Ready to wear:beat the crush

If you are going away for the Bank holiday and need to pack for every occasion, then pack smart. Synthetics are perfect for this; they can be scrunched into a fist-sized ball and if they crease they can easily be restored by a quick rub down with a travel iron. The French Connection viscose dress featured here is ideal for the low-on-space, high-on-style ethos that is essential for holiday packing; it hardly creases and can be worn with equal aplomb for a stroll along the beach or a visit to a smart restaurant. Dresses are always better than skirts because they can double as both; and cotton knits such as the one used here by Pringle turns a shoulder-revealing slip dress into a modest little skirt. Audrey Hepburn didn't wear capri pants for nothing, they are infinitely stylish and if they contain Lycra (the Next ones do - 3 per cent) they make a smarter alternative to leggings without compromising on comfort. Take no more than three pairs of shoes: ballet pumps (they're cheap, and take up no room); plimsoles and, if you're going somewhere smart, a pair of heels.

Main picture: floral dress, pounds 80 from French Connection branches nationwide, tel: 0171 580 2507; straw hat, pounds 25 from Racing Green, 193- 197 Regent Street, London W1 and 16 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, inquiries and mail order 0345 331177; wire-framed sunglasses, pounds 26.50 by Fabris Lane Italia, from department stores nationwide, inquiries: 0181 974 1642; leather ballet pumps, pounds 11, from Gamba, 2 Garrick St, London WC2, tel: 0171 437 0704

Black cotton cardigan, pounds 74, and white short sleeved polo neck, pounds 54, both by agnes b, 35/36 Floral Street, London WC2, and 235 Westbourne Grove, London W2, inquiries: 0171 379 1992; checked capri pants, pounds 34.99, from Next branches nationwide; ballet pumps, pounds 11 from Gamba, 2 Garrick Street, London WC2, tel: 0171 437 0704; sunglasses, pounds 14.50, by Fabris Lane Italia, from department stores nationwide, inquiries: 0181 974 1642

Floral dress, pounds 24.99 from Oasis branches nationwide; cotton knit top, pounds 95, by Pringle, from Selfridges, Oxford Street, London W1; blue plimsoles, pounds 15, and raffia cloche hat, pounds 19, from Racing Green, 193-197 Regent Street, London W1 and 16 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, inquiries and mail order 0345 331177; orange chenille knit jumper, pounds 65, from Jigsaw Menswear, 9/10 Floral Street, London WC2, Kings Street, Manchester, and branches; white cotton grandad shirt, pounds 28.50, from Great Plains, by French Connection; jeans, pounds 29.99, from Next branches; `Yellowcab' boots, pounds 85, from Shellys branches, mail order catalogue 0181 450 0066; sunglasses, pounds 99, by Kirk Originals, from The London Spectacle Company, 6 Duke Street, W1, and Brosgill Opticians, Victoria Quarter, Leeds

Pink rayon jacket, pounds 195, and shift dress, pounds 95, by Whistles, 12 St Christophers Place, London W1 and branches; butterfly-print silk square, pounds 20, by Cornelia James, from Sogo, Piccadilly Circus, London W1, and Westaway & Westaway, 62/65 Great Russell Street, London WC1, 0171 499 9423; pink kitten-heeled shoes, pounds 29.99, by Shellys, as before; sunglasses, pounds 79, by Fabris Lane Italia, from department stores, inquiries: 0181 974 1642