How to do camping if you love looking good.

This blog post is for stylish women who want to be comfortable and practical while camping. I promise you it is possible to be both effortlessly chic and have fun camping.

 

Confession time, I’m quite a recent convert to camping. My younger years of camping involved two “interesting” experiences of camping. The first involved me being almost asphyxiated by Impulse spray by a friend who tried to cover the smell of BO in the tiny tent (it didn’t work). The other camping trip was on a nudist beach in a party town in Spain, it’s a long story and no I didn’t follow the dress code ;)

 So when my kids begged me to go on a class camping trip I was reluctant to say the least. Not only because of my previous experiences but also because I love clothes and dressing up. You can imagine then the expressions on the faces of my friends and family when I returned home triumphant from my camping trip and ready to book for the following year. What was the secret? Firstly we stayed at an Embers Campsite which although isn’t glamping does have lovely showers and on-site pizzas. ( I’m a sucker for a pizza) We also had the best company, there’s nothing like relaxed time with fab friends where you can stumble into your tent after a fab fireside night. If you’re reading this and were on this camping trip-thank you for making me change my mind about all things tent related.

 The second reason (and the purpose for this blog, apologies for taking so long to get to the point) was because I still cared about what I wore. I spent more time on my packing list for my clothes than I did on everything else combined. I’ve stuck with the same capsule wardrobe every year since and it’s a winner come rain or shine. I’ve got three weekends camping in a row this summer and confident these outfits will work for every one. So here goes…

 Here is my capsule wardrobe for camping that will have you smiling whatever the weather.

 OUTFIT 1

Printed dress- H&M and I know it will be a forever friend in my wardrobe as it so versatile and great to layer.

Leggings- Calzedonia. Leather look for that festival vibe. Great to wear under the dress when it's chilly.

Long top- Gap. Great to have first thing in the morning when it's still chilly.

Flip Flops- Havaina for when it's hot and you want to pop in and out of the tent without traipsing in mud.

Scrunchie- my own design (www.singleswan.co.uk). Easy way to keep your hair out of your face while doing all the glamourous camping tasks. Love this neon yellow, it is made from the same fabric as the Evelyn Belt that was featured in The Times by the amazing Anna Murphy on Wednesday 11th May (apologies for the shameless plug)

 OUTFIT 2

Slogan sweatshirt - my own design (www.singleswan.co.uk) to give a bit of sparkle while still being casual.

Vest-Uniqlo. Fab as it is Heat Tech, good for cold or warm weather

Tracksuit bottoms-Hush. Fabulously comfortable with great little details

Snow Boots-Decathlon. If you are like me and nearly always have cold feet you can't go wrong bringing some of these.

Puffer Coat-Uniqlo. Love this colour as it goes with everything.

 OUTFIT 3

Dungarees-Anthropologie in the sale. Comfortable and great for layering.

T-shirt-Bimba & Lola. Printed t-shirt is great for hiding ketchup stains or marshmallow

Trainers-Superga. Metallic is brilliant for dressing up an otherwise casual look

Raincoat-Rainkiss. I am in love with these. Pack up really small

I love this raincoat so much it deserves a photo all of its own.

I’ve got some more fab tips in my newsletter. You can sign up using the comments box at the bottom. Type in the message section that you would like to be added to the newsletter.

As always, let me know your thoughts and whether you’d like more blogs about things like this. I want to offer as helpful information as I can to the Single Swan Community. A little way of saying thank you for your incredible support.

 

Don’t forget, take some time to be kind to yourself.

 Alicia x