style journal

vacations, summer dreaming & forever mood boarding

We recently booked our summer trip! Eeeeeeek! It worked out quite serendipitously, as we were just about to book a late spring holiday to Mexico when things aligned with friends of ours. I’m going to hold off on the details, but it will be a mix of woodsy-nature, beachy road trip, and city. I immediately felt the call to create a mood board, pulling images from other summer Pinterest boards I’d created and adding a few new ones. 

Mood boarding highlights what I’m drawn to and taps into the feeling I want when I’m away. It can also be quite practical, helping to outline what types of things to take on a trip. I am the classic example of someone who loves the idea and planning of a vacation as much as the actual vacation. And though summer holidays are a ways off, I think the worst clothing purchase decisions are made at the last minute before a trip. 

We went to Italy last year, and I made a similar board. As I went through the mood boarding process, it helped me pull pieces from my closet and put together looks. I also shopped more intentionally in the prior months, slowly picking up a few pieces I knew I would wear while away but also wanted to wear during the summer here. 

Let’s break down some of these images for my Pinterest board. If you also have summer vacation in the books and want to do some pre-planning/dreaming, this will hopefully give you some ideas.

Note: I’d like to highlight that Pinterest lacks racial diversity and women of different body types in its initial searches. Unless you are very targeted in the search bar, you basically get the same-looking woman in every search. Hence, these images don’t have many women of colour or diverse body types, versus when I pull images from IG, which are more reflective of the women I follow. I just felt like I should mention that. 

Alright, some of the themes that emerged in my pinning were: 

• tiny and larger-scaled printed dresses

• coloured sandals

• white dresses, pants, and tops (linen + cotton)

• the colours: white, pale yellow, washed out red, olive green

• weaved bags (leather + raffia)

• gold, statement jewellery 

Playfully coloured shoes with a white printed dress. I’m pretty basic with my summer shoes, but these images made me consider them in a fun colour. Also, a pretty anklet exudes laid-back summer to me.

Here, as well. The pale blue sandals look comfy and practical, and the raffia bag feels summery and laidback. I made the mistake of wearing very impractical flat brown sandals all over Italy last year and had the worst case of tendonitis on return. Travel shoes must be good for walking! Lesson learned.

All white and gold feels grecian and ethereal for summer. The more organic the gold jewellery, the better. I also appreciate inspiration pictures of covered looks for summer. I usually have some light layer over my dresses in the summer as my skin is sensitive to the sun, and I need to be careful.

I don’t usually wear printed pants, but I ended up pinning a few images of them. I love how they look paired with a white tee or linen shirt. I’m not sure if this is me, but I’m going to keep an eye out for a pair of pants in these colours, and see how I like them. If everything else is pared back, bohemian pants can look playful yet understated.

These make me think of Pakistani shalwar kameez prints. The green is so beautiful and paired with the laced up sandals the pants look summery and easy.

I love these pink silk ones, too! This isn’t practical for a family vacation (who will take care of satin pants in the woods and at the beach?), but how cute are these? Perhaps this look is more "beach house" than "road trip". A light, cotton sweater is also a must for cooler summer nights.

I love gingham and the cut of this matching set, thought I probably wouldn’t bare my midriff. I haven't seen many great options in stores in the last few summers, but I appreciate that you can wear sets in many ways—e.g., the skirt could be paired with another top and the top with linen pants. I bought a white set from Club Monaco last summer, but something with a print or pattern would be fab.

More gingham and I swooning over the cut of this dress. It could be paired with a cotton sweater or a denim jacket for chillier nights. I love how Laura is styled in the dress here - barefoot and red painted nails.

I love the sheath cut of the dress and the crisp white linen paired with the brown woven leather bag. The whole look exudes summer. I have a few white midi-length dresses I could wear similarly.

Here I’m drawn to both the colour combination and individual pieces - cream top, white linen skirt, black clogs, and raffia bag, LOVE.

I don't know if I could pull off this silhouette, but I love how billowy the sleeves are. The dress looks gorgeous with her wavy hair, and buttery leather bag. I'm just tucking this image away in my psyche. It's giving kaftan energy but with a little more structure on the sleeves. Perhaps cinching the waist with a skinny belt would work on me?

thoughts

After breaking down these pins, I realize I need an inspiration board for the more active parts of the trip - i.e., beach hikes, kayaking, etc. In my brain, this is my summer holiday energy, but I need a less dreamy, more realistic mood board for the realities of the trip. But like I said, this was summer dreaming! Stay tuned for a packing list come June.

I hope you enjoyed the trip inside my brain! I'd love to hear what your travel plans are this summer (if any) and how you plan for trips.

Be sure to leave a little heart if you enjoyed today's newsletter, and feel free to ask me anything style-related in the comments or via DM. I love to hear from you and connect!

Love,

Sana