I didn't think I looked too bad in my trilby until I put it on to sit outside today and my OH said I looked like one of the Blues Brothers

where do i get the straw hats from???
im hooked on buying the £8 dress from `pradamark` think they come black pink and white with floral print like a maxi dress but knee lenghth. ive brought one every week for past three weeks so doesnt seem like im buying too much for hols when hubby checks bank statement haha, they seem versatile could wear day or night....

I got my straw cowboy hat from Peacocks only £7. It's lovely as well with some lovely beading on it.

thanks just ordered one

Hi...just back from my hols. My new summer wardrobe did me proud if I say so myself!!! I bought some white linen trousers from Next.......£20 well spent as the fit was fab....even OH mentioned it! Just really nice line down the side and the pockets don't jut out and make your arris look any bigger!

Also go a patterned top from M&S indigo range....almost a bit hippie but looked fab with said trousers and also wore it with some light beige shorts from M&S...the ones you can roll up or down...i wore mine down so they reached the knee and they looked smart for £9.

My true splurge was a white long skirt from Monsoon.......really lovely material and a few layers of fabric. Was £45 but after trying on cheaper replicas they just didn't do it for me. OH commented that other women were admiring it (so he says)...probably thinking...'look at that daft cow having to try and keep that white'!!!!! LOL

Regarding straw hats....I got one off a small stall in our local town that sells accessories and these hats can be folded/collapsed/sat on without any harm coming to them. As we go away in our camper I needed something that was hardy to being squished and it was great on holiday. Could stuff in it my suitcase or bag when out with no ill effects.

Hi just discovered this thread and have spent a couple of hours peeing myself and getting some rather strange looks from the Hubby! Question for those of you who got one of those Itsa towels did you take another towel to dry your self off after going in the sea or pool?

i had an itsa this year and yes also had another towel to dry off, the only thing bad about an itsa is that you just cant lift it up to shake the sand off it so it does get full of sand i was forever tiptoeing trying not to get sand on it apart from that there great.

For anyone who saw The Apprentice this week, the boys invention did remind me of the Itsa. Mind you, I don't think we would have looked very 'euro chic' trying to put the 'book reader' up in the sand!

The Crocs I bought about 3 years ago have finally split and I am thinking about buying another pair to take on holiday.

Are they so last week, if so, what shoes would people recommend to wear on the beach and that are also non slip?

in a wetsuit underwater, every nationality looks the same....except you can always spot one nationality as they are the ones wrecking the coral...

I hate it when on holiday, your holiday wardrobe, some other holiday maker has the same clothes, and clash of clothing at dinner time

Two years ago, went down for dinner, and some guy had the same short sleave shirt on, same one I had from asda, turns out he more or less had bought all the same clothing as I had done, short, T-shirts and short sleave shirts, mind you his wife had a good laugh, as we were one night wearing the same gear, trousers, shirt

Well mrs Hi De Hi has booked us a posh cruise this year. So I have just bought a proper black dinner suit from Moss Bros. While in there I spotted they had white dinner jackets so had one of those as well. I look like a fat James Bond!

Well I'm off island hopping in Thailand over Easter - mostly away from the popular resorts so I'm really hoping to blend in and not look remotely like a Brit. I need to look like a Brit who is well travelled and shabby chic. So I'm practising plaiting my hair and will be instructing my hairdresser to give me a trim which will allow my hair to dry naturally. This type of hol might work better for me anyway - I can't do the groomed look and I've never used a pair of hair straighteners in my life.

There will be no inappropriate shoes on this holiday!

So no new best buys this year peeps? No "Itsa's" or "Saress" type goodies!

Blimey scottishmum, this thread's a ressurection ! Actually, I've just started another one about playsuits and wether its eurochic to wear one at age 44 ! In tenerife just before easter, I saw loads of ladies wearing these playsuits ( nationality unknown !) and they looked great, hence my pondering over getting a few for me august hols !

juby 5 i love the harem trousers , but at 55 i think i am way too old , i am only petite but my age puts me off , the same as you with the playsuit , i just wish i could switch off thinking what others might be thinking and just go for it , hubby would tell me the truth and if he said no way thats good enough for me , its so much easier for men to dress than us ladies

I have not had the time to read all 18 previous pages of this post, but you may want to get an opinion from a foreigner. Of course, this is a generalization. So don't get upset!

If the British want to look more continental then the first thing that they must do is deal with their posture.

You might wonder how locals on holiday tend to speak to you in English without asking if you are British first. The answer is the way that you carry yourselves. British people do not walk, they drag themselves along, every step looking like it is a real effort. They do not sit, they slump. We can spot a British tourist from 50 metres!

The teenagers wear what passes for fashion in their own country, probably in the hope that they will impress us with their coolness. They don't.
Kids who wear hooded tops and even snow boots to the beach in 35 degree heat (I have seen that, and worse), will get noticed for all the wrong reasons.
Teenagers also seem so miserable, with a look of confusion about them.

If you sit correctly and walk upright with confidence you may get taken for someone other than British. Forget hair, clothes and jewellery. Latina women would still look more elegant than you if they were wearing dustbin bags!

One other thing. Sunglasses are not about fashion. You have to buy what suits you, not what the current trend might be.

. There you go girls , confirmation of what we suspected all along

Not alot going for us then really is there..this is why I am glad I spend most of my time underwater where we all look pretty much the same.