what to pack: st. barths

I just spent a few sun-soaked, sand-coated, wine-steeped days in St. Barths--full highlights and snaps to come!--and thought I'd share what I packed, figuring it's spring break time of year, and you, too, may be flying south soon. Of course, St. Barths is home of the statement kaftan, so I packed as many as I could into my suitcase, and yet, I still bought more, including a crochet lovely that looked like this as well as a gauzey tunic top that I threw over bikinis (and will wear with jeans, back home). I found that the best cover-ups were the ones that went seamlessly from seaside to shopping to sunset cocktails, such as these by Melissa Obadash, Shoshanna, Ondademar, Jen's Pirate Booty, Juliet Dunn, and Lisa Maree. Next time I go (to any tropical locale, for that matter), I will definitely bring more of these with me! For the four-day trip, I brought six bathing suits, a different one for each day, plus options. My favorites of the bunch: this Lisa Marie Fernandez, this Kiini, this Melissa Obadash (on sale!) and the polka dot J.Crew, above, (which is 25% off today only!). As far as footwear went, I kept it simple and packed 3 super versatile, beach-to-street flat sandals, like this Tamara Mellon lace-up gladiator, this fringed BC, and this ankle strap Valentino. I also brought a pair of Alexandre Birman open-toe sandals for a fancy night out, and I love this spring's iteration of it. Evenings called for both short and long dresses. If I could do it all over again, I would bring these beauties from Michael Kors (which could go from lunch at Nikki Beach to dinner at Tamarin), Tory Burch, RED Valentino and Asos. A chic and roomy beach bag is, of course, a must along with a good beach read. I brought this book. Last but not least: a single go-with-everything clutch like this is key; it saved me a little room in my suitcase to bring home some much-loved souvenirs!