Travel & Hotspots

TWO DAYS IN CAPRI AND A TOO SMALL SUITCASE

About a month ago, I had a bad day (one that suspiciously resembles this). Or at least a bad morning. Well, I had just had an unpleasant conversation and it was Tuesday. Stain upon stain as far as I was concerned. I was walking back from the meeting room to my desk when I saw a message from Danie Bles pop up with the text: “Dear May, I’m organizing a trip to Capri at the end of May. Would you like to join?”

And then the sun shone, the conversation I had just had was no longer so unpleasant, and it was no longer Tuesday but almost the weekend. Danie (a master at organizing lovely trips to the most beautiful places with always a fun group of people) + Capri together was simply heaven in May. “And we’re staying at the Capri Palace Hotel, where I got married.” I wondered if there was a superlative for heaven, because I would find it there.

In the category of deluxe anticipation, Danie already held a pre-Capri drink where, of course, (I say ‘of course’ because Danie is a champion at pampering) some goodies were ready for everyone. A Nikon camera, a beautiful beach towel from Babassu (the cutest spa shop in Amsterdam) and a sweet, but très petite suitcase. They came in old pink, baby blue, and a shade of yellow that was invented in diners in the sixties. It said SUITSUIT on it and they were the cutest. But it was a size zero. This suitcase was the Olivia Palermo of suitcases, you won’t find one smaller and more petite.

”But it was a size zero. This suitcase was the Olivia Palermo of suitcases, you won’t find one smaller and more petite”

I was cooing and chirping over it and ‘oh’s’, ‘ah’s’ and a ‘which color should I choose’ slipped out while I secretly also thought: is this the only suitcase we’re taking? Two days in Capri, at least six different outfits. How am I going to do that?

I decided to let it rest for a moment and test it at home, but when I used the suitcase (I’ll call her O.P. from now on) to transport an outfit for the evening, I found myself in a slight state of panic. It was actually a bit smaller than I had thought. Or my clothes were bigger, that could also be the case.

Then I decided to make a game out of it, calling it my Capri Challenge. How do I fit two days into a petite (but beautiful) suitcase? You might find this useful too.

Let me start by saying that I played unfairly. On Thursday, I already dropped off a pair of shoes, a toiletry bag, and a kaftan dress that takes up a lot of space at Danie’s. Otherwise, it really wouldn’t work. But it still remains a challenge.

1. Dress smartly on the plane

So I’m wearing heels. Liesbeth can shout a hundred times that it’s not chic, it saves precious space in my suitcase and that wins. Once on the boat (because to reach Capri you have to take the boat from Naples), I swap my heels for sandals, because on a boat, heels are really dangerous and silly, and besides, I can still have a little bag in my hand. I make sure that I can also wear the top of my outfit as a dress in the following days. Something with two flies and one slap.

2. Outbound outfit = return outfit

Maybe not the coziest, but it’s about the photo moments and those are really not made on the way back. So if I have to give up an outfit, it will be the travel outfit.

”I’m going with Danie, so it’s expected that you combine”

3. Mix & match

I’m going with Danie, so it’s expected that you combine. I have a yellow skirt from Patrizia Pepe that I wear with a black top and my black Dsquared pumps (which I, coward that I am, stuffed into Danie’s suitcase). The next day, I make an outfit with that top and the jeans I wear during the outbound trip (and return trip for that matter). That with a different heel and you have a completely different feel.

I also wear a small kimono-like dress as a top on my jeans during the outbound trip (and probably return as well) that I wear there in the sultry warmth without jeans. Gucci flip-flops underneath and where is the boat? There is the boat.

Furthermore, I have a great kaftan from Dodo Bar Or (check that site and buy it at Players in Haarlem, you’ll love it) and my good old Gucci dress (you know, the one Blake Lively also has). I just need to figure out which shoes that dress likes.

Then a small corner for the Nikon camera and a layer for my laptop and a small hole for some goodies on the way back, because they say you have the best designer outlet in the world there. And otherwise, I’ll just have it sent. Every disadvantage has its advantage and every problem has its solution.