🎶🎵 Blue-jean baby, L.A. lady 🎵🎶

Hello my Darlings! I hope you are well, and surviving this heat 🥵

If you are a regular follower of my blog or social media channels, you might have seen that recently I took off stateside, and flew off to sunny California.

Well, I’m back, and having let reality hit fairly hard, I’m now ready to share the most incredible trip with you! Whilst I plan on doing a bit of a travel series to show you what I got up to (action packed itinerary incoming!), I thought I would start with my wardrobe – and what actually made the cut to come out with me!

I really want to say that my packing was well thought out, but for my trip, covid testing was still in place, so I had my test via a video call, 3 hours before leaving. Up until I got my test results, I had packed very minimally just in case I wasn’t actually going! I shared very little on my social media channels about my outfit details, as I was so busy sharing everything I got up too, so I wanted to put all the details together for you in an easy guide!

🌎 Packing for a Holiday 🌎

Naturally for a holiday, you have to pack a capsule wardrobe. So you will generally find you take pieces which are either neutral in colour, easy to pair with multiple things, or are light and airy (and therefore means you can cram even more in!). I have never been a great packer, because I am actually the worst outfit planner (controversial right?!?!). The thing is, I dress based on my mood, how I feel, what I want to wear, and that can change. I find planning too far ahead hard – so you’ll generally find my wardrobe is made up of key pieces in neutral colours, which have the ability to be paired in a multitude of ways.

When it comes to packing for a holiday, there are multiple things to consider, including the weather, itinerary, how much space you have, and whether you want to buy anything or take what you already have. Once you have these basics, you can start to make a list of things you would like to take with you. Something crucial to member is this – if you take 5 items which are all neutral and easy to style, you could make up to 25 different outfit combinations. If you take 5 bold, statement pieces, you could limited yourself to just 5 outfits (or less!!). I know this theory isn’t exact – but you see the point I am making. If you were to take a pair of white jeans, a pair of denim shorts, a dress, and 3 neutral tops, you could make 7 outfits, instead of potentially only 3!

For a hot holiday, I would work off taking a couple of dresses, skirts, trousers and shorts, all in neutral colours, and then taking a variety of tops with you, which will be able to work across all the bottoms. Dresses also generally take up less space so I like to pack more of these, plus I generally enjoy wearing them more in the summer.

I know there is a temptation to buy a whole new wardrobe for holiday, whilst this might feel lovely, it is also a great opportunity to think if there is a gap in your wardrobe for something you could buy, that will also hold its place after the holiday, as well as looking at pieces you haven’t worn in a while that you may wish to style. My outfit is made up of investment pieces which are generally more expensive, and then everyday basics, which I may have got from the likes of Primark. I generally find that accessories, footwear and jackets are great investment pieces – which will lift the whole look and feel of your outfit. Often my friends will think I am wearing something expensive, and it is actually from a high street brand, but the look has been elevated with my investment pieces. This is a great rule to work by!

My California Wardrobe

So here it is, the pieces I packed to take with me on my week long trip to California. I think I utilised the space in my suitcase well, and all of the pieces complimented each other, and worked well together. You’ll find a lot of the pieces were neutral, blue and all very complimentary of each other, which gave me lots of different outfit options to pick from. As I mentioned above, I didn’t have outfits set in stone, more ideals and then pieces which could be easily mixed and matched to make suitable outfits on the day

🛫 Travel Day 🛬

Comfort is key!

When it comes to flying, it’s all about being comfortable, and heading over to California is a long way.

I knew what I wanted to wear for travel day, so I didn’t have too many issues putting this together. I fell in love with the Joules Tanya printed active leggings after a collaboration I did with them, so I went in search of the plain black pair for this trip. Sadly they are no longer online, but I managed to find a pair on the ebay outlet, and they have just released a similar pair in their new in clothing now! I teamed these with just a plain white tee, and a denim jacket and trainers for a casual and comfortable look. This style looked great at the airport, but was comfortable enough when sat down for a good 11 hours!

Whilst I arrived Sunday afternoon, we had a fairly chilled afternoon getting settled and getting some food, so I didn’t worry too much about my outfit.

Outfit details

Denim Jacket | Joules
White Tee | Joules
Black Leggings | Joules
Alexandra Trainers | Fairfax & Favor

🏄🏻‍♀️ Day One 🏄🏻‍♀️

Beach please!

My first full day in California, and I wanted to make my outfit a good one! This day was a fairly relaxed beach/sights day, so I opted for a summery dress for the day, and changed into a casual outfit for a sunset beach walk after dinner at the end of the day.

My H&M dress was a huge hit a couple of years ago and it sold out pretty quickly in store. I managed to bag one at the time, but whilst I wasn’t sure about it, I am so glad I stuck with it, because it is one of my favourites now. It is unique with it’s cut out design, and the print is just so pretty. This teamed effortlessly with an easy pair of tan sandals and matching bag. Such an easy look to pull together, and it looks like so much more time went into getting ready than actually did.

Of course the crocs made it over the California – you didn’t think I would be leaving those behind did you?! Honestly, when I say these are the most comfortable, fun shoes, I mean it. There’s nothing a croc can’t do, and they really found their own in America!

Outfit details

Dress | H & M
Adira Bag | Salthouse England
Sandals | Holland Cooper
Sunglasses | Primark

Denim Jacket | Joules
V Neck Vest | H & M
Black Jeans | Love Leggings
Footwear | Crocs

🤠 Day Two 🤠

“If I was a cowboy, I’d be the queen”

I wouldn’t say this outfit was planned, but it was a HOT day, and we were heading out into the desert, so I knew I wanted to be wearing something to keep fairly cool. My plan had been to pick up a cowboy hat out here, so I simply picked an outfit which would work well. Denim shorts are not something I typically pick out of my wardrobe day to day as I tend to opt for dresses, but for exploring an old Wild West town, they were perfect! I teamed with an easy bodysuit, which I just find works so much better than normal tops when tucking in.

I took the matching sandals and belt from Fairfax & Favor in the new Cornflower colour way, these together create such a seamless look.

Outfit details

🎬 Day Three 🎬

“Bright lights and the big city“

I think this might have been one of my favourite days for an outfit to come together. This dress from Rupert & Buckley is so pretty, and it has so many colours running through it, which you can pick out to match accessories with. This dress suits the Fairfax & Favor Cornflower so well, but it also compliments with Navy perfectly. The brand new Heeled Brancaster Sandals from F&F made for the perfect footwear for Hollywood, and teamed with a dress and matching accessories, it’s such an easy to put together outfit. Minimal effort but high style!

The evening meal outfit kept to a classic white midi dress, teamed again with the Heeled Brancaster Sandals and matching belt. I chose to dress down the look a little with my favourite denim jacket from Joules.

Outfit details

⛰ Day Four ⛰

Adventure awaits!

Heading to Catalina Island was a completely magical day out. Climbing to the very top of the Island called for a practical outfit, so I opted for jeans and trainers. Catching the ferry over to the Island meant that I needed to pack something warm for the travel as well as cool enough for during the day.

I teamed a Primark bodysuit with Holland Cooper Jeans, and you guessed it, that Joules denim jacket that keeps on making an appearance, then finished off with the Fairfax & Favor trainers. I have a slight confession, until last month I didn’t actually own a pair of ‘casual’ trainers. I am more the sort of person that thinks ‘there’s no occasion a loafer isn’t appropriate for’. However, if anyone is to convert me, it’s F&F- and I think they actually have! These trainers were so comfy all day, and they looked the part too!

Outfit details

🎢 Day Five 🎢

Life’s a ride!

Having visited Calico on the Tuesday, Knotts Berry Farm was a must on the agenda. It is more of a theme park now than it used to be, so again practical clothing was a must. Of course this was another opportunity to get the F&F Alexandra Trainers out, and this time I opted for a Primark bodysuit and Rupert & Buckley shorts. I did also take a lightweight navy cardi with me. This was was really quite warm again, so being comfortable and cool was key.

Outfit details

⛵️ Day Six ⛵️

Seas the day

A full beach day gave me chance to soak up the sun, and top up the tan prior to leaving. I just love Huntington Beach, I could sit there for hours people watching and enjoying the views. My bikini was simply from Shein, and as a cover up in the morning I used my Linen shirt from Whale of a Time Clothing. This look is classic but also practical!

The sunset beach walk consisted of the denim shorts back out again, accompanied by the ever popular Exeter 1/4 zip from Schoffel to keep the breeze off. The crocs were then on hand for splashing in the water as required!

Outfit details

Sunglasses | Primark
Black Bikini | Shein
Stamford Linen Shirt | Whale of a Time Clothing

Exeter Heritage 1/4 Zip | Schoffel
Denim Shorts | Primark
Footwear | Crocs

✈️ Day Seven ✈️

“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”

Another travel day outfit, and sadly the going home outfit is never quite as fun is it. I was straight back into my Joules leggings and an oversized tee for the morning of breakfast at Rubys and a walk along the beach and pier. For the airport, I switched out the crocs for my F&F trainers, and added my Joules denim jacket.

These Joules leggings were so comfortable for travelling. They are really nicely high waisted so they offer comfort and support, whilst being super stretchy and soft.

Outfit details

Cowboys Graphic Tee | Shein
Black Active Leggings | Joules
Footwear | Crocs
Adira Bag | Salthouse England

If you’re interested in more California content, my travel diaries are on the way very soon!

That’s all for now my Darlings.

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See you soon!

Lots of love, Lucinda xo