What to wear on a California road trip

I remember feeling a little confused about what to wear when we first started to plan our California road trip. My holiday wardrobe isn’t usually something I worry about, this holiday felt very different. My biggest concern was going from the City to the Mountain, Beach, and Desert. My Summer holiday wardrobe is usually filled with costumes, beach cover-ups, and pretty dresses. This holiday I had to think about practical footwear, not my usual 8 pairs of flip-flops!

I felt really out of my comfort zone. We visited California in August 2023, I can say that from experience you have to plan for hot weather clothing, and layers for when it inevitably cools down. Jumpers for the early mornings in Yosemite and evenings in San Francisco. Despite most parts of California reaching some incredible temperatures, not all parts do so you have to plan for all weather. Unlike Florida, it is not always the Sunshine State.

What to wear on a California road trip

For the first time, and because we were taking a huge 18-day road trip, I used packing cubes. I knew that I needed some organisation, they are geniuses. Complete game changer, I shall never look back. Mr H and George may have laughed, actually, they were so jealous as the trip went on. They really helped when we were jumping between different parts of the trip. For California, I very much planned my outfits around each destination.

As we were travelling so much, and doing so many things during the daytime we didn’t plan to spend time out in the evenings beyond a meal so with the exception of one or two dresses I went for a casual vibe. Linen and denim shorts, loose-fitting tops and vests, flowy dresses, layers for the evenings and fabrics that I knew would work in all temperatures. Outfits that were comfortable but stylish were a priority. And then there were the days we went hiking and explored the desert – for these days, I planned to wear walking shoes which included my Nike trainers and Teva sandals.

Here are a few ideas…

And that’s what to wear on a California road trip.

The KA Edit

I’m Kerri-Ann or KA as my friends call me, always found with a cup of coffee in one hand and my camera in the other. I have a huge passion for photography, fitness, fashion and family travel. I started this blog in 2014. It began as my creative outlet after becoming a mummy to our little boy George Archie. I started out blogging about parenting and over the years it has evolved into a blog that covers lifestyle, fashion, family and travel. Today TheKAEdit is ultimately a life and style blog. Thank you for reading x x