Orcas Island Fashions in Italy

Three weeks ago, I ran down to Sequel for a quick look around. At the last minute, I realized I might need a few outfits that were lighter and thinner than anything I normally wear here on the island.

I had in mind a post I might write upon returning from a trip to Italy that we planned many moons ago, showing some of the local finds I wore abroad. To me, it was a funny idea, considering that fashion is not what I’m known for. I’d take a cute photo of a Faraways dress in Rome, a cute photo of a Sequel hat in Milan, etc. Little did I know I would literally live in the same few outfits during our three weeks of journeying through the country.

I’m normally a light packer, and I still didn’t need eighty percent of what I packed due to the heat and humidity. Every night, what I wore that day would get a quick wash in a sink and go out to dry on a line in the summer night’s heat. Some days, the only practical thing to wear all day was my swimsuit. You can’t blame Italians for skimpy outfits – you wouldn’t want to wear anything extra there in August either!

Here’s to you, Sequel, Faraways, and Atelier. Your black dress and red hat, yellow dress, and matching necklace and earrings are in almost every picture I have of me.

I’m normally not a selfie taker, but I got a few on this trip for the express purpose of this post…

This was my mainstay Sequel outfit, photographed in the posed kind of way I imagined all of my “fashion” photos to look.

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But no. That’s not how the “fashion show” panned out. This dress didn’t experience much air conditioning or prettiness. It was literally glued to me almost every day. We were sweating buckets, and my dried sweat made new and interesting salt patterns on the black dress every day. Here it is on a ferry on the Amalfi Coast. Notice, my armpits and salt patterns have been avoided.

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By the way, I didn’t pay a dime for the clothes I ended up getting at Sequel before leaving, thanks to my consignment account. I even had $30 additional credit. I love consignment! If you don’t have an account there, start one. Bring in some nice clothes – mens, womens, or kids – and when they sell them you’ll have a little buying fund for yourself. I always find clothes I like in Sequel. It’s my first stop when we need something.

Back to the outfit. It was with me on a chairlift to the highest mountaintop on the island of Capri…

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It was with me when I was bonking after going and going and never stopping for food…

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It was with me when I was a little out of my head from sun exposure and heat…

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When we climbed to overlooks that were beyond breathtaking…

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When I’d get back to our AirBnB and ponder the visible effects of 47 years of sun on Norwegian skin…

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And in the cool-ish morning hikes past centuries-old monuments and churches.

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I had visions of wearing my yellow Faraways dress while posing in front of famous ancient ruins for this post, but the reality is that I could only wear it at times that weren’t 95 degrees and 98% humidity.

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Anything below the knee just wasn’t cool enough. Typically, we’d return to our AirBnB after a 23,000-step day, take showers, put on clean comfy clothes for the evening, and revel in the wonderfully air-conditioned living room. That’s when this dress got worn the most. It was a lovely thing, though not worn in the most photogenic places except for a cooler evening in Riomaggiore on the Cinque Terre coast…

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And later in the evening in front of Riomaggiore’s famous colored apartments hovering over the water.

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Now for the jewelry you’ve seen in every picture.

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I’m not one for gold or diamonds. I usually wear big or colorful earrings and chunky necklaces for fun. But about a year ago I stepped into Atelier, which is right in the heart of Eastsound near Darvill’s Bookstore, and saw this necklace. It’s small and simple, but I realized I’d like wearing it every single day. I typically don’t buy things for myself that cost over $15 or $20, so I decided to buy it for my sister’s birthday instead. As time went by, I kept thinking about that necklace.

When my birthday rolled around, I asked Nicole, the owner of Atelier, if she’d mind emailing my husband to drop a hint about how I really liked the necklace – the fun of living in a small community! By that point, I had noticed there were matching earrings too, so when our younger son asked what I would like for my birthday from our two boys, I suggested the earrings.

This set has now been all over the western side of Italy, and I love it! In fact, it lives on me day in and day out. By the way, there are a lot of beautiful, affordable jewelry items in Atelier. This necklace was about $40-something, and I think the earrings were the same as well. They are very durable, they don’t tarnish, and the clasps are awesomely strong and reliable. Nicole is really good at finding items for her store that are of high quality.

These went swimming in the Tyrrhenian Sea with me…

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They hiked several 10-mile days straight up mountainsides with me, enduring thick salty sweat and wet hair dangling around them…

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They saw places I may never see again, and while my skin all around them aged 10 years in three weeks, they still sparkle and look brand new.

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So there you have it. Not the Rome~Milan~Lake Como fashion show I originally imagined in my mind, but a fashion show nevertheless! And now for a fresh, clean shirt and bag on one of our last days in Italy…

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Today I sit in our little cozy house, wrapped snug in a fleece blanket and socks to keep the cool, rainy weather from giving me a chill. Was it all just a dream?

Enough of this selfie frivolity! 🙂

Stay tuned ~ our Italy travelogue is to come…

To visit Sequel, go to 434 Prune Alley in Eastsound

To visit Faraways Boutique, go to 123C North Beach Road in Eastsound

To visit Atelier, go to 264 Main Street in Eastsound