Missoni Knit

Nina extols the many virtues of Missoni knits, primarily their beauty and timeless art. I like their glowing colours, comfort and drape, but I wince at their frequent 70s echo. I have seen a simple pale Missoni knit on Net-A-Porter which I think is the ideal summer holiday item, but I’ve not yet had a burning need for something like that.

I have to admit, I’d be terrified of getting the knit caught on something. And summer holidays can involve travel, and travel can be rough on body and wardrobe. Yes, once again, when faced with the glory of knit and fashion perfection, all this hairshirt can think of is, “Will I wreck it travelling on the train?” Sorry. I can’t help myself. I’ve ruined so many items of clothing one way or the other that the thought of risking damage to such a beautiful thing makes me cower inwardly.

Minnetonka Moccasin

Now, the moccasin may be “sneakily stylish” if you’re Nina or a western Sydney bogan. This season sees wedge-heeled and crepe-soled moccasins in our stores, hybridised with brogues and pumps. It’s making for some interesting outcomes. Some of these shoes look comfortable, but are not. Others look ugly as sin, but seem to wear quite well. Some don’t know quite know what they want to be, and end up being not much at all.

While Nina believes that moccasins are “worn by laid-back girls who want to flaunt that I’m-not-trying-too-hard-look”, I believe a sloppy moccasin says more “I’m-not-trying-at-all”.

If ballet flats aren’t enough for you, maybe try a sleek brogue. Even when well-worn and scuffed, a brogue manages to look great as a flat shoe. A moccasin is just one step sideways from that pair of Grosby slippers your grandfather wore, and are definitely nowhere near my One Hundred.

Mary-Janes

If ever there was a good reason for using “OMG” here, mary-janes are it.

My MJ love goes way, way back to when I was just starting school, and I had The Best red patent mary-jane flats in the history of red patent mary-janes. I wore them everywhere I could. I wore them until they had holes in the soles. And then I kept wearing them. I literally loved those shoes to death.

I still have a couple of mary-janes, which I am also going to love to death, and my favourite are black Campers. Poor things. They don’t know what’s in store for them.

Nina points to Manolo Blahnik’s Campari mary-janes as The M-Js, the famous “urban shoe myth”, and that they are best in patent, and that the strap must be thin.

I don’t necessarily agree with all that (not that I’d knock back a pair of Camparis), because for me it’s all about proportion. My Camper MJs have a thick heel and a round toe, and therefore a thick strap looks best – a thin strap would look out of place.

However, I would also add that like Manolo’s, the strap should be mid-to-low so that it doesn’t cut your foot up too much. Ankle-straps do not mary-janes make, so don’t get conned by poor labelling. The number of shoes I see online marked as mary-janes that are not, out-number the shoes which actually are the real deal. Accept no substitute!

I wore a pair of pointy-toed, kitten-heeled, thin-strapped black patent MJs out to dinner a few years back. A friend expressed admiration, but said they were a bit fierce. I said, “Fierce? These are mary-janes!” She responded, “Yes, but they’re bitches’ mary-janes.”

Yeah. Yeah, they were. And they were excellent.

Kaftan

Hey! I missed “Kaftan”!

Nina puts a kaftan in her One Hundred, and I’m inclined to agree, although a kaftan could be any pool- side dress or throw-on beachwear dress, with a bit of shoulder coverage, which doesn’t mind a bit of salt or sunscreen, which doesn’t look out of place in a hotel lobby.

And I do mean dress. Not a long top, tunic or otherwise. Something that goes a little more than a centimetre past your arse, please, people. (Have to say, tops as dresses seems fast becoming de rigeur amongst the skankniscenti around these parts. It’s all I can do to stop myself from calling out, “Hey! You forgot your pants!” And remember, folks – you may be sharing a seat on the train with these misguided fools).

The kaftan should be cool, loose, colourful and comfortable, and should still look ok after being stuffed in your beach bag. Like many of the items in the One Hundred, it should be something you don’t have to think about – you just grab it and throw it on. You’re on holiday, after all.

Man's White Shirt

Wearing a man's white shirt is meant to look casual, classic and collected, effortlessly chic and carelessly elegant.

On me, a man's white shirt looks like it was dark when I dressed and I reached for the wrong rack in the wardrobe, and I was probably hung over as well. It doesn't fit. It's crumpled. It's baggy. The collar is too stiff and too high and I'm just swamped. I look like an overweight child. An unstylish overweight child. I'm not a man, and I'm not shaped like a man, and a man's shirt is not going to work for me.

I will stick with a woman’s white shirt. Sure, it may have features usually found on men’s shirts, like a structured collar and French cuffs, but they will be in proportion to the rest of the shirt, and in proportion to me!

It’s a big NO from me to a man’s white shirt.

Mad Money

I found this idea of Nina's fascinating!

You put a 20 or 50 dollar note in your wallet or purse. You tuck it into a spot you don't use, like behind your driver's licence. You leave it there. You kind of even forget about it.

Then, just when you're not looking for it, there it is. The Perfect Thing. That perfectly-distressed classic pair of jeans on the sales rack. That perfect little beaded purse in the vintage store. The perfect Little Black Dress (I can dream!!!). And, of course, this will occur only when you're a bit skint. Mad Money to the rescue! You tweeze that bad boy out of the depths of your purse and the Perfect Thing is yours!

That's the idea, anyway.

So, I keep my Mad Money out of sight and out of mind. I haven't had a chance to use it, yet, but one day...

Luggage

It would seem obvious that if you travel you need luggage.

However, I've tried travelling without luggage. My first adult trip on a big silver bird was made tricky due to having stuff to take, but no luggage to put it in. I recall there was at least one taped-up plastic bag that the check-in staff frowned at. Thankfully I was too excited to really take too much notice of their disapproval. By the end of my trip, I had rationalised and packed more properly, but not before creating a little chaos at the terminals and at our final accommodation and everywhere in between.

In one of those Ironic Twists, now that I have luggage, I can also pack mean. A week of business in an Australian city only requires a carry-on bag, and not stuffed to the brim, either. There's always about 20% free space in my bags. However, I still need a bit of luggage when I travel.

Again, it would seem obvious. However, there is a radical solution to this whole luggage thing, this whole insurance-nightmare, check-in, weight-limited, hazardous material, lug-it-around luggage situation: don't take any.

Travel naked?I can hear little brain cells popping from here. Travel without luggage? Think about it! Unless you need specific items or are going to places which are either very expensive or very underdeveloped, it is certainly an option.

A friend of mine tends to go on holiday with no luggage when travelling to places where shopping is plentiful and goods are cheap. He gets on the plane to Thailand with nothing but a small carry-on bag with his wallet, documents, his phone, a change of undies and a toothbrush. Everything else that he finds he needs, he buys at his destination, and that shopping is part of his holiday experience. When it is time to return home, he gives most of it away, only keeping any small thing he wants to take back. It inspires awe and consternation in equal measure.

I think it is excellent. And, no, I don't think I could travel like that.