City Break Style Essentials: Roman Holiday Edition
When travelling cheap means travelling light, it's time to grab the basics and get going. It's about packing items that are versatile, comfortable and practically weightless. Here's what made the cut on my recent trip to Rome.
Without a doubt the best thing I packed were these cropped trousers from Zara. Pair with a basic t-shirt or tank top for the ultimate take on smart/casual. They're as comfortable as pants can be; flatter any figure (hello wide leg and high waist) and look like you've made the effort when you really haven't. Before picking these up, my go to bottom would've been a pair of jeans. In the scorching heat of the city, I'm so glad I left my jeans at home and took these babies. I got the confirmation I'd made the right decision when I saw so many other woman rocking wide leg trousers around Rome too. Safety in numbers, right?
To go with the Zara trousers, I actually just packed a few different t-shirts (black, white and Zara obviously). Black bottoms go with everything, so I saved on weight by just switching out the tops. I took a black halter neck crop top and the black and white versions of my favourite Zara sleeveless top. While it's not the most interesting look fashion wise, the outcome was sleek, classic and comfortable. I just think that when you're limited on weight it's probably best to have one key piece and a few ways to tweak it. If you took a bunch of different outfits you'll end up checking a bag, which kinda defeats the purpose of flying budget no?
Fear not though, I didn't just wear my trousers with a different t-shirt all week long. To mix things up without busting the scales, I packed two staples in any wardrobe: a good jumpsuit and a little black dress. Sadly both of the ones I packed are no longer available to purchase, but there are plenty of other options out there trust me.
The jumpsuit is a cream and navy, striped number from Miss Selfridge. I almost missed out on this one and now that it's mine I'm so glad I didn't pass it up in the end. From the wrap detail at the top, to the light flowy bottom it's the perfect number for summer. As with all jumpsuits, going to the bathroom was far from a fun experience. Having to get practically naked in a portaloo is something that never goes away let me tell you. That aside, it was good to inject a bit of light and colour (ish) into an otherwise monochrome wardrobe.
Jumpsuit aside, I always seem to end up back on black. It's my colour of choice and it will never do you wrong. My favourite form of black is the dress kind, and I took with me a strappy, lacy number from Zara ( from a few seasons ago mind you). It's dressy without being overly so and can again be dressed up or down too. Win!
In terms of shoes and accessories I think I did quite well. For my feet I took my trusty white Converse and a pair of tan sandals I picked up off ASOS a year ago. In the end I ended up wearing the Converse exclusively as no sandal could compete with the amount of walking we did that week. Lesson learned.
I don't actually own that many bags and as I didn't want to be lugging stuff around, I opted for my Michael Kors Medium Selma Cross-body. What at first seemed like an impractical pick actually worked perfectly. It fit in all my essentials, with enough room for a few treats along the way. Perfect. The only thing it didn't fit was my camera but I don't think many bags would ha!
With clothing taken care of, tomorrow I'll be walking you through my beauty must haves, so check back for that!
0 comments