What to pack for a sunny holiday - part one

I am about to depart for my annual sunshine holiday, we are heading back to Kalkan in Turkey for two weeks, so I have a week ahead of planning my holiday clothes and finalising my outfits.  Kalkan is quite a dressy resort, it is a small harbour town on the Mediterranean coast and has fabulous shops and restaurants all with amazing views.  My days are mostly spent in a bikini with a beach cover-up over and my evenings are maxi or midi sundresses with either flat sandals or wedge heels.

But therein lies the challenge - natural fabrics like cotton and linen are increasingly hard to come by and I find it so frustrating.  I don't want polyester and some viscose is prone to creasing,  I don't wear linen for that reason, I don't want to have to iron on holiday so I want lightweight cotton or jersey that I can pull out of my suitcase and put on.

I have two of these jersey halter neck dresses from Boden and they are perfect holiday wear and I have had mine a number of years now.  This year I spotted Boden have something similar - a multi-way jersey dress which I am going to try - this is the Lilah Multi-Way Dress at £80.  It is a jersey viscose/elastane mix and doesn't crease and the fabric is very light.  It is a similar flattering shape to my older ones.

Other brands to try for cotton dresses include: Monsoon, Zara, Next and & Other Stories. 

Then a couple of weeks ago I was invited to meet the owner and team behind beachwear brand, Aspiga.  I attended brunch at Beaufort House in Chelsea to hear about the brands eco-initiatives and to visit their pop-up shop.

Aspiga is a brand that has been on my radar for a number of years, they launched about 11 years ago and work with artisans and non-profit making groups, tribal groups and small family run business employing local men and women, thus helping fight poverty through trade.  They are fair trade and eco-conscious and have a number of initiatives in place to fully support this goal.    From starting off with a small consignment of leather sandals they now have a full beachwear range including their popular beaded sandals, swimwear, dresses and other holiday accessories.  I loved hearing about their plans from their founder Lucy and they have just been voted one of the top 21 best and most stylish brands by The Telegraph.

And they stock a lot of natural fabrics!  I have ordered their Miami Midi Sundress in Leopard Green and it is 100% rayon.  Quick though as stock arrives and sells out again very fast!

​The purpose of the brunch was to launch Aspiga's Beach Clean Up Campaign - for every pair of Kenyan leather beaded sandals sold during May, June and July 2019 they will collect a basket full of plastic from the Malindi beach in Kenya.

The first beach clean up will take place on the 5th of June (World Environment Day) and the second will take place at the end of July.

Aspiga gifted me a pair of their Kenyan Sandals as a thank you for attending the launch and for me to try out!  They are very soft, very comfortable (size up if you are between sizes) and I love the detail - every pair is handmade by artisans in Kenya - every bead is attached individually, I watched a video of them being made and wow such attention to detail!

Above: Naisha Soft Sole Sandals in Orange/Pink from Aspiga, shown with Lilah Multi-Way Dress from Boden and Lola Earrings from Toria Lee Accessories.  Kenyan Sandals also shown below with beaded anklet also from Aspiga.

The skirt I am wearing here is the Floral Print Skirt from Zara and yes it is viscose but it didn't crease much and having a pattern is much more forgiving, you can't see the creases!!  I loved wearing this skirt on Saturday, it was cool and pretty, soft and comfortable, it has a smocked elasticated waist with button detail down the front.  I am wearing it with a simple vest tee from Uniqlo.

There won't be any new blogs going up while I am away on holiday but I will still be posting my daily outfits on Instagram so make sure you are following me if you want some more packing ideas, some of my dresses are from my wardrobe so will give styling ideas and some will be new this season.

You can read my recent post about choosing a bikini here.

Where are you off to on holiday?  Let me know in the comments below, I love to hear from you.  We are going early this year as my daughter has finished sixth form so we get to go before the summer holiday rush, and it's cheaper!

Love from 
Michelle xx

Disclaimer: the Kenyan sandals were gifted to me by Aspiga.  Some of my links are affiliate links which means that the brand knows you have come to their website from here and I may get a small commission if you buy something and keep it.  This small income goes towards the running costs of my blog so I am very thankful for every click. ​​​

Above:  This is what I wore to the Aspiga brunch, it was the week of Chelsea Flower Show and I loved looking at all the gorgeous floral displays as part of Chelsea in Bloom and as a bonus it was a warm sunny day.  My dress is new, it is the Animal Print Midi Dress from Karen Millen and I adore it, I think it will come to Turkey with me, as it has cotton lining!  My circle bag is from The Wendy House and is by Powder.

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