Last of the summer sun

Well it finally looks like we are having a bit of a summer. I’m basing this on the fact I was able to wear a sandal on Sunday and didn’t end up with either frozen feet or soggy, rain soaked trotters.

Of course all of this happens just before I head away for a week in Bordeaux where the temperatures look to be about 31 degrees.

I’m in a mild flap, though, because I don’t think I can remember what it’s like to be in that kind of heat and also what kind of clothes are appropriate.

I’ve spent the majority of the summer wearing jackets, straight leg jeans and trainers and I haven’t even worn a lot of my summer clothes, so if anything it’s a chance to get a flash off all the dresses hanging in my wardrobe.

You know by now I hate packing but that I am also exceptionally good at fitting a large amount of clothes into carry on baggage, so needless to say, I have a few options for my five day stay.

The main bulk of my packing consists of dresses as they are easy to pack, don’t take up much room in the bag and are also so easy to just throw on. You really don’t need much in the way of accessories and they are generally versatile enough to either style the look for day or night.

If you’re really stuck for space, you can just add a different shoe for dinner or something like a statement earring.

Most of the dresses I have brought with me are printed, midi wrap dresses with a sleeve that have a nice flow to them. Not surprisingly I already have a few of these in my wardrobe, but I’m also very taken with most of the dresses on ecommerce site, Silk Fred. I feel like I could wear these looks easily on my hols but also dress them up enough back home to wear to a few of the weddings I have coming up soon. They also work well with tights and boots so will happily carry me through to the winter.

I’ve also packed a few skirts and t-shirts because this is another of my go-to easy to wear looks whether at home or away and all I need to do is add a flat sandal and my basket bag and I’m done. It also means I can just throw on my Converse and denim jacket once I arrive back into Cork Airport and I’m dressed for Irish weather too. I’m hoping my arrival back, which coincides with back to school, means we’ll be due our annual late heatwave, but failing to prepare is preparing to fail as the fella says!

One of the main things I always struggle with is what footwear to pack. I usually begin by panicking and packing in about ten pairs of shoes only to give myself a stern talking to and reducing this dramatically. I always think I’ll need lots of different pairs but really three is more than enough.

I generally bring a white or metallic pair of flat sandals, a block strappy heal that I’ll wear at the airport and which can do for days when we aren’t doing much walking or for a night time change and then a pair of studded nude heels for if I go wild and dress up for a night out.

All three can easily go with pretty much everything I’ve brought. You might want to bring lots of different colour options but when you fly budget you’ve got to make some sacrifices.