Holiday Capsule Wardrobe

In just over a week, Nick and I are taking Stephen to Hong Kong for a week. Apart from really looking forward to a week off from the daily grind, I have been really looking forward to putting together my capsule wardrobe for the trip. I find that thinking about packing makes me look at my closet and come up with new ways of putting my clothes together to create different outfits.

There is nothing my husband hates more than lugging a tonne of luggage, so I always have to travel light. However, I still want to be stylish and I don't want to have to wear the same thing everyday. The following 14 items (plus accessories and undergarments) can all fit into a carry-on suitcase, so it ticks the happy husband box. The outfits will take me from ultra casual Disneyland, through to a fancy dinner, and everything in between. The way I accomplished this was by limiting my colour palette. In this case, I focused on mid blue, navy and white as they are nice and summery and mix and match very easily.

When trying to create a number of outfits from fewer clothes, make sure to have more tops than bottoms. Even though you are wearing the same bottoms over and over, they are much less noticeable than your tops. If you have access to laundry facilities, you could get away with taking fewer tops. Since I don't want to have to pay for hotel dry cleaning, a few more clothes makes more sense.

For the plane, I will wear the jersey maxi dress - it is ultra comfortable and its length means that I can curl my legs up on the plane seat without revealing too much. I am always cold on planes so I will wear a cardigan on top and I always take a large shawl to use instead of the scratchy airline blankets. By picking a shawl that co-ordinates with the rest of my wardrobe, it will be a useful addition for cooler evenings, or visiting places of worship. My favourite Storksak diaper bag will hold essentials for the plane including nappies and bottles for Stephen. When we arrive late afternoon, the cardigan and shawl will get stashed in the bag, the sunnies will be put on, and on will go my fabulous sun hat from Boden which comes in its own storage tube. I will be all set for drinks and dinner!

Holiday - sightseeing & shopping by chicmummy featuring Roberto Cavalli Sunglasses

These three outfits are just some of the examples of what I plan to wear while shopping and sightseeing. On their own, they are pretty basic outfits. However, by making sure I packed some great accessories, basic becomes chic.

Holiday - Dressy Dinners by chicmummy on Polyvore.com

Hong Kong is justifiably famous for its food, so we plan to go to plenty of restaurants, including a couple of fancier establishments. I always feel dressier in dresses, so these two made the cut.

Holiday - Casual Dinners by chicmummy featuring Old Navy Clothing

However, our budget, our taste and the fact that we will be toting a 2 1/2 year old along means that not every dinner can be fine dining! These three outfits strike just the right tone of effortless chic.

Holiday - Disneyland by chicmummy featuring Aeropostale Clothing

Lastly, we will spend two days staying at the Disneyland Hotel, with one day at Disney and the other exploring Lantau Island. For these two days I want to be very casual, but I still want to maintain a hint of chic.

While I have put together these outfits for my holiday, these would be just as appropriate for any SAHM's day-to-day wardrobe. The Disneyland outfits would be great for playing at the park; the two dressy outfits would be perfect for Sunday worship and a black tie function; and the casual dinner outfits could be used for a nice lunch or a PTA meeting.

If you are looking at building a small wardrobe for summer, then follow the same guidelines I did:

• focus on a limited colour palette
• add punch with accessories - a mix of cheap and cheerful and some fine jewellery
• consider what occasions you need your clothes for
• buy more tops than bottoms

Labels: fashion