Holiday wardrobe and not a capsule in sight

[worldgonecrazy]

I need (as in life/death situation) to put together a holiday wardrobe which will allow me to look not as bad as usual effortlessly stylish on a beach/culture holiday in South West France in late July. Mornings will probably be spent either at the beach or pool, and then afternoons will be spent doing cultural stuff or wandering around local villages/towns. Evenings will be quiet drinks or early meal out.

So far my list of things to buy:

well cut chinos
capri pants

I need inspiration and don't want to spend my holiday feeling like a middle-aged frump.

Have you looked on Pinterest? If you search holiday capsule there are some nice collections.

YY to a pair of well cut chinos or light trousers for evenings when the weather cools down. Might be a bit hot for daytime, though.

Do you 'do' dresses? What style? I live in maxi dresses in the summer, as they're nice and cool to wear, you can just pull them on and easy to dress up or down (especially a plain, cotton one in a classic colour like navy)...

Shoes are the killer with creating a capsule. You need a pair of comfy, wear-with-anything sandals. I'd go for something in tan leather, with a good sole. Will have a scout about online later x

Thanks CoolGee - unfortunately I don't usually do dresses but I could be persuaded.

I'm going on a similar holiday in the summer.
I have bought loads of maxi dresses and sundresses, cotton chinos (m&s), t shirts and a cotton skirt. I got a lovely pair of comfey sandals from Landsend sale.

Referring to my well-honed packing list for 2 week holidays in SW France*...

1 x cropped jeans
2 x cropped cotton trousers (chinos/ capris)
2 x dresses (1 daytime sun dress, 1 maxi for day or evening - I don't do anything that shows the knees!)
5 x t-shirts
2 x vest tops (adjust according to your relationship with your upper arms)
1 x oversize long-sleeved shirt or tunic (for covering up)
1 x cardigan/ sweatshirt (ditto)
1 x light jacket (denim or cotton blazer)
1 x lightweight pac-a-mac (it does sometimes rain, even in July)

I'm not a light packer so you may not want to take as much as this!

Shoes:
1 x casual sandals (Birkenstocks in my case)
1 x beach shoes (I take Saltwater as can do double duty)
1 x closed-toe shoes of your choice (ballerinas or espadrilles)

Hope this is a helpful starting-off point. Am v jealous of your holiday, probably won't be going myself this year.

• It's on a spreadsheet. Judge away.

I too am going on similar holiday, but only for a week and pesky Ryanair hand luggage only. I am terrible at holiday clothes and end up taking far too many then wearing the same three things over and over again and washing them in the evenings, when I would rather be doing almost anything but laundry. This year I am determined to get the capsule thing right. So far on my list I have:

2 x tankinis
1 x denim shorts
1 x nice kaftan (not an old-lady-on-a-cruise style)
5 X vest tops/t-shirts, all black / white / navy
2 X kimonos in nice patterns to give a splash of colour
1 X white capris
1 X maxi dress (I find these very very difficult but agree they are kind of perfect for this kind of holiday so am determined to find the right one)

Shoes
1 X slider things for around the pool
1 X Converse, in a bright colour

What I still need to think about is: a couple of dressier tops, shoes I can walk in, an extra layer in case of rain/chilly evenings and maybe one other bottom half for going out in the evenings as white capris will get grubby after a single wearing, maxi dress will be worn during the day if going to cathedrals / museums etc so there is a bit of a gap to be filled still!

zinnia and lurkingfromhome thank you, thank you, thank you!

Those lists are brilliant and I can adapt/add to them.

Nothing wrong with spreadsheets for holidays - I do them all the time, including an itinerary broken down into 15 minute segments

Glad to have been of assistance! Enjoy planning the wardrobe planning being half the fun