A CHAMBRAY DRESS FOR A STROLL IN THE PARK

Hello everyone,

Although I bought this chambray dress a couple of months ago on our last day in Lisbon or should I rather say during our last few hours before leaving for the airport to catch a flight to Madeira, today is the first time that I wore it.  

During our years of travelling my husband and I have established a peculiar custom:  we always save one place that we had on our “to do list” till the last day when we are about to leave and we call it “saving the best for last”.  It could be anything:  a visit to Buckingham Palace or a walk through beautifully landscaped garden in Kyoto or discovering the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore and I have to tell you, we never have been disappointed.

In keeping with that tradition, we left a visit to the of Castle of St George till our last day in Lisbon.  We also planned to visit a shop called A Vida Portuguesa, “a boutique that pays homage to the products of traditional Portuguese designers and artisans” that my older daughter had strongly recommended for us to see.  And so we went.

We thoroughly enjoyed the visit to the Castle and thus spent quite a bit of time there, leaving far less time then we had planned for the shop.  As we were briskly walking to our next destination, another shop, called Stradivarius caught my attention.  Usually, I can easily guess what type of clothing and for what age group the shop stocks by just by checking out the shop window and if I see the mannequins dressed in minuscule skirts and midriff tops, I walk away.  This shop was of a similar calibre except for a chambray dress on one of the mannequins that I have wanted to buy for myself for quite some time but couldn’t find one that I really liked.  So, I dragged my poor husband inside the store, grabbed the dress off the rack and rushed to the change room. 

I was such in a great rush that I could barely see myself in the mirror.  It looked ok and my husband was so relieved that I didn’t want to try anything else that he paid the price without even looking.  We left the shop in great haste, luckily A Vida Portuguesa was just around the corner and, as it turned out, the shop was rather small so it did not took us to long to visit.   By that time we were so late that we gave up on the idea of having a nice farewell lunch at one of the myriads of cafes and instead bought two pies and ate them while walking back to the hotel.

When I did try the dress on properly, I quiet liked it.  It is very casual day dress that can be effortlessly worn with shoes, sandals, sneakers or boots, ideal for the days when you don’t feel like making an effort but still want to look nice. 

And today is just one of these days.  After a few intense hours behind our computer screens, my husband suggested we take a break and just go down to a local shop for a cup of strong coffee and a short stroll along the beach afterwards.   It sounded like a good idea and so without too much thought, I just belted my new denim dress over the plain white t-shirt which I was wearing and was ready to go. My new metallic brogues (bought on the same holiday but from Athens) and matching socks completed my very comfortable look.  I grabbed the bag that I was carrying the night before and to my great relief found a pair of aviator shades that I needed for the walk.

What would you grab when you want to take it easy?  What is your take it easy outfit that you would just put on and be off?