Thought I looked ‘effortless Mediterranean cool’ — actually looked more like a harrassed scout leader 🫠 Help!

[ExcuseUs]

Looked back at last summer’s holiday pics and… wow. I thought I was nailing effortless Euro chic, I had bought new, planned better — a couple of black cotton dresse, linen shorts, black cami, espadrilles,. But in photos (taken from behind, of course 🙄), I looked less like a glam goddess and more like a scout leader on a mission. Not the hoped for.

So — how do you actually pull off that breezy, stylish holiday look, I am always envious of others, sashaying along the prom?

Dresses, coords, whatever — I’m open. Just want to look effortless and not thrown together in a melted heap.

Tips, combos, links — please hit me with your summer style wisdom!

I posted a mixture of things - I do wear khaki, navy etc personally but was merely suggesting the OP incorporate some other items to avoid the scout leader look she mentioned.

I'm pretty confident with clothes and don't worry about what randoms on holiday think, not indeed anyone else at any time. The only place I felt slightly underdressed and scruffy was in Milan in the late 1990s.

Be careful with market purchases. I’m the same height and build as op and picked up an understated, chocolate brown beautifully cut silky just to the knee linen shift while browsing on an Italian lakeside. Effortless chic thought I. Emerged in it next morning. Dd said “Ooh look Wilma Flintstone” and she wasn’t wrong.
Back to Next short tailored shorts and Uniqlo linens.

I have to be careful with shorts - short slim legs, wide posterior and protruding tummy mean that anything elasticated that fits my waist flares out from my thighs like Dawn French in Five Go Mad in Dorset.
I like the slim chino type shorts that M&S, Boden and Fat Face do (and buy them on Vinted) as they keep my silhouette a bit more dignified. Plus always mid thigh, never venturing any lower - for me that gives the scoutmaster vibes but that’s my short legs 🤣

I have a colleague who wears a white shirt tucked in, rolled up sleeves and she looks so cool and elegant. I tend to avoid white tops for myself unless it’s partly hidden by something else - they just make me look very busty and milkmaidy 😬
And I definitely prefer a wardrobe black/maybe navy, white if under or an open shirt only. Black vest top with beige trousers, black shirt fitted cardi or cropped white shirt worn open.

Five go mad in Dorset

If you’re wearing a plain simple shift dress you change it completely by adding bold jewellery. It ups the look 100%. I

@KnitFastDieWarm
frankly that’s just getting better and better. I want to be a 20s Labrador breeder with gaiters, tweed skirts, brogues. Probably called Minty or Bunty with a taste for gin and tonic and a colourful past.

I HRTFT but I get the discomfort of thinking you look one way and then finding you actually look quite different! I think I have reverse body disphoria as in my head I am slim and strong, so it’s always a bit of a shock to see my reflection or a photo showing me as a chunky brick on legs 🤣

Anyway, I started following an insta account called @ scarfandamug and she posts some quite nice outfits- not everything she shares appeals to me but she does suggest some good looks too. (She describes herself as ‘midsize’ which I think is about a 16.)
And the Manners London founder, whose motto is wear it anyway and feel the freedom, and I’m trying to be more like her in terms of ‘do I like it? Am I comfortable in it? In that case, the rest of the world can F off because their opinion really doesn’t count’.

I also tend not to have many pictures taken, which is both a blessing and a curse!

Good luck finding outfits that make you feel amazing, and remember the holiday is not about what you wore but how you felt.

@Gingerwarthog ok you’ve sold it to me, neat gin at 9am, pith helmets and jolly hockey sticks it is 😁

Can I just butt in and recommend Sainsbury’s dresses for affordable holiday chic

What types of dresses are you all chucking on? I’m 5’3” with menopausal belly and square bum. Quite tree trunk legs but good arms and shoulders.

@SiobahnRoy ,you certainly can. If you're careful, you can find something good for a budget price.
Results for Women shop all tu x scion

I don’t get the linen hate at all. I have some beautiful linen dresses picked up in Italy that don’t crease, and some lovely long linen shirts from Massimo Dutti that are soft and fall well. Maybe the trick is to scrunch it in the shop and if it stays badly creased don’t buy it.
I find emerald green or cobalt blue my best colours in summer, but I’m not adverse to a good chunk of black either. I’m also not looking to look like a local, I’m wanting to look like me just on holiday.

@WhiskyandWater , it varies a lot. Some of it will crumple elegantly, and some will look like you scrunched it and let it dry like that, then not bothered to iron it.

I found that the price of the garment isn't an indication of crumple, but after too many 'haven't you got an iron?' comments, I stick to tops only.

TK Maxx might be worth a try for affordable linen or natural fibre dresses.

Absolutely agree price isn’t an indication of crumple factor. I have some red linen shorts that were fished out of a bargain bin and they barely crease let alone crumple. Who are these rude people asking if you have an iron? Raise an eyebrow and tell them it’s linen and the relaxed look is part of its charm.

Wow!
Thank you all—this thread has been an absolute joy to return to after working late last night.

I came here despairing over my “harrassed scout leader” vibes and somehow ended up snorting tea over half the comments (you know who you are). 😂

So many great suggestions—some seriously stylish, some delightfully chaotic. I’m definitely stealing a few ideas (looking at you, effortless silhouettes and bold colours), but I have to confess: I cannot do full coverage in the day. Linen shirts, wide-leg trousers, long dresses… I know they’re breezy and elegant and grown-up and all that—but they just don’t scratch the itch to feel sunshine directly on my skin. I want bronzed limbs, sun on my shoulders, and a faint risk of weird strap marks or better still not!
Is that so wrong? (Don’t answer that.)

Maybe it’s a bit 2002 of me, but I still associate summer with skin—actual bare bits. Mediterranean chic with a dose of Vitamin D and factor 50 please ( or maybe 25 🙏 ).

So I’m still on the hunt: how do I show some flesh without veering into holiday rep/lost on the way to the pool/camp counsellor with regrets? Is there a middle path between elegant and exposed? And yes, I will ban DH and the rear view camera shots!

Keep the wisdom (and the mockery) coming—this is genuinely one of the most helpful and hilarious threads I’ve read in ages!

Don't you just look as if you've taken a wrong turn on the way to court 2?
Also, why do you get the principle of breathable/technical fabrics, but I find in practice that, while they're great for actual exercise, if you wear them for a normal day they just feel sweaty and a bit uncomfortable.

If you want the sun on your shoulders what about a halter-neck top or one of those where the shoulders are quite cut away (I’m sure they have a technical name). Personally I’d wear it with a skirt or wear a dress in that style rather than with shorts (and a strapless bra, I’d feel super uncomfortable without) but style according to preference. Definitely not a scout leader look!

Or a halter neck bikini top underneath?

I bumped into a friend in the supermarket yesterday. She's pretty slim, and was rocking short denim shorts (with a cuff) with some sort of flowy tucked in shirt and Birkenstocks.

Love this 😂

The only linen I wear are the linen tops from Jigsaw. 100% linen, scoop neck and princess sleeves, but there's witchcraft involved because the fabric is somehow stretchy and doesn't crease! Honestly!

Have you seen today’s thread on noisy sex? Someone said they heard the neighbours having noisy sex, then at the end… “Jesus Christ Pauline, where did you learn to do that?”

breathable/technical fabrics ... while they're great for actual exercise,
they're not for regular wear.

@Hellohelga , not sure if you posted on the right thread but 😆

Same, I love linen for summer! I have tapered trousers in black and chambray and some navy wide-leg slightly cropped ones, and you can prise then from my cold, dead, wide-from-behind hands 😁

George at Asda and Tu at Sainsburys have nice summer clothes. I have some vest tops with animal print and tigers or leopards on which I've worn for summer holidays 3 years in a row. Love them

Manners dresses look great (I don’t have one, I tried one but decided I don’t wear dresses enough to justify it- and now I have returner’s regret! but I love the tops) and you don’t need a bra underneath. They do fitted midi styles as well as more skater styles with wider skirts, and a maxi dress.