La Dolce Vita and Rome, Not Much Longer, I am coming.
This spring I am planning a long weekend in Rome.
I have missed Italy and in particular Rome. It is time to be enchanted with the Italians lust for life and to luxuriate in the architectural beauty of the Eternal City.
Rome is one of those destinations, like Paris, where there can never be too many visits and where each visit feels like the first.
In preparation I am working my way through my Roman movie list and letting my imagination take hold.
La Dolce Vita, the sets and the costumes, will be my inspiration for what to pack in the suitcase. I have no idea where to stay as yet (all ideas most welcome) but I know exactly what I want to see and do. Like many travellers I have my re-visits, my must-do’s and I have my new adventures to create. I like to plan a mix of both; the familiar and the unknown.
Isn’t that what travel is all about?
The art of mixing adventure, excitement with comfort and familiarity. The feeling of “coming home” when you are so far away from home is the perfect destination; making new ports of call our homes away from home.
The question is what to pack? What will be in the suitcase?
Taking inspiration from La Dolce Vita it must be black and white. I am feeling embellishment and a touch of glamour; a trip can’t be all sightseeing and sneakers. I immediately revert to layers, to cashmere and silk as the accessory for a chilly evening and to earrings, darling and dangling, as my dress-everything-up fall back
Black with white or white with black in the day; I am thinking trousers and tees to swap with a silk blouse. A puffer style vest will take me everywhere but don’t imagine a practical style, this pretty is the one I want. This will work over tees and trousers and equally over this divine La Dolce Vita inspired dress.
I have recently discovered Halsbrook, an online destination created by Halsey Schroeder. The site has been live since 2012 and was developed by Halsey to showcase beautiful pieces that stand the test of time. Halsey wanted “the shopping experience to be elegant and effortless from start to finish.”
It is a refreshing change to come upon a curation that is specific to our needs and that offers pieces to be not only affordable but also beautifully designed. I am a fan and have been letting my fingers do the “packing” for this trip.
I am planning three nights in Rome and as a lover of Italian food I can’t imagine I will be staying in. Call me old-fashioned but I love dressing for dinner, wherever I am. Friday night will be all about the dressier black pants and a fabulous top with that beaded puffer vest I mentioned and Saturday evening is where the LBD will work it’s way out of the suitcase.
Sunday evening might be pizza and gelato (the regime must be abandoned in Rome) and Samantha Sung will come to my rescue.
Daytime dressing and destinations don’t alter much for me. I stay with my tried and tested formula of pants, tees and a jacket. A blazer or the puffer will work over everything I pack. That is my major consideration; everything must work together.
I want the journey to start with the pack and for the planning to be part of the pleasure.
Life out of a suitcase is far more compelling when the expectation of adventure is as much a part of travel as the arrival.
La Dolce Vita, I cannot wait. xv
La Dolce Vita: What’s In The Suitcase
by day
belford sweater // **piazza sempione black pants // **belford black and white tee // lk bennett tweed jacket
**samantha sung sunshine dress
day and night
***glamourpuss quilted vest // kobi halperin v neck blouse with flutter sleeves // **les copains black tweed top with beading
**bajra black and white paisley silk scarf // lorenza gandaglia woven handbag // **minnie rose poncho
by night
elie tahari lace mallory dress // les copain stretch knit dress // piece of cloth stretch crepe pant // ellie tahari lace blouse
antonelli albanga white poplin top
Thank you Halsbrook for the inspiration and for sponsoring, La Dolce Vita: What’s In The Suitcase
images, la dolce vita directed by frederico fellini
