La Belle Vie: Beach break
You New Englanders are worse than the actual English. We are teased relentlessly by the rest of Europe for getting ridiculously over-excited as soon as the temperature gets above 50 degrees. As soon as there's even a hint of sunshine we all rush out into our local parks and gardens, glowing white skin exposed, doggedly ignoring our goosebumps and loudly declaring "It'ssowarm today!" Such are members of the Dartmouth community, who for the last few days of Winter Term exhibited summer dresses, shorts and bare legs in Baker-Berry.
I say all this affectionately, of course. I too prematurely declared that spring had well and truly sprung, and wore a skirt with only 1 pair of tights instead of my customary 2 pairs plus leggings. I too am ignoring the recent snowfall and casting my down coat to the side. Basically I'm bored of my winter wardrobe. I'm ready for bigger (or smaller) and better things.
Luckily, last Friday, I was transported to a land where the sun always shines, where you can drift effortlessly from beach to bar in a cotton sundress and sandals without a goosebump in sight. Yep, you guessed it - I, like many of you, am in Miami (shut up, LMFAO).
There was not much time to get the old wardrobe in gear, so we needed to think fast and we needed to think simple. If you're lacking in swimwear, you could do worse than one of the (literally) hundreds of options from Victoria's Secret. Brighter the better, of course.
From my capsule collection above you can see that I love a maxi — there's something so chilled and festival-esque about them. I think they look particularly good if you're tall, but if you're buying online, beware — check the model's height in the picture to make sure it's going to be long enough on you. Wearing a maxi that's too short puts you at risk for looking like your maiden aunt Sal. Not so festival-esque.
Denim jackets have made it back on the scene in a big way in recent years, and they are the perfect slightly grungy accompaniment to your maxi. Sling on a cross-body bag like this oneand you're all set.
The best thing about beach dressing is that you don't really need to differentiate between day clothes and evening clothes. The dresses I've chosen will look great during the day with sandals or pumps and can be dressed up for the evening with wedges and some chunky jewelry.
The number one accessory for a beach break? Sunscreen. I know that makes me sound like your mum, but the truth is, nobody looks cool with a sunburn. Nobody. And as one blessed/cursed with extremely fair skin (some say English rose, some say pasty), I can speak as one who has well and truly been there and done that. Over and over again.Best avoided.
Happy holidays, people!!