Finally! We’ve crossed the threshold into summer and vacation season!  Are you planning a getaway soon?  If so, you’ve come to the right blog because in it we will show you six of our most versatile pieces that can be worn day or night so you can concentrate on looking good and travel lightly.  Come along and find out how you can mix and match a silk capsule wardrobe that’s perfect for traveling far away and even sticking close for a restful staycation!   

Whether you like the planning part of the vacations or not most people will agree that one of the bigger tasks to getting away is packing your bag (even worse if you must pack for a family)!  This chore is ranked second in the top four stressors for travelers according to Travel Agent Central, 49% of respondents checked this off!  In fact, a survey by Wyndham Vacation Rentals found that half of all respondents disliked packing so much that they would give up alcohol for a month or (gasp!) social media for a week to avoid doing it! 

That’s drastic, but what’s more drastic is the state of vacationing in the U.S.  Project: Time Off has uncovered an alarming trend: over the last 40 years, American vacation usage has declined dramatically and more alarmingly, that 52% percent of us leave vacation time on the table.  

If there’s any advice we can give you here (besides what to pack in that suitcase) it is to take your vacation time people! 

If you are one of the 49% that has an aversion to packing, the best approach would be to start early and keep it light. It doesn’t matter about the weather at your destination, picking versatile pieces from your closet is going to be your best bet.  Going naked is also an option plus it will get you through airport security much more quickly but most people prefer to be clothed when sitting next to a stranger in an airplane (or anywhere for that matter)!  And look, if you overpack and end up with a heavy suitcase that weighted suitcase comes with some challenges including… 

• Extra baggage fees 
• Potential lifting injuries from the heavy load 
• Slower boarding 
• Damage to luggage 

With that in mind, let’s start packing!  What would our suitcase look like for a trip to the Royal Davui Island Resort in Fiji??? 

We plan to take these items of clothing, (shoes, etc not included on list) and using just seven pieces from our Julianna Rae closet to cover most of what is on our list (checked items covered by Julianna Rae pieces): 

• Bathing suit 
• Bathing suit cover-up ✓ 
• T-shirt(s) 
• Casual top ✓ 
• Casual bottom ✓ 
• Casual jacket ✓ 
• Dress for Evening ✓ 
• Evening bottoms ✓ 
• Evening Top ✓ 
• Pajamas ✓ 

Our Seven Picks: 

Pieces 1 & 2 as Beach and pool cover-up, casual look top and bottom: 

Either one of our pure cotton hoodies would be great for a beachy vacation.  The J’Adore Cotton Hoodie is modern and functional and will work as a casual outer layer for cool breezes or air-conditioned lobbies. Even better, it looks fab as a beach or pool cover up.  Bring along our cotton J’Adore Short Sleeve Pjs and you can pair the top with jeans for exploring or the shorts with a comfy t-shirt and golden tan.  Long day of touring? This outfit easily goes to bed with you when you’re tired! 

Pieces 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 to sparkle in for day or night! 

When you’re ready to check out the nightlife or enjoy dinner at an elegant restaurant, our Hello Lovely collection, available in separates and sets, has it all!  You can show off your glowing skin in our knee-length, beautiful floral print silk nightgown which becomes the perfect slip dress for the evening. Alternately, you could go with the PJ bottoms from the same collection and pair them with the matching camisole from Hello Lovely or pick a camisole from the Paradise Found collection and complete the look with a pair of strappy sandals and you get instant pizzazz! The Paradise Found silk camisole is a great choice as an addition to a capsule wardrobe because we’ve designed this to look different depending on what side is worn.  One side is a very modern halter neckline for instant glam while the other becomes a décolletage baring V-neck. Wear it one way the first night, flip it around the next night, and no one will be wiser!   

The best part about either the cotton or silk pieces is that they can also be worn to bed.  Laundering is a simple handwash and hang to dry for any of the silk items.  And, we would be remiss if we also didn’t point out that silk dries super-fast so you can head to the pool in your bathing suit while they hang to dry easily converting from sleepwear to lounge or evening wear. 

Of course, if your evening is a little more casual, we would grab the silk short from Hello Lovely, add a simple t-shirt and top with a sweater (or our cotton hoodie in white) and these pieces will make the perfect outfit for an evening stroll on the beach. 

Extras 

Even with 2 cotton pieces and 4 silk pieces plus a silk camisole we still have room in our suitcase for extras and who doesn’t love extras?  Assuming our resort has a spa, we would take along the Heavenly Spa Wrap or the J’Adore Short Cotton Spa Wrap. Both robes come lined with a soft micro-terry so it feels like a welcoming wrap, après massage or shower. 

And finally, we’ll take along the Bon Voyage Travel Kit which includes travel sizes of all-natural shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer, and organic handmade soaps and a silk travel bag to keep our worn lingerie items tucked away from our clean ones.  The silk travel bag comes with two zippered compartments and can be rolled or laid flat to fit in our amazingly roomy suitcase!  A few  large and small lingerie wash bags would be great additions to keep our suitcase organized.  Since, these items are small why not throw in the Coquette Beauty Spa Bow Headband for some end-of-day self-care and the Light’s Out Silk Sleep Mask with its own storage bag.  And finally, we would throw in a skinny scarf (or two) as they barely take up any room in the suitcase and can be used to decorate your sun hat, as a belt, and as a scarf around your neck or in your hair and you don’t get much more versatile than that!

There you have it!  A complete travel capsule wardrobe for our beachy getaway.  It won’t take nearly as long to pack now and the airport scale will thank you for shedding the unnecessary baggage.  Bon voyage and we’ll see you in the next blog! 

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Deb Fries works with the Julianna Rae team to offer the best shopping experience for quality silk and cotton sleepwear while also writing for the blog at Juliannarae.com.