You Asked, They Answered: What's In Your Beach Bag?
As we enter the final stretch of summer, more and more Alexandrians are packing their beach - or pool - bags. Who can blame them? There is something so cathartic about water, whether it's the pool or the beach, the lake or the river. It just feeds the soul. In this month's You Asked, They Answered, our readers want to know what our Stylebook contributors pack in their bags. Here's a sneak peek into what Alexandria's most stylish women keep in their bags…
Meaghan, Alx&Co: Supergoop sunscreen, a good book (probably from Old Town Books - right now I'm reading A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan), lightweight Turkish towels from Buldano (the very best for the beach!), my DSLR camera, lots of water, a good fruit salad chopped at home, and some kind of salty chip.
Maura, Monday's Child: Tons of goggles, SPF 50, swim shirts, and enormous flippers that get lugged to the pool daily. One day maybe a good beach book, but not right now!
Katie, Mint Condition and Mint Collective: Sunscreen, Wipes, Toys, Snacks, Water bottles. Am I a mom, or what?? Naturally I keep all of this in my tote from Mint Collective!
Dr. Megan, Mind the Mat: I keep accumulating stuff in my zip-top L.L. Bean canvas bag as the summer goes on. By the time I get to Bermuda for my yearly pilgrimage, I have three spray sunscreens, three mineral sunscreens, a few random pairs of goggles, several limes for just in case, extra SPF shirts, a change of clothes because you never know, and of course a bottle opener.
Megan, Mint Condition, Mint Collective, and 529 Kids Consign: For my three little men... it's always Sun Bum in the bag! They don't always love wearing it, but luckily, they have dad's skin, not mom's freckles! 😂 For me, it's Supergoop all way and a good lip gloss from Chantecaille!
Danielle, fibre space: My beach bag always has a knitting project, of course! My favorite prep for a vacation is picking out what knitting I am taking with me. There is nothing more satisfying than unplugging at the beach and keeping my hands off that phone but putting yarn and needles in them instead. I usually have a sock project with me since they are small and portable, as well as a larger project for the hotel room or a long beach day.
Adrien, Alexandria Wellness: I'm a minimalist when it comes to my beach backpack. Growing up near the beach, I learned young to be efficient since there is likely a long walk from the car, bike, house, etc.
Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen is my go-to, as well as SunBum Clear50.
Water
A tennis ball, frisbee, smash ball, and a volleyball - see my article about my beach vacay with my daughter!
Two towels
I'm a beach chair kind of gal, so my chair would be in my other hand.
My phone and book. My latest, Wild by Cheryl Strayed.