What To Wear For A Summer City Break

City breaks can be a pain in the arse to dress for as it is. They don't have the easy luxury of a beach holiday where you just have to chuck in a few bikinis, some playsuits and a pair of basic bitch sunglasses and you're good to go. You'll be doing a lot of walking, exploring, eating and of course, sweating and your outfits have got to reflect that because after all, we're all looking for that balance between comfort and style for these kinds of trips. I consider myself quite experienced in this area of travel fashion, mainly due to the fact that I've made some absolutely terrible fashion choices for city breaks over the years (which I'll get into later!) just so you don't have to; here are my top tips for packing wisely for a summer city break.

DRESSES

The thing I wear the most of on city breaks is definitely dresses. I think we have this idea in our heads that dresses are more for going out or for on an evening but for me, that's definitely not the case. In fact, I think that I have more day time and casual dresses in my wardrobe than going out dresses! The last summer city break I went on was a couple of weeks back in June when Jess and I went to Madrid (you might have caught my WHY MADRID SHOULD BE ON YOUR TRAVEL BUCKET LIST blog post) and light dresses were a day time saviour because it was hot. My personal fav was the Zara Off The Shoulder Dress you can see in the photos above. I wore it with my extra as f pink sunglasses (obvs) and a throwback style hairband that I picked up while exploring the shops in the city. I choose simple dresses that are quite loose fitting and spacious (gotta leave room for the tapas food baby), so they're comfortable and cool but also look really well put together at the same time. 

I also love strappy midi dresses for these kinds of trips as well. Again, loose fitting, meaning that they'll keep you cool and you can easily wear them with trainers and any other type of comfy shoes (more on my previous foot-related holiday disasters later). Midi dresses are great for going from day to night too and get the balance between casual and dressy bang on for when you can't be arsed to go back to the hotel room and get changed for your evening meal and let's be honest, by the third night this is pretty much inevitable isn't it. 

I'll link some of my fav day time dresses perfect for a city break below too - there's a load of great ones in the sales at the mo'!

ACCESSORIES

Because I like to keep things a bit simple on city breaks, accessories can come in really handy in jazzing things up a bit. I always take the same bag and it's this old favourite of mine that's a bit more on the pricey side but is well worth the extra dough. It's from my beloved Farfetch and is by Chloe and honestly, I don't know where I would have been the last few months without it (okay maybe that's my dramatic side coming out...). It's very classy but simple so will match most outfits you cram into your suitcase which is why I love it so much; even at home this baby never leaves my shoulder. Belts are another accessory I've been loving at the moment. I never really used to be into them because I thought that they were ridiculously priced for what they are and for the most part, they can be! Some belts I've looked at and they've been upwards of thirty quid and ya gal just ain't paying that much for a strip of material I'm afraid. However, I did splash out on a couple of £15 belts from ASOS and Topshop and I've never looked back. This one in the photos is from Topshop and I also have a double buckle one from ASOS and I don't know what it is but I just feel like they bring an outfit together?! Especially when it's "jeans and a nice top" outfit, similar to what I'm wearing here! 

Here's the link to the Lemon Off The Shoulder Top

SHOES

I'm not being dramatic but your choice of shoes to take on holiday is probably one of the most important decisions you'll ever make in your entire life. More important than who you'll choose to marry, which job you'll choose to take or any other significant decision because holiday shoes will either make or break your entire existence when travelling. Take the time I was in Rome for example. I decided to take two pairs of shoes, both of which were gorgeous heeled sandals. I had visions of myself frolicking up and down the Italian streets, eating pizza, wearing a sunhat and having a glorious time. What actually happened was that the heeled sandals of course dug into my ankle and made what I can only describe as a crater, which then got horribly infected and when I woke up in the middle of the night with it throbbing, I tried to stand up and my leg just caved in because it couldn't take any weight. Picture waking up at 3am and finding me sobbing quietly with my foot in the sink running cold water on it. Hilarious I know, but you really don't want to recreate that story. 

For Madrid, I took two pairs of shoes. The ones I wear on holiday the most are my beloved black sliders and I'm devastated that they've been worn so much that they're literally falling to pieces now. Sliders are the perfect city break shoe as they're comfortable, look really stylish and also go with just about anything you could take. I wore mine with dresses, shorts, playsuits...you name it, I've worn sliders with it. Secondly, I always take a pair of comfy trainers. There's nothing more satisfying than putting your foot in a squashy well worn trainer after a few days of wandering around the city. Plus, recently I've been loving wearing dresses and skirts with trainers for laid-back but well put together vibes! 

p.s here's the link to the ditsy floral skirt! 

Amy x

POST CONTAINS GIFTED ITEMS. ALL WORDS AND OPINIONS REMAIN MY OWN.