.
Obviously some new things are injected each year, especially for evenings, but the core holiday wardrobe doesn’t really change. A couple of beach cover-ups; a brightly coloured, floral cotton Bali Hai-esque sarong that surely featured in the film South Pacific; a white cotton, strap top dress with sequins; a pair of drawstring white linen pants… you’ll have your own selection.
These are timeless, comfy clothes that are perfect for hot, beach weather the likes of which we can only dream about in this country. Some of the items, like the sarong and the linen pants I must have had for about 10 years. They’re like old holiday romances – I’d be lost on holiday without them – yet they are clothes that you just don’t wear back home.
I’m now packing them away in a sealed plastic bag, inside the beach bag, together with the beaten-up sun hat ready for next year. This makes it so easy if you’re off for a quick sun break in the winter. You know how hard it is to imagine what things you’ll need for a sun-drenched week when it’s freezing cold and raining outside. Now it’s all more or less packed for you.
And the best thing? You don’t end up filling your case with piles of clothes you just don’t wear or at worst wear just once, to justify bringing them – it’s all extra washing when you get home.
Sara Hollamby is an Image Consultant at Working Voices. Email [email protected]