But it\u2019s not an effort for me. I love it. I adopt a new personality overseas, a much more flamboyant, fruity one than the jeans and trainers girl back home.<\/p>\n
To me, the holiday experience is about playing along. About immersing into the city or country you\u2019re in. So, if you\u2019re in Sicily<\/a>, you eat pasta alla norma, cannolli and caponata, you drink Zibbibo and you swim where the locals tell you to. And for me, you dress in bright colours and with as many pom-poms as legal. Anyway. <\/em>Italy.<\/p>\n I knew I\u2019d shop over there, so I packed light: a tight edit of shoes and a few dresses and tops from last summer, half of which I was ready to farewell if space got tight. This, I\u2019ve learned, is smarter than flying with nothing, assuming you will fill your suitcase with cute new stuff the second you arrive, only to arrive and discover they are already doing autumn-winter fashion, and it\u2019s 30 degrees, and you\u2019re screwed.<\/p>\n Since we left a Melbourne winter for an Italian summer, there was nada in-store in terms of sandals and frocks, (especially<\/em> for my toddler \u2013 would someone please start an online kids store that caters to all seasons? Australians travel! A lot!) so I went online and grabbed some summer stuff from ASOS and Reformation. My edit needed to be stylish, versatile, be easy in terms of ironing and grime, and cover everything from long travel days, dinners, beach, and sightseeing in the heat. Oh, and tiny, because I share my suitcase with my son. (I generally pack the suitcase a week out, then each day remove a thing or two I can live without\u2026 you\u2019d be amazed at what you thought you needed on first pack.) (\u2018Five swimsuits\u2019.)<\/p>\n Most vitally: pack an excellent hat. (Tip: Invest in a great<\/em> hat. I bought cheap hats each summer that fell apart; now I have one I love. It cost a lot, but Aussie brands like Lack of Colour do good styles cheaply. I wore my hat every<\/em> day in Italy, and always felt polished and \u2018me\u2019 in it).<\/p>\n Also: big sunglasses, and some fantastic earrings to jazz up everything from a plain white tee to a black dress (I like Christie Nicolaides). And a scarf. Oh, and an energetic red lipstick. If, once dressed, you add nothing else but sunglasses and tinted moisturiser, that red (or pink, or orange) lipstick will make you look a million Euro. I use a long-last matte crayon formula because glossy or creamy red lips can be a P in the A on holidays, and also non-holidays. (Tip: I have lash extensions put on before holidays so I can wear sunscreen, BB cream and go. They are miracle <\/em>workers.)<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not just about packing.<\/p>\n It\u2019s FEELING it while you\u2019re there. Letting the holiday take over you, and then playing up to it a bit, doing stuff you might not in the Real World. It\u2019s taking a few extra moments before setting off for the day to think: \u201cWhat can I wear today that will make me feel great? What can I do right now, quickly, in the bathroom with my son figure-eighting between my legs, squawking for breakfast, that will make me feel good when I look back on a million holiday photos? My \u2018good dress?\u2019 Earrings? What? How can I tweak my basics to bring out \u2026 Holiday Me<\/em>?\u201d I\u2019m not suggesting for a second I have nailed vacation chic, or that I look like Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday when I travel (I WISH OH GOD HOW I WISH), this is just me endorsing little \u2018boosts\u2019 that make you feel jubilant and swishy on holidays because it’s fun, and personally makes me feel like I\u2019m in some kind of wonderful holiday movie, except instead of acting I drink Aperol and take naps.<\/p>\n In holidays past I have dressed as if I was on a holiday from style, too, and later regretted it. Why do I dress beautifully to sit in an office, or attend a work event, but like a slob on holidays, when I am happiest, and in magnificently scenic locations, that I may never return to, with people I love, when life is golden?<\/p>\n
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\nI\u2019m embarrassingly osmotic when I travel. If I see a cool woman wearing a slip dress with a flamboyant head wrap in Portofino<\/a>, I want in. If I see a minimalist woman wearing bejeweled slippers with a white pantsuit in Rome<\/a>, I want in. And if I see a babe in a white shirt tucked into a colourful ankle-length skirt with a neckerchief in Florence<\/a>, I want in. To me travel is Real Life Instagram; I see things that inspire and delight, and in that moment, in that piazza, in that sunshine, I want to play along. Even if it\u2019s just with a new ZARA top and belt, and a bucket of holiday confidence; I\u2019m in.<\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>My basics were:<\/h2>\n
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\nOff-shoulder top, and dressy cami<\/li>\n
\nMore vital than clothes, though, were the accessories. Because like my husband at check-in, they do all the heavy lifting.<\/p>\n
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\nFor me it\u2019s usually popping on my hat and some lipstick, with a beautiful, simple dress and some sandals. I know, groundbreaking<\/em>! But<\/em>, I feel put together, and not underdressed if we stay out all day and finish off with a nice early dinner, or run into Mariah Carey and she wants to invite us onto her boat.<\/p>\n