Vacation Styles

That Dapper Chap takes us through the styles that he wore of this summers vacation

Standing in the Coliseum in El Djem, Tunisia

At the beginning of 2014 with snow on the ground, we set off to the travel agent to book our summer vacation. Looking through brochures and reviewing locations and hotels we started to get confused. Is it just me or after a while do they all start to look the same?

We ended up booking to go to Tunisia in North Africa. We'd been there twice before and knew the deal. Guaranteed heat, great hotels and culture and difficult to beat on price.

The coliseum at El Djem, Tunisia

A couple of weeks ago I posted an article about what to take on vacation so to follow that up I'll now take you through what I did wear to show the proof in my pudding.

Arriving tired and sweaty we checked in, showered and changed for dinner. I chose a dusty pink pair of shorts and a white long sleeved shirt. The shorts are from H&M at £25 ($43), the shirt is also H&M at £10 ($17). The bow tie is vintage from Etsy at £10 ($17), the belt is Primark at just £3 ($5) and the tassel leather loafers are from Ebay seller Withamyshop at £23 ($40)

A dapper vacation look

The pool side at the hotel in Port El Kantaoui 

The next evening after a day by the pool working on the tan I again opted for a look with shorts. These pale blue cotton shorts are from Burton Menswear at £27 ($46) and a light cotton bird print shirt from Zara. The shoes are from Primark at £12 ($20)and the bow tie is again from Etsy.

Dapper in a Zara short and vintage bow tie

The beautiful Zara bird print shirt

The next look was a slightly more preppy affair with a red, white & blue check shirt from GAP at £40 ($68). The pale coloured shorts are by Primark at £12 ($20). The vintage clip on bow tie is again from Etsy. The belt and hat are both from Primark at £3 and £5 respectively. The shoes are by Converse and the sunglasses from Burton Menswear.

The next look is a floral shirt by Boden which I bought on the sale for £25 ($43)and I teamed them with a pair of charcoal coloured cotton and linen mix shorts from Primark at £10 ($17. The shoes are again by Converse. 

A relaxed holiday look

A close up of the floral print

I followed the floral look with this one which seems to be a favorite with the Instagram crowd. The white cropped trousers are from Ebay seller Withamyshop and cost just £16 ($27) to keep it very fresh I chose a bright blue light cotton shirt from H&M at £20 ($35). The belt is again from Primark at £3 and the shoes are also from Primark at £12.

White for the sand and blue for the sea

A closer look

The colour of the pool matches the shirt perfectly

The next day we spend at the Medina, haggling for bargains. The amount of fake items that you can buy in Tunisia is astounding and this will be the focus of a forthcoming blog piece. That evening I opted for a white shirt from H&M at £10 and beige shorts from Primark at £10. The brogues are by Red Tape at £25.  The bow tie is vintage and again from Etsy.

The entrance to the Medina in Sousse

Around the Medinas narrow walkways

Colourful plates at the Medina

The next look is all about this Topman printed shirt. I bought it a couple of years ago but it still looks great. I cannot remember how much it cost me but it was probably around the £25 mark. I teamed it with the same white cropped trousers as before and the tassel loafers

 

I went for a green theme the following day also with this green and turquoise checked shirt from H&M at £20 and added a bright green pair of shorts. the shorts started out as a pair of chinos but because they looked a lot like a Doctors scrubs I decided to make them in to shorts!

We visited the Coliseum at El Djem the next day and I chose to wear the light coloured shorts from Primark along with a floral short sleeved shirt, also from Primark and a straw hat by John Rocha which I found in a charity shop. For comfort I opted for a pair of red converse.

The view of El Djem from the Coliseum 

A close up of the floral shirt pattern

Waiting in the hotel for the coach

For the final look I again chose a classic white long sleeved shirt and put it with a pair of paisley patterned tailored shorts by Topman. The shorts are part of a suit. I don't know how I feel about a short suit but the jacket and the shorts are great pieces in the own right (I didn't buy the jacket though)

The belt is plain black leather and the shoes are again Converse. I wish I'd taken a pair of black tassel loafers with me but for some reason I didn't. 

A close up of the shorts

The shorts have received a lot of attention. Firstly a shop owner in Tunisia asked if he could have them when I left. When I refused to let him have them, he offered to buy them from me or swap them with goods from his shop. Again I declined as I like them so much.  In addition to this an Instagrammer commented that they are too long and suggested that I go for a shorter length for a cleaner look. I disagree with this and I'm pretty sure that the designers at Topman know what they are doing. It was made as a suit so clearly the longer length was intentionally made to creat a smater tailored look. Buy hey, each to their own!

 

Of course I did a lot of swimming and I was pleased that they had a smaller, quieter pool in which I could swim lengths. With an all inclusive holiday I needed to make sure that I was doing enough exercise to off set all the food I was consuming (not that I over indulged). Of course I needed swim shorts and I took two floral pairs by H&M and Boden along with a short short pair in navy by H&M and a pale blue pair by Next.

Shorts by H&M

Shorts by Next

So, now back in the UK, slightly darker skinned that before I left and planning what I'm going to wear to work this week. No maid service, no waiter offering my an ice cold Gin and Tonic by the pool and nobody clearing my plate after my evening meal. Sad times, but I'll just look forward to next year. Maybe it'll be Tunisia again? Who knows! The bigger question is what will I wear!

Thanks for reading!