Inappropriate.....just for a while.

The Undomesticated Goddess is about to go on her summer holiday but first there's the small matter of packing to be done.

I love all those articles about the holiday capsule wardrobe that appear every year - you know the ones - everything fits into a rucksack, a swimsuit doubles up as a cheeky evening top; a sarong, when twisted and knotted in a myriad of ways, has 50 different looks. A couple of tops, a skirt and away you go. Yeah right, who are they kidding? If I tried that I'd just look like I'd forgotten to take my cossie off and put on proper clothes and, undoubtedly, the sarong knot would decide to untie itself at the most inopportune moment possible. And, what they don't say is how blessed uncomfortable a swimming costume is once it's got sand in it. Who wants to go out to dinner while being simultaneously exfoliated by their clothes?

Knot-tying practicalities aside, just think how blooming boring it'd be too. Holidays are all about freedom - freedom from routine, from alarm clocks, from normal life. A big part for me is the freedom from everyday dressing. I'm no clothes horse but I like clothes as much as the next woman. Over the years I've found a look that works for me, that makes me feel confident and, on a good day, maybe even sexy. For most of the year I'm Ms Appropriately Dressed.

Which is why I love that for a few weeks every August in France, I can become Madame Inappropriately Dressed and waft around in clothes that I wouldn't ever dream of wearing back in my UK world. I can assume a completely different clothes personality, one who wears sparkly flip flops, brightly coloured sleeveless linen dresses and strapless maxi dresses. My wardrobe alter ego, Madame Inappropriately Dressed, celebrates her cleavage and goes bare legged. She often doesn't bother with make up in the day and has even been known on occasion to go without a bra......

I'm not saying I lose all sense of reason or throw all decorum out the window, there's certainly not any cropped tops or very short skirts in this holiday world of mine. I may like to be inappropriate for a while but I certainly don't intend ever to be downright alarming.

So, the capsule holiday wardrobe isn't, and will never be, for me. It may well be extremely sensible in this day and age of airlines charging extra to check in hold luggage but, you know what, sometimes sensible just has to be ignored because it's downright dull. Anyway, I enjoy my few weeks as Madame Inappropriately Dressed too much and I never was any good at tying knots.