Time away:
21 days
Where to:
Italy; primarily Tuscany and the Amalfi coast, a few days in Copenhagen, one day in Singapore
Season:
early summer.
Hot in Italy, in fact everyone commented on how unseasonably warm it was! with daily temps of 17-34C. Then cold, wintery conditions (for us) in Copenhagen, 8-16C. Singapore; hot and very humid; 27-32C
Expected activities:
Lots of medium to heavy duty hiking, with evenings spent hanging out in small villages. Some city sightseeing and shopping.
Colour scheme:
cheerful primaries, in solids and in fun gingham, stripes and florals.
Hmmm, I must’ve been in a rather whimsical party/holiday mood when I selected this lot!
What I packed:
each garment made by me is linked to its original construction post:
2 cardigans;
turquoise Metalicus cardigan rtw
ivory CR cardigan rtw
2 prs shorts;
greige corduroy shorts
green gingham shorts
2 dresses;
red gingham dress; casual
floral dress bit more dressy
6 tops;
cream blouse with black velvet tie
royal blue velvet top
ivory LS shirt
green gingham top
orange/cream stripe top
brown Tshirt
1 red scarf rtw
2 skirts;
blue corduroy skirt
yellow corduroy skirt
1 olive green cap; my husband’s, rtw
2 prs pants;
burnt brown jeans
olive green hiking pants
4 prs shoes;
turquoise sandals, , hiking boots, white thongs, black sandshoes
green floral bathers
blue raincoat (under)
black tights
3 prs socks; handknitted ginger socks + 2 prs thick hiking socks rtw
chocolate brown leather handbag
also, obviously I took my nightie, toiletries bag and a selection of underwear 🙂
My daily outfits:
Thoughts:
I think I’m actually getting better at minimising my packing, since this is a far smaller selection that the last time we went to Italy. True, this was a shorter trip by 6 days, but I felt as though I had plenty of options and probably could have happily eked another week’s worth of outfits out of this lot pretty easily!
I did make one ginormous packing boo boo; I neglected to bring a hat, DOH! You can imagine how hard I was kicking myself when I discovered this, getting dressed for our first day out hiking!! I had intended to bring my white, wide-brimmed hat, which is fantabulous for keeping off the sun and I thought it would complement all my outfits just perfectly but just forgot to put it in somehow!… oh well, all the best-laid plans and all that. Very fortunately my husband had brought two hats so he allowed me to use one of his on our holiday. Of course I could have bought a new one if need be; but you know how weird I am about not buying clothes, right?
Weather appropriateness: it was very hot hiking in Italy, and to be honest there were times I found myself pining for a few more warm weather options; but really I made do with what I had just fine. Happily our schedule was such that we could do a bit of hand-washing in our room every few nights and could put something fresh and clean on every morning.
During our time in Italy, we both felt like the cooler weather options we’d brought were a complete waste of suitcase space. But of course then we got to Copenhagen and it was freezing! and then I leapt upon my tights and cardigans and my raincoat, rugging up with relief and joy. Weather! You just can never tell!
Likewise, I packed the floral dress just in case, and while we were hiking and hanging out in rural and seaside areas with a downbeat, casual vibe, it languished uselessly in the suitcase, bugging me. However, obviously we did eventually get to cities, with restaurants and cocktail bars where there were beautiful people dressed very smartly indeed; and I was happy I could sashay out looking just that little bit glamorous!
Other, non-sartorial thoughts:
I took my fitbit and was super chuffed that I set two new personal bests! on two separate days.
We did a huge amount of hiking and mountain/hill/stair climbing, and averaged 25,000 steps and 150 floors per day. Phew! We sure earned our gelati each day! or sometimes *blush* even two gelati, ahem.
Another “thing” I did was keep a diary. I always have good intentions to keep travel journals but rarely do I actually manage to keep it going for the whole trip. This time I gave myself extra motivation by buying for myself a really beautiful book. It worked! I loved my book so much it was an absolute pleasure to write in it, and I found myself looking forward each day to summarising the events of the day, recalling funny anecdotes, little thoughts I had, conversations we had, and general stooff like that.
I know I’m going to enjoy reading it one day when I’m old and can no longer remember that we even ever went to Italy, once upon a time, hehe 🙂
Super looking wardrobe for a vacation. Looks great.
thanks so much Rosemary! 🙂
Great wardrobe for vacation. I love them all, you look pretty as always 🙂
What a wonderful trip – I've never thought of a walking holiday in Italy, but it makes sense – (mind you, we seem to manage – we got lost in Sienna, and in the end I suggested just going out of any gate and then circumnavigating by foot until we found the car. That was during our honeymoon, and somehow we lasted… :)). And a perfect wardrobe to take – light, summery, airy, quick drying. I hope you enjoyed yourself …
Great wardrobe and lovely pics. Looks like you went to Ravello which I loved. Italy is fantastic.
Thank you for this interresting report, it was a pleasure to read and look at! Great that you managed to take a picture of your outfit everyday, I really enjoyed the photos.
Lovely cheerful holiday outfits. I like it alot. How wonderful to go to Italy.
You are seriously mastering the ability to minimise your travel packing 😀 And at 37k steps you totes earned two gelato!
I am always inspired by your travel wardrobes and am hoping to take some hints from them when I go away later this year. Keeping a travel diary is always great – when you read them years later it always brings back great memories and often things that didn't make it into the written record (*blush* – don't ask)
You are a pro at packing! I am always appreciative of your suitcase/travel posts. We went to Tuscany in April this year; I love it there! It was chilly in the mornings but got a little warmer in the afternoons.
You are truly amazing!!!!
I really need to check out all your posts on travel packing, I always pack too much! What a great collection of colours too, so bright an cheerful, you can't help but want to wear them and feel happy each day. I'm so tempted to make a version of the red gingham dress!
I used to keep a travelogue when we went on holiday and I was writing so much it didn't get written! But you're right, they are so good to look back on.
A real gelato wardrobe for your trip and you certainly have a fantastic ability to pack an interesting mix for your trips. Looks like you had an amazing time.
You have certainly got your travel packing down to a fine art. Thanks for sharing and showing us daily photos too. Sounds like a fantastic holiday. I love hiking too but have never ventured as far as Italy.
I always LOVE your travel wardrobe posts and what an even bigger treat to see your clothes in action each day! That's what sewing a handmade wardrobe is all about…. right?! Glad you had such a fantastic trip. Now looking forward to seeing what wonderful new things you'll be making. 🙂
All your travel outfits are perfect together. My favorites are the ginghams.
Like Lisa, I love your travel packing posts, too! You have really minimized your wardrobe but your outfit pictures are such lovely and colourful ones. So good that you had your beautiful floral dress with you, isn't it? One wants to wear a nice dress in Italy. Maybe we were ar the same time in Siena (2.-6. June)? I admire your hiking there and am glad you had a wonderful vacation!
Gosh, I'm envious, even though we just got back from Vienna and are going to Barcelona next week…Those Copenhagen temps are pretty much my whole life here in NE England. Love your whole wardrobe, but particularly the outfits involving the brown slacks. And the red dress. Beautiful notebook! My blog tends to be my journal, and I scribble notes for that, but it's not the same as your gorgeous notebook.
I always love reading your travel wardrobe posts! I am currently on holiday near Genoa in Italy, my travel wardrobe is not nearly as well organized as yours! About your fitbit, would you recommend it? I'm currently taking part in a corporate fitness challenge and was provided with a similar gizmo but it doesn't seem to be too accurate.
thanks Anne-Rose! Yes, I love my fitbit! I'm pretty sure it's fairly accurate. I just use it as a general idea as to how I'm doing in a day, and it hasn't actually changed my life. It did reveal to me that that I do quite a lot of walking, anyway! 🙂
fabulous trip and fabulous packing skills! love how colorful your outfits were! i should take notes from you, as i'll probably go for a month long trip to turkey, later this year (a backpacking trip, so packing light is the way to go)..
I am so impressed with your packing skills and planning your wardrobe. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip!
What a grand wardrobe! Thanks for once again showing us redheads how it should be done!
I am impress! You have a beautiful look in holocauste Android travel. I am like you for journal travel. … so difficult to write ! Xoxo
I am always impressed by your travel wardrobes! I should take a cue from you and be more organized on that front. Your trip sounded just amazing!
See lots of solid colours, I am learning this with my me made wardrobe, It can't all be patterned, stroked and amazed fabric choices in the shop! Jo X
That little gingham dress is a trooper! Love the turquoise and red colour scheme.
thanks Cussot! yep, I have to say the gingham is turning out to be quite a beaut 🙂
That's quite a challenge, packing for such variation in temps, but you managed a fantastic range of colours and patterns. Oh, yes, it helps enormously for me too if I have good quality paper in a lovely journal to get me motivated to dig in every day.
Gorgeous, stylish wardrobe. I always keep a travel journal, a handwritten one that also gets tickets, pressed flowers and all sorts of random bits stuck in it. Always in a lovely notebook that I have spent a ridiculous amount of time choosing. A few weeks ago during a tedious but necessary study re-organisation I flicked through my journal from our Europe trip in 2006 and laughed at my re-count of New Year in Amsterdam with an 8 & 11 year old. Eye opening in case you were wondering!
thank you Fashionista! and yes, it's lots of fun to re-read your memories from your old travels! I find you often forget so much, and only remember things when you read about them in your diary years later 🙂
Love how all of your pieces go with each other. Fantastic wardrobe!