Packing Up for New Orleans

Kayu Tote

 After obsessively checking the weather in New Orleans during the weeks before we left I decided that many of the items I'd planned on packing up were in fact going to be too warm to wear.

I only had a few days at home in between my trip to Atlanta to be with my Dad after his illness and our departure for New Orleans.  The trip to Atlanta definitely influenced my realization: it was so warm and sunny there and I realized it would be even hotter in New Orleans.  Long skirts in heavy twill and full-length hemp fabric dresses would be suffocating.

I found that when I was in Atlanta my little dress from Horses Atelier (that I wear as a top) was a perfect hot-weather outfit with my white Everlane jeans.  It was really comfortable and fairly cool to wear.  I wore it on the airplane just like this:

Flight to NOLA outfit.

 I wore my raincoat on the flight as well but that was the last I saw of it during our trip.  It didn't rain when we were in New Orleans, and even if it had the coat would have been boiling hot to wear.

My raincoat... that I didn't need.

 One surprise out of this trip was how comfortable these espadrilles ended up being.  It turns out I wore them everywhere, they are so easy to walk in and they keep the feet really cool.  I thought I'd find the ankle ties annoying but nope, very comfortable.

Castaner espadrilles in black.
Surprisingly comfortable.

 I brought my Mara Hoffman black hemp linen dress, which functions as a bathing suit cover-up as well.  I knew it would be too warm to wear for an entire day out however, I realized this after wearing it in Atlanta.

Hemp linen dress which ended up being quite warm to wear.

 In a search for a summery black dress I visited ShopB in Guelph before our trip.

ShopB carries Velvet by Graham and Spencer, which is an American brand that actually manufactures in the USA.  The brand is very much a California aesthetic, pretty dresses and tops that are casual and produced with light fabrics.

 Considering that the manufacturing takes place in the USA the prices for this brand are really reasonable.
I found two dresses, the black one above, and this pretty off-white dress, below:

 I was so happy I picked up these dresses, I wore them the entire time, alternating days.  They were really comfortable and appropriate for sightseeing as well as restaurants, and they kept me cool when it was 95 and sunny.

Before I left the shop the day I bought the two dresses I spied this little embroidered linen jacket, also from Velvet by Graham and Spencer:

I almost didn't buy it, I tend to buy unembellished clothing first of all, and I had no intentions of adding a summery jacket-thing to my closet.

Of course it ended up being the thing I loved the best, and it pairs so well with the black dress as well as the white dress that I wore it constantly, especially in the evenings.

I wouldn't have wanted to wear a cardigan or something to go for dinner (too warm), but with the air-conditioning in the restaurants and bars something was really necessary.  This ended up being the perfect light layer.

Linen jacket over the black dress.
In front of Pat O'Brien's.
I cropped out my face because I look pie-eyed.

 We did end up spending afternoons by the pool, and I ended up wishing that I had more than one bathing suit.
I'm keeping this in mind as we plan a resort holiday for February!

Another huge favourite on this trip was an Emerson Fry caftan that was gifted to me by a friend a couple of months ago.
I wore it constantly on the trip, it's so lovely with such a soft fabric and pretty colours, and so comfortable to wear in the heat.

Emerson Fry caftan.
Gifted to me by a friend, thank you A!
I LOVE IT.

In the end I didn't bring many outfits which worked out fine, as I wore the two dresses on repeat and was able to change up the look for evenings by adding the embroidered linen jacket.  The espadrilles were my number one choice for a shoe, even with all of the walking that we did.

I carried the Kayu black straw tote for the entire holiday, although I'm sad to say it was dropped on the stone floor near the swimming pool while filled with glass bottles of beer... yes it was that kind of holiday.  I tried to give it a good cleaning but it's looking worse for the wear now!

As we head into summer I'm getting ready for a longer trip to Europe... I'll be posting a travel colour story for that trip soon.
Have a lovely weekend Tooties,
xoxDani