1 Slip Dress + 3 Accessory Tool Kits For 3 Summer Adventures

Summer travel is just around the corner! Many of you may already be making lists and planning what to pack for your big summer adventure. While most of us aim to take as little as possible for ease of travel, we still want to make sure we feel like ourselves wherever we go. The best way to do this is to utilize the items you already have in your closet and use accessories and layering pieces to play the role of your personal style builders. You may be travelling to Europe or heading on a tropical holiday, and may actually pack the same core pieces for either trip. What will change is how you style and adorn yourself. Use your accessories as tools.

For inspiration, I’ve taken one beautiful slip dress that I could travel the world with and applied some clever layering, styling, and my accessory tool kits, to  create multiple looks. Let’s create an accessory tool kit for three different types of trips.

The European Vacation

I picture this trip to be one filled with days of sightseeing, shopping local artisan shops, coffees outside and art gallery visits. Then, after a full day, a gorgeous night out to the best little local restaurant just around the corner from the hotel. For this my accessory tool kit would include: 

• a variety of bold stud earrings
• pearl necklaces that can be layered
• interesting silk scarves
• a vintage necklace
• classic, oversized sunglasses
• and an incredible large bag for day that has a pop out insert for night

The Day Look: I’ve layered an easy linen, button up top, in a neutral over the slip dress. I’ve opted for sleek and comfortable leather sandals to coordinate with the bag. I’ve also popped on the silk scarf in lieu of a necklace, and have my sunglasses to complete the look. 

The Evening Look: I kept the same black leather sandal for night. I’ve taken out the bag insert to use as a clutch for only my essentials. I layered on two pearl necklaces and adorned my ears with vintage floral studs. For an easy layering piece, I’ve draped a beautiful, black, cotton button-up shirt over my shoulders.

The Tropical Vacay

For this type of vacation, I imagine days by the pool and lunch on a patio in the sun. Then, nights spent sipping sangria with the sound of waves and music serenading me while feasting on local cuisine.  For a more laid back, beachy vacay, the accessory tool kit would include: 

• bold, beachy earrings
• jiggly bangle bracelets 
• large, playful sunglasses
• shell jewelry like a long beaded necklace adorned with shells or an anklet
• scrunchies and scarves to tie in your hair
• a sun hat
• an oversized bag

The Day Look: This time the slip dress got thrown over a swimsuit. For a poolside vibe, I added whicker earrings, a straw hat, and simple slides. The oversized bag will hold all my essentials like a towel, sunscreen and a bottle of water and looks great while doing it.

The Evening Look: It’s the same dress, the same slides, and the same fabulous bag. For evening, I slicked the hair back into a sleek pony and accessorized with some statement earrings, a long simple necklace, and finished the look off with a shell anklet. The look screams holiday.

Big City Exploring

Imagine a trip where you get to explore a new city for the first time. These are the kinds of trips where you get all your steps in. Picture a city like San Francisco where you start your day with a latte and pastries in Little Italy, then make your way to Chinatown for a historical walking tour and lunch, and then an afternoon of sifting through vintage shops. Then picture an evening where you hop on a trolley to take you to The Top of The Mark for a night of food, cocktails, and live music. To help take you through all the different parts of your day, your accessory tool kit could include: 

• a beautiful watch
• hoop earrings of various sizes
• a pair of funky, statement earrings
• quirky sunglasses
• bold, colourful bangles
• a stylish backpack
• a cute, thrifted, beaded bag for nighttime

The Day Look: That same beautiful, and oh-so-versatile slip dress is once again doing all the sartorial work. For day, it’s cute with a graphic tee layered overtop and crewneck tied around your waist, but off to the side for some added interest. A stylish pair of sandals that strap onto your feet for maximum comfort while walking everywhere are perfect summer travel footwear. From the tool kit, the sunglasses, the watch, a pair of hoops and the backpack. 

The Evening Look: Yes, the same dress and sandals again, but with a new group of items from the tool kit. Now for some pops of glamour, the bold statement earrings and colourful bangles. To add a bit more glam, the coordinating beaded bag. For style and practicality, I’ve taken the crew neck that was tied around my waist during the day and wrapped it around my neck as a scarf for evening. Bonus, is that it can be thrown on over the dress for that cool San Francisco night walk back to the hotel.

Everyone’s accessory tool kit will look different. The key is to choose pieces that help you elevate your basics and get versatility out of the items you packed. You can apply this same approach to a pair of black pants and a white T-shirt, as you can to a pair of linen shorts and black tank top, as you can to a beautiful slip dress. Feeling your best while on holiday is about feeling like yourself. Dig through your closet and your accessories and see what you can come up with for your travel wardrobe and tool kit. —Jen Pistor