sun holiday – The Joy of Blogs

Capsule Wardrobe – What to bring on a sun holiday

April 29, 2017September 26, 2017 by E, posted in Blogging, Fashion, Holidays, Irish Bloggers, S/S 17 Fashion, Shopping, Spring/Summer 17 Fashion, Spring/Summer Fashion, Style, Thrifty Fashion, Travel, Travelling Europe

I’m not a very organised person and often pack for holidays the night before I go. (This could also be down to the fact that I like a spontaneous trip..)

But for once in my life, I’ve booked holidays A LONG time in advance and I’m already outfit planning for it. I haven’t been on a proper holiday in almost two years and I’m really happy to have the chance to go away.

Last summer, I was working Monday to Friday in an internship and working a part-time job at the weekends. It was zero craic…

But this year, I’m going away for an entire week to Biarritz and San Sebastian and there’s no way I’m paying for a check-in bag.

10kg is PLENTY for this outfit-repeating gal!

I’ve already put together a rail of items to bring and hopefully there will be some space left for new purchases 😉

Looking through the clothes I already have, I realised I don’t really need many new items.

So far, I have one light summery jacket, a pair of white jeans, a playsuit, a dress, a skirt, five pairs of shorts, a bikini, two one-piece swimsuits, two t-shirts, one camisole top, one dressy off the shoulder top and two crop tops. All of these pieces mix and match pretty well together.

I may bring another bikini or substitute one of the swimsuits for another one, we’ll see.

Holidays are a good time to experiment with colours you don’t normally wear, for instance I normally steer clear of yellow as I’m very fair-skinned and it doesn’t suit me. However, I love these fluorescent yellow shorts for a holiday and have tops with yellow detail to match.

I don’t wear a lot of white or cream either, but white looks way better in sunshine so I’ve included some white and cream tops to wear with my blue denim shorts.

If you’re going on a sun holiday, casual clothes are more important than fancy clothes, so bring more casual dresses, shorts, skirts, t-shirts and swimwear. Hence, my five pairs of shorts!

Leave your heels at home and bring a nice pair of neutral sandals for night-time. For day time, bring another pair of sandals or flip-flops for the beach and a lightweight pair of runners for exploring.

Heels take up too much room, they’re an awkward shape to pack and your feet may swell on holidays making them even more uncomfortable! (Haha jokes on me I broke my ankle a month after this and spent my holiday in a moonboot).

You can bring a couple of nice outfits for going out to dinner or a night out but try and bring items that double up as daytime wear also.

For instance, I’m bringing a stripy loose -fit playsuit and a floral dress. These will work just as well during the day, unlike a tight bodycon dress or sequin mini-skirt.

alt= — The terrace complemented my dinner outfit.

I have included my lilac faux leather mini-skirt but the rest of my clothes are cotton or cotton-mix to stay cool.

When going to the airport, pick something to wear that you can utilise in your holiday wardrobe also.

For instance, I usually wear a light jacket, a t-shirt, jeans and light runners. Comfortable but easy to shed a layer once you get there. You should always aim to wear your heaviest or bulkiest items, i.e. jeans and runners to keep your suitcase light.

The first time I ever went on a girl’s holiday to Turkey, I went mad and bought loads of new things, several pairs of heels, three bikinis and loads of going out clothes.

Apart from the shoes I barely wore any of the items again. I was only there for three or four days..mad or what?!

One pieces are great as they double up as a bodysuit with shorts.

You’ll need to leave room in your case for underwear, socks, PJ’s and a small handbag for going out.

I always bring a tote bag to throw all my essentials into, i.e. purse, passport, cosmetic bag, camera etc.

This may not be everyone’s idea of a “capsule” wardrobe as it already contains 19 items before I add shoes but I am going away for a full week,

If I decide to leave anything out, it will probably be some of the dressier items.

With three pairs of shoes, it takes me up to 22 items in total but I will be wearing one pair on the plane.

Let me know your thoughts on packing for holidays, do you stick to a capsule wardrobe or not? I’ll be putting up a swimwear post soon so keep your eyes peeled.

Thanks for reading and if you would like to follow me on social media, check out my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook page here.

Edel

River Island High Summer Press Day

April 11, 2017July 28, 2017 by E, posted in Blogging, Consumerism, customising, Fashion, Festival Fashion, Handbags, Irish Bloggers, Jackets, S/S 17 Fashion, Shopping, Spring/Summer 17 Fashion, Spring/Summer Fashion, Style, Swimwear, swimwear

Last week I had a chance to attend the River Island High Summer event in the Grafton Street store and I was thrilled to go as River Island is one of my favourite shops.

Not only that, but I might be going on a real holiday this year so I needed some inspiration.

I took along my new (well second-hand) Canon camera for the occasion but my photos actually came out brighter on my phone so I obviously need more practice with my camera shutter!

There were five main ladieswear collections, my favourite rail was full of beautiful embellished pieces, such as a beaded skirt and white jeans with pearls on them. The dominant colours on this rail were cream, white, coral and silver.

Then there was a holiday rail with some bright casual wear, among the pieces which caught my eye were a purple tie-dye jumper and a black mesh skirt with sequin pineapples on it.

There were more holiday pieces mixed in around the room adding to the summery vibe.

Across the room was a rail of gorgeous palm and floral print pieces which I obviously loved.

Remember my last trend post where I said embellished denim jackets were the next big thing?

If you want one that really stands out, then look out for this pale blue denim jacket with pearls and crystals of different sizes and shapes on the back. I am OBSESSED with it.

Beside this were some bright pink shorts, some lilac colours and skirts covered in sequin discs.

There was also a fabulous pink denim jacket and shorts set pinned to the wall.

There were also some nice accessories such as a pink floral suitcase, pink floral backpack and my favourite accessory was a white satchel bag with western style buckles.

The key trends in accessories were pastel colours, fluffy sliders and mules, gingham and floral patterns.

The bikinis on display were pretty cute also.

We were offered a selection of tasty treats including mini brioches and a refreshing pineapple and cucumber juice with an umbrella- totally summery!

There was also a customisation station where you could pick a pair of sandals to decorate with flowers, ribbon, plastic eyes, whatever you fancied!

The fluffy sliders were a big hit with everyone. Although I probably wouldn’t wear them myself, I do think they add a bit of fun to a holiday wardrobe.

It was a lot of fun and the girls customising the shoes were really helpful. There were green ferns draped on the walls and a bright pink flamingo adding a touch of colour.

The mannequins were beautifully dressed and the one to the left of the door really caught my eye.

It was wearing a white lacy bardot top with wide sleeves, charcoal grey loose-fitting shorts and a gingham belt. It was a simple but classy outfit, ideal for holidays or festivals.

Beside this mannequin was a rail with gingham, light wash denims, muted colours, light knitwear and some printed and beaded pieces.

I quite liked this collection also, it had a hippie folk vibe, again great for festivals. Just above this collection were beautiful Gucci-esque embroidered loafers.

The kids’ collection was full of funky sparkly items and sequin disc embellishment.

There was a lot of formal items but my favourite outfit was an adorable girl’s red gingham blouse teamed with black denim shorts on the wall.

The kids’ backpacks and shoes were very cute, I especially liked the white laser-cut boots and bronze rucksack on top of the display.

I only had a quick glance at the menswear as there was just one rail on show.

The only thing I thought the collection lacked was jewellery, River Island has the cutest inexpensive jewellery and I didn’t see any on display. However there were lots of other summer appropriate accessories, hats, sunglasses, espadrilles etc.

I really enjoyed the event and got lots of inspiration for my holiday wardrobe.

Thanks to the River Island team for such a nice day and being very welcoming.

Hope you all enjoyed this brief post and let me know if you like the collections and I’d love to hear your feedback on the photos.

P.S. thanks for the supportive comments on my last post. I was a bit anxious about putting that much personal information about myself on my blog but I’ve received nothing but kind comments. So thanks again guys, your support means the world to me.

Edel

Palma de Mallorca 2015

November 16, 2015November 16, 2015 by E, posted in Adventure, Blogging, Fashion, Shopping, Swimwear, Travel

This is a long overdue post on my trip to Palma de Mallorca. I meant to put it up much sooner but then I began my Master’s and got swept away by a tsunami of assignments. 😛 I should be studying right now also to be honest….

Prior to my sun holiday I’d been to London where I picked up some great bargains for my holiday wardrobe. I also had the cute clothes I got from the swap shop I attended which were perfect for holidays. The first night of my holidays I wore a simple outfit, a beaded top, shorts, white espadrilles and a gorgeous vintage belt I got for €1 in my local charity shop.

The worst part of going on holiday at the end of the summer was trying to find a bikini! It was near impossible to find a matching bikini top and bottom in the right size. However I found one in the most unexpected of places, Tesco! Yep £7 for a really cute tropical bikini!

I wore it to Playa Es Trenc, a beach on the far side of the island. This beach is near a salt mine and the sea is really salty! It is known as one of the most beautiful beaches on the island but beware part of it is a nudist beach so don’t be shocked if you visit.

I also bought some cute shorts for the trip, the yellow high-waist ones were £2 in Primark and the denim ones were £5 at a market.

Another place I visited was Los Cuevas del Drach, a sort of tropical Ailwee Caves. These caves are considered to be one of the best tourist attractions, extending almost 1200 metres underground and contain a subterranean lake. The cave tour concludes at an underground amphitheatre where a group of musicians pulled up in a boat and serenaded us! It was very surreal.

Outside the caves, you can see Mallorca’s east coast.

The caves are located quite far away from the city of Palma de Mallorca so you would need to hire a car if you wanted to go there. Luckily for me, my friends had a car so I got to see a lot of the island.

I was there for 5 days and my agenda included exploring the city centre, visiting the famous cathedral and taking a trip out to Port de Soller.

My trip to Port de Soller was a nice break from the city. I went on an old-fashioned steam train which was the noisiest thing I’ve ever been on and my fellow passengers were passive aggressive German pensioners! The rustbucket, sorry train took us on a scenic route through the Serra de Tramuntana mountains. The train then proceeded to break down in a tunnel which was quite scary as it was really claustrophobic, there was no light and it was really hot! After about 15 minutes they finally got it up and running again!

The views from the train were worth all the discomfort, from the window we could see tiny white houses below us, mountains all around and lemons growing by the tracks.

The previous day I’d bought a white off the shoulder top in Stradivarius so I wore that for my day out.

Soller is a seaside town with some of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen. The pictures really don’t do it justice. The port is a perfect horseshoe shape, surrounded by mountains and tropical vegetation with azure blue water and white sand. It’s quite a wealthy place, judging by all the yachts around! I felt like I was in paradise!

Palma is quite small so there’s not as much to see in the city but I enjoyed wandering around window shopping and having a traditional ensaimada pastry and coffee.

Palma’s most famous building is a Roman Catholic Gothic Cathedral known locally as “La Seu.” Unfortunately I didn’t get to see it in daylight but was still impressed with the night-time view.

Hope you all enjoyed this travel post! Thank you to my lovely friends Dani and Santi for giving me a great holiday and an escape from Ireland! Thanks for visiting my blog as always. If you want to follow me on social media, my Facebook page is here and Instagram here.

Edel

Take Me Away- Swimwear and Sun Holidays

August 6, 2015August 6, 2015 by E, posted in Consumerism, Fashion, Holidays, Lifestyle, Sales, Shopping, Spring Summer 15 Fashion, Spring/Summer Fashion, Style, Travel, Trends

This has been the most depressing summer in Ireland’s meteorological history so I thought I’d cheer us all up with a sun holiday and swimwear post! I’m about to go on my first sun holiday in about three years and I’m very excited. I’m going to Palma de Mallorca and am looking forward to seeing sunlight!

SWIMWEAR

This Versace-esque scarf print bikini from River Island is the bomb! It is gorgeous and also on sale at the moment, the top is reduced to €12 and the bottoms to €3. I’m going to try get my hands on one before I go away. I hope I can find it as once bikinis go on sale, the chances of finding your size in a matching top and bottom are pretty slim!

New Look also do some great swimwear at reasonable prices. It seems silly to spend a lot of money on a bikini considering our fabulous climate! They have covered all the trends from this mesh high neck style, a colour block Triangl lookalike, a simple pink and black trim bikini and a strapless wet look black bikini. All of these bikinis except for the black wet-look style are currently on sale.

One pieces don’t have to be boring, take a look at these diverse styles from Asos and Motel.

Asos South Beach metallic swimsuits

Asos purple seventies swimsuit and Evil Twin Yin Yang swimsuit.

These iconic “Wave” swimsuits by Motel are the coolest one pieces I’ve ever seen!

And if none of the above have tempted you Nine Crow Street currently are offering 30% off all online orders!

alt=<purple vintage swimsuit> — Vintage geometric swimsuit Nine Crow St.

SHORTS

River Island have cute baroque print shorts reduced to €12 from €24.

Or for something a little more boho, I like these black crochet hem shorts from New Look currently reduced to €11.50 from €22.99.

SHOES

Although I’m not a massive fan of wearing heels on holiday, I do like these white platform wedges currently €30 in the River Island sale. Other cute shoe options include these studded sliders also from River Island at €18.

Hope you have enjoyed this post and I look forward to writing about Mallorca and also my upcoming trip to London! I’m also hoping to do a giveaway on the blog soon and it’s going to be a good one 😉 Keep an eye on my Facebook page here for more details!

Thanks for visiting my blog as always.

Edel

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