June 20, 2017

The Holiday Edit

The summer holidays are nearly upon us so here it is, your style bible to help get you beach ready. This year avoid the usual frenzied dash to the shops for calpol, travel sickness tablets, sun cream – and entire summer wardrobe comprising sandals, swimming costumes, shorts and cover ups. Instead, do it in advance because otherwise you’ll be stuck with a bikini top in one size and a bottom in another and possibly only one half of a pair of flip flops.

Bags of Style

This is a practical necessity, but why not make it stylish at the same time? Straw totes are having a bit of a revival at the mo so would be the holiday bag for the season. Get yours from the White Company £55 – they have a delivery due on 23rd June. Hush’s Aloha straw bag is sold out, so there is no time to lose…

Or Asos has a couple of options like this Slouchy Straw Tote Bag £25 from Warehouse.

And this Reclaimed Vintage Straw Shoulder Bag £32.

Another brilliant site for all things beach, is Aspiga. My friend put me on to this last summer, when I had serious beach bag envy and by which point at the beginning of August I had not a hope in hell of finding a thing. They have a whole host of gorgeous bags to choose from including this Starfish Jute Bag £45 which is in stock in navy and white and the white and silver.

If you want something a bit more glitzy then they have this Large Sequinned Stripe Tote Bag £58.

For something a bit more obviously beachy, try the Aruba £45 or the Palm Tree £50. Both come in other colourways.

On the high street Accessorize is a good bet, with lots of bright, fun and affordable styles including this La Paz Hesian Embroidered Tote £35.

Or for something more monochrome and sophisticated try this Geo Woven Packable Tote £32.

Covering Up

A good cover up is another two birds, one stone item – it covers up sunburn as well as providing an extra layer of protection when you are walking around nearly naked in front of strangers. This Beach Kimono £45 from Hush is lovely and will go with all your swimsuits/bikinis thanks to its neutral colouring.

With a lot of pom poms around, Accessorize has this Mina Pom Pom Kaftan £25.60 – now in the sale.

Or Aspiga has its best selling Kiki Sun Kaftan £48 in aqua, pink and white.

A beach dress is the other alternative and this Santorini Dress £69 from Hush is very nice. I love the white with the fluro embroidery but it also comes in a more practical blue.

With a lot of tie dye around, Monsoon’s Regan Tie Dye Cold Shoulder Dress £39 is a good bet.

If you want to make a poolside statement, then I rather like their Imogen Beaded Maxi Kaftan £69.

Bathers

Yes you can spend a small fortune on a cossie from the big brands like Eres, Heidi Klein etc all of which are on Net a Porter. There is also Cocobay which is great for beach stuff and they have this lovely Seafolly Castaway Stripe Bandeau Swimsuit £118. The cleverly placed panels give the illusion of waist curves even if you don’t have them.

However, there are also some great finds for a fraction of the price. Starting off with Boden which does great swimwear with real tummy tucking powers. Believe me – I have tried them and they have 30% off at the moment.

The Amalfi Bandeau Swimsuit £58.50 is a winner. It’s got hidden support, slimming side panels and ruching over the tummy. And it comes in soooo many different colours/prints.

There is also the Santorini Swimsuit £54 which has all the features of the Amalfi as well as cups and under bust support.

Or the Ischia Halter Swimsuit £36.

The other big high street hitters are Debenhams and M&S, both of which have tummy control technology as well as cup sized options if you have a bigger bust.

Such as this J by Jasper Conran Orange Halter Tummy Control Swimsuit £29.40 with 30% off.

Or this Multi Coloured Leaf Print Tummy Control Swimsuit £36.

M&S’ Secret Slimming Ruched Swimsuit is only £25 and comes in turquoise, red, and dark kingfisher.

They also have this lovely Secret Slimming Palm Print Plunge Swimsuit £19.50.

Sliders

And finally what to put on your feet? Well if you haven’t already gone and got some espadrilles, then off you go. Castaner at Very Exclusive is one of the brands of the season and they have these Carina Wedge Espadrilles in Orange £70 as well as other colours.