How to Bring Holiday Style (and Confidence) to Your Everyday Wardrobe

Don't you just love picking out gorgeous holiday outfits? There's something about the clothes we choose to wear on holiday that fills us with so much positivity, happiness, and, above all, confidence. 

It would be wonderful if we could bring that feeling into our everyday lives, wouldn't it? Well, perhaps with some holiday-inspired dopamine dressing, you can! With expert insight from psychologist Alya Shakir, this guide will cover how to bring holiday vibes into your day-to-day wardrobe and life.

What exactly is it about going on holiday that makes us feel so much more confident in our clothes? 

Alya Shakir, CEO of Harley Health Centre, says:

“Confidence is connected to many factors – who we deal with day to day, our stress levels, our work performance, how we feel about ourselves as parents and partners and so on. When we are on holiday, we are taken away from day to day pressures – we have the opportunity to recentre, take our time with things like our appearance, spend quality time with our children and partner. 

On holiday, we also have the opportunity to go for more walks, sleep well, and eat well, and all of these factors help us look and feel. Our skin improves, we feel more supple, our digestion works better, and we feel more vital. We are also taken away from the stresses in life that can impact our sense of self. Together, this can be positive for our confidence levels. And of course, sunshine always helps!”

Despite the confidence boost a holiday provides, you might not feel so bold when packing beforehand, leading you to leave some of your most remarkable clothes behind.

To pack holiday outfits you know you’ll feel confident in, pick out pieces in your favourite mood-lifting colours. Red, orange and yellow are colours people feel particularly confident in. Bonus points if you opt for a head-turning pattern for a true boldness boost.

Adding accessories can also help you to feel more confident in an outfit. Feel secure in a brand new look by incorporating your favourite go-to jewellery or handbag for a sense of familiarity. 

For more tips on how to dress with confidence on holiday, read the guide on our Inspiration page.

What colours do you associate with holidays abroad? Perhaps a sunshine yellow or an aquatic blue? 

Alya says:

“New styles and brighter colours can change our sense of who we are and our sense of self. We look in the mirror and see the woman we want to be, or who we feel to be on the inside that is expressed externally. It also changes how people respond to us – our confidence doesn’t just come from within but from how others react to us. Wearing bright colours and different styles usually means what we are wearing is noticed more often and compliments flow more readily.”

We’ve got a guide on bringing colour to your wardrobe to help you get started.

Holidays are adventures, and we tend to get adventurous with our styling when on holiday too. 

“When we pack and prepare for a holiday, we imagine a version of ourselves set apart from our day-to-day. This is also connected to our confidence levels and how the other people around us are dressing – generally, we tend to see brighter colours and new styles around us when we go on holiday, so we change our dress also to fit in and enjoy the same experience of braver fashion choices. Lastly, when we are in a new place with people with don’t know around us, we are less worried about being judged, and this can free us to dress more boldly.” - Alya Shakir.

So, one of the best ways to bring holiday style to your home life is to branch out into styles you admire, but never before dared to try. With fashion, you can go on an adventure without even leaving your home town. Think of every fashion risk you take as it’s own little style holiday!

Accessories are a wonderful way to bring touches of style into your outfit without going all the way. So, why not use accessories to bring hints of holiday to your look? Whether it’s a scarf with a tropical print, beachy boho-style beads or even a woven handbag, there are lots of ways to add holiday-style accessories to your UK outfits. 

In fact, just remembering to accessorise at all can help with feeling a little more holiday-fied and confident. At home, we rush our outfits, putting on the essentials without taking time to add the extra bits that help us look and feel our best. So, setting time aside to put care into our look with those added accents can make it feel so much more special. 

It would be wonderful if going to work every day felt like a holiday. You might think it’s impossible, but some holiday styling might help you feel just as fab in the workplace as you do when making the most of your annual leave. 

Now, of course, it wouldn’t do to strut into the workplace in your swimwear, but other holiday favourites translate quite well into a work environment. A breezy maxi dress that you wore while sightseeing can be paired with a cardigan for a summery office look. Or try a lightweight blouse paired with light-hued wide-leg trousers for a look that’s just as charming for work or play. 

Heading to a party here in Blighty but want to make it feel like an exotic soiree abroad? Choosing holiday style occasionwear can help you to dress for events with confidence. We particularly love boho style for holiday-inspired dressing.

Boho patterns and styles have many exotic influences, taking inspiration from Indian and Moroccan prints, Romani fabric layering, the fashions of French artists, and more. Not to mention, the vibrant colours and flowy materials are so holiday-like. 

Our guide to boho style can help you bring bohemian clothes into your everyday looks instead of leaving them in your suitcase.

When asked how to wear outfits with confidence here in the UK just like you would abroad, Alya gave us these final tips:

“Key aspects are planning ahead when it comes to outfits and making time to think about that more, making more time for self-care such as going on walks for their own sake and getting in more sleep. Taking time to go through your wardrobe to remove anything that doesn’t make you feel confident or happy and highlight the outfits that do.”