Holiday clothes packing and what I learned

I was recently on holiday for a week in Crete and I came back with clothes unworn. Is this something that happens to you when you go on holiday?

For April the weather was quite good – mostly sunny, a coolish wind and temperatures in the low 20s. We had one day when the temperature hit 30 deg. We were staying at a very nice hotel with swimming pools but it was quite a long way from a town, so we spent most of our time by the pool in the hotel resort. There was also a beach across the road from the hotel but, for me, it was too windy to sit there.

When it comes to clothes to take, I have to admit to not being very minimalist! My husband and I took a large case between us, which we checked into the hold. It’s still no excuse though for taking too much stuff.

Here’s what I would aim do differently next time:

I took only one pair of shorts but during the day I wore mostly shorts and a tee shirt, so next time I would take two pairs of shorts.

Take fewer tee shirts. You can wear a tee shirt for more than one day unless you are likely to get them really dirty!

I took two swimming costumes, which was fine for a week but if you do a lot of sunbathing and swimming you could add a bikini or two-piece as well.

I only took two dresses for the evening. I only wore one of them. I don’t know why I didn’t wear the other one – maybe because the dress was sleeveless and the evenings were chilly and I needed a cardigan, jumper or jacket. If it was May-August, I probably would have taken three dresses for the evenings. I also took a neutral coloured skirt which I wore a couple of times in the evening with various tops.

I took several pairs of summer weight trousers, plus jeans I travelled in. I didn’t wear the white jeans I took, so I could have managed on fewer pairs of trousers.

I wore one sleeveless tee shirt with the skirt on the very warm day/evening we had. I took more sleeveless tee shirts but didn’t wear them.

For shoes, I took one pair of trainers, one pair of flipflops and one pair of sandals, which for a week was fine.

I took one tote bag but bought a beach bag when I was in Crete as my tote bag didn’t hold towels, book, suncream etc. and I didn’t want to get it ruined.

To conclude then – next time I will really plan what I take on holiday in more detail. I will firstly consider the weather we are likely to have. I will work out what we are likely to do on the holiday, e.g. sightseeing, swimming, shopping etc. and decide what I will wear for each activity. I do think it’s a good idea to take clothes in a limited colour palette with you. My suggestion is one light neutral, one dark neutral and one colour according to your seasonal or tonal palette. Here are some examples:

Springs (Bright and Warm) – Bright Navy, Ivory and Coral.

Summers (Muted and Cool) – Greyed Navy, Soft White and Rose Pink.

Winters (Bright and Cool) – Dark Navy, Pure White and Scarlet.

Autumns (Muted and Warm) – Teal, Oyster White and Terracotta.

By choosing just three colours they will all mix and match easily, just add accessories and footwear to finish off your outfits.

You really don’t need a huge amount of clothing if you are only going away for a week to a warm climate, particularly if you are taking a carry-on case. The idea is to wear all your clothes when you are at your destination, make sure they all go together and, most importantly, be happy with the way you look on holiday.