Cheryl Shops

When I'm in the city, which is most of the time, I stick to blazers, tees, jeans...most of what you see here on my outfit posts. It's a uniform of sorts, and it works. When I'm on vacation, however, I go full-on boho: embroidery, tassels, fringe...the whole nine yards. I have a bunch of hippie tops and dresses, and they linger in my closet for most of the year, except when I'm vacation, when I break them out like European trust-fund brat on a yacht in Ibiza. I love my vacation alter ego (she also lets her hair go au naturel, i.e. curly) because it's fun to play around with a totally different style of dressing than what I'm used to.

I grew up in cold, snowy Chicago, and for a week every spring, my family made an escape to Florida. It came at that time of year when you were just about at the end of your rope in terms of weather, and there was something about sun, sand, and sea that just totally revived your will to live. Even though New York is not quite so desolate (especially with the exceptionally warm winter we've had this year), MW and I like to preserve the spring break tradition. This year we went to Turks & Caicos, which I'd highly recommend—white sand beaches, the most gorgeous turquoise-blue water you've ever seen, great snorkeling, beautiful weather, friendly residents, and so on (it should be noted, T&C is ridiculously expensive, however). As I consider myself somewhat of a pro at packing for a beach vacation at this point, here are my essentials for a chic spring break.