Summer Vacation Capsule

It has been a while since I thought about a capsule wardrobe. In recent years, I have not found the concept attractive or useful; having an arbitrary limit on my “creative tools” (aka my clothes) seems rather pointless when the goal is to have fun and give full rein to my creative expression. That being said, when I was preparing for our family’s summer vacation this year, and preparing the clothes I was going to bring, it struck me that I was engaging in a bit of capsuling. Or, in other words, making a list.

But “capsule” does sound fancier, doesn’t it?

What is interesting is that, for the first time, I actually do have a legitimate vacation “capsule” — that is, a bunch of clothes that I keep specifically for our annual vacation to the lake (or similar activities, I suppose, though we don’t tend to be a very outdoorsy family). I have them packed away from the rest of my closet, and pull them out as the need arises. For the trip this year, I merely supplemented with a few new pieces — some from my current wardrobe, some bought specifically to add to the capsule.

Let’s talk specifics.

My sartorial goals for this type of vacation are, well, actually nil. I want to be comfortable, and I want to wear clothes that aren’t too fussy or expensive to replace if damaged. Let’s pause here to appreciate that this is a huge departure for me; I used to see vacations as a great opportunity to dress up, and let’s face it — I dress up to go to the grocery store. But since our vacationing has changed (we are less likely to travel to an urban centre, and more likely to be somewhere in the middle of nowhere), this is what progress looks like. Pants are long, loose and elastic-waisted (or leggings, for hiking). Shirts are cotton or linen; ditto dresses, which are also loose and flowy. Everything can be tossed in the washing machine, and I’m not going to lose sleep over it if I get some sunscreen onto anything. Basically, my vacation capsule is “coastal grandmother” minus the coastal part and the chic.

I did add a pair of shorts to the capsule this year, but mostly because I spotted a cute madras pair at the thrifts and couldn’t resist the colours. It was not an especially useful addition, I have to admit.

Here’s the list of what I packed for one week (we’ll get to some outfits in a moment):

• 1 windbreaker (wish I had also packed a warm hoodie as it was chillier than expected for a couple of days)
• 2 pairs of pants
• 1 pair of shorts
• 1 pair of leggings
• 2 dresses
• 2 shirts/tunics (doubling as cover-ups)
• 2 tank tops
• various swimsuits
• 2 pairs of sandals
• 1 pair of sneakers

On any given day, I had a couple of changes of clothes (we were in and out of the lake, and had some other outdoors activities mixed in) but pretty much everything was mix-and-match, and got re-worn at least once. I am never going to be the backpacking type, but I feel like I’ve managed to become far less “high maintenance” than I used to be — at least as far as my vacation wardrobe is concerned.

And now, for some outfits:

Very much mix-and-match practicality here — I probably could have done a few more combinations using these same pieces.

The shorts turned out to have been a good addition to the capsule — they’re very short which initially seemed liked a drawback (I prefer longer shorts) until I realized that they’re perfect for wading in lakes when I don’t want to get fully wet.

I didn’t take any outfit photos during the trip — can you believe it?? — until the very last day when I remembered:

I wore this dress two or three times, in fact — it’s easy to pack, easy to throw on, soft and stretchy, and perfect for when I feel the need for some colour without being the least bit fussy.

Occasionally I miss our “fancier” vacations (and the opportunity to dress up for them) but I have to say that, as sartorially boring as this trip was, I really enjoyed the slower pace and the beautiful scenery. Here’s one more photo of the view from our (very rustic!) motel balcony where I spent many hours soaking up the scenery and reading (4 books!):

And a few random photos to make up for the lack of fashion content on the trip: