The Italian Style Diaries | Travelling Chic

Ciao, bellas!

As I write this, I'm suffering severe withdrawal symptoms from our stunning Italian getaway, which was filled with so much of the stuff which makes a holiday great - delicious food, beautiful scenery, golden sunshine, discovering new places and culture, and spending time together as a family.

Landing back into a distinctly autumnal UK has been a shock, and we all feel like we've been away for months. Italy is a hugely special place to us and somewhere that we return to time and again. Blame the gelato!

Holidays give us all a chance to relax the usual rules in many ways, and that includes experimenting with style and wearing things that we either wouldn't be bold enough to at home or that the weather never quite gets good enough for...

A couple of years ago, when I went to Lake Garda, I shared a post each day of the outfits I wore, and I'm planning to do the same again. So here we go with day one of my holiday style diary.

'The Captain' trousers | Current/Elliott

Navy buttoned linen camisole | V by Very

Patterened jacket | Maison Scotch

Ant embroidered scarf | Paul Smith

Nude jelly flats | Melissa x Vivienne Westwood

'Le Pliage' tote in Graphite | Longchamp

Travelling is an area of style that I find hugely interesting - the challenge of finding a look that is both stylish and comfortable. I'm not sure I've ever really nailed it, but God loves a trier!

A taxi ride, a two hour flight and a hour's drive in the rental car from the airport to our holiday villa, with a baby and a pre-schooler in tow means that comfort and practicality have to be the top of the agenda, as well as finding something which works for both the English and Italian climates.

Silk trousers are usually my comfy-but-chic travel secret, but this time I opted for these loose fit sand coloured trousers. I sized up thinking they'd be small but they were actually a bit too big. I paired them with a navy cami top - the details on this one, such as the large buttons and square cut neckline with thick straps really sold it to me.

On the UK side of the journey, where it was colder, I chose this patterned jacket to slip over the top - its soft and easy to roll up and slide in your bag when you hit hotter shores. The silhouette is quite tailored and formal, which I liked paired with the looser trouser shape, but the pattern gives it more of an off-duty feel.

On my feet, I like to wear something I can slip on and off super quickly, and these nude coloured jelly flats were ideal - easy to kick on and off and very low-key. I've had them for years but they're such a useful shoe.

A large, lightweight scarf is something I'm never without when I travel - it comes in handy when the temperature drops mid-flight, and also provides an airy layer to keep the sun off your shoulders or use as a makeshift blanket or pool cover-up on holiday.

I love the embroidery on this one, which you can't see very well in the pictures. It looks like an abstract or a floral from far away, but close up you can see its actually ants. I'm not a huge fan of creepy-crawlies in real life but I do love accessories with insects for some reason.

This was also the case with my headband, which is a navy, red and gold striped satin with a bee print. I am totally loving the return of alice bands at the moment and expanding my collection all the time.

The Le Pliage tote is one of the most practical, chic and versatile bags I own and nearly always acts as my travel companion - it works as well for city sightseein and shopping and it does for a day at the beach or cabin baggage and holds a tonne of stuff.

Our first day was mainly about reaching the destination and then relaxing, unpacking and discovering the villa - and Theo had to join in with some of my outfit shots, of course.