Yes! The family is going to the beach for a little va-cay. Can’t wait! And of course, there are fashion dilemmas and decisions to be made…

My in-laws have rented a house on Dauphin Island, Alabama, along the Gulf Coast. The sand is pure white, the waves are salty, there are shells on the beach–all within a 3-hour drive from our house. My sister-in-law  is bringing the fixin’s for margaritas, sangria, and mint juleps. So we should be fine. Just fiiiiiinnne.

Our car is going to be packed to the gills, so the question is, what can I pack for myself that will feel cool and beachy and work in multiple configurations?

Taking a hint from my friend Sarah C (hi Sarah!), who has done lots of traveling, I’m grabbing a few basics in a single color scheme: three tops and three bottoms, one dress, and a swimsuit coverup that could do double duty as a dress. That should last a week, with a wash in the middle.

The tops:

Coral short-sleeve blouse

White sleeveless blouse

Gray and orange t-shirt (not quite the color scheme, but I love it!)

 

The bottoms:

Denim clamdiggers

Dark denim shorts

Pale denim skirt

Hm, a definite theme among the bottoms. But denim is so versatile, I never get tired of it.

Here are some combinations of the tops and bottoms. Everything seems to work with everything else, and tucking vs. untucking gives each top a new look, I think.

The Hawaiian dress is a bit of lagniappe–I don’t need it, but I figure it will make me feel dressed up when we celebrate my in-laws’ 50th anniversary at the beach!

I’m debating bringing a long-sleeve chambray button-down as a coverup if I’m chilly–sometimes A/C  can be overpowering. Accessories? Two pairs of sandals (I suppose I could just do one pair of flip-flops…but that would be so unlike me), one scarf, two sunhats, and my new straw purse (I went with the white!).

Do you have a packing strategy when going on vacation? What are your essentials, and what’s your lagniappe?