The background: We were visiting family for seven weeks in the U.S. in July and August, with four different destinations. All of these destinations were going to be blessedly warm, which always means you can fit more pieces into your checked baggage. And I was going to do the first half of the trip on my own with the kids (all four of 'em). We traveled to Virginia from Colombia with two suitcases (one of which was about 1/2 full with gifts we were bringing home for friends and family. Here is what I packed in my packing cubes (I left my pjs, swimsuits and underwear out of the picture):
The starred items are the ones I wore the most.
Top row from left:
Blue and white Pony tank
Striped navy and white Lago tank*
Purple Abrazo v-neck tee
Turquoise linen Sorbetto tank
Navy Kirsten Kimono tee (I never wore this one and donated it before we left Virginia).
Black and white Kirsten Kimono tee
Black RTW tank*
Light blue Abrazo tee hacked into a tank*
Black and white hacked Simplicity 1377
Middle row from left:
Brown flowered RTW top (I never wore this one and donated it before we left Virginia).
Black Pony Tank
Striped Blackwood*
Green Blackwood (this is a new one that I had planned to photograph while on vacation; but I have realized that it's too big, so I need to take it in when I get home).
Checked linen Bonn Shirt*
Two pairs Simplicity 1887 shorts*
Cupro Calyer Pants
RTW navy linen pants (Wore these once and donated before we left Virginia).
Bottom row from left:
Simplicity 1059 dress*
Plantain tank dress*
Green Simplicity 1358 dress
DIBY Club Anna Skirt*
Self-drafted jersey skirt
Self-drafted knit pencil skirt*
RTW plaid skirt (I never wore this and ended up donating it)
RTW black tiered skirt
Not pictured: pink RTW cardigan
So that's 27 pieces total: seven tank tops, five short-sleeved tops, three cardigans, two pairs of shorts, two pairs of pants, three dresses and five skirts. Based on the fact that there were a handful of items that I never wore, I clearly brought too many clothes. I donated all the never-worn items mid-way after the first month: two short-sleeved tops, one pair of pants and one skirt. And of course I shopped a little. I bought two tank tops, one t-shirt and two pairs of pants while I was on vacation for a net gain of one garment.
When it was time to repack the suitcases for the final three weeks of vacation, in which we would spend one week at the lake and two at the beach, I decided to narrow things down a bit.
This is what I brought:
Top row from left: RTW pants bought on this trip; Calyer pants; Simplicity 1887 shorts (two pairs though only one is pictured); turquoise linen Sorbetto; rust and burgundy RTW tanks bought on this trip; navy and white striped Lago tank; RTW black tank; light blue Abrazo tank; black Pony tank.
Middle: RTW striped tee
Not pictured: Striped Blackwood Cardigan
So that's a total of 19 pieces: seven tanks, one tee, three skirts, two pairs of shorts, two pairs of pants one long-sleeved button down, two dresses and a cardigan.
Again, too many clothes. I wore everything during the final three weeks, though I certainly did not need all of these pieces. I did enjoy having options. My usual MO is to pack very lightly, and as a result, I often feel strangled by limited outfit choice. I still need to find a happy medium between the two.
Are you a light packer or a heavy packer? Or have you found that elusive happy medium? I'd love to know. Thanks for reading, and see you next time!
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(Third try on this comment--hopefully it goes through this time!) I love posts like this--it is always so interesting to me what other people take on trips, and I usually get ideas about what would be good to bring for myself. (I particularly love the blog Looks Good from the Back for this sort of thing, although I love almost everything they post about!)
ReplyDeleteI think you probably can guess that I'm a light packer, but I always end up with not quite the right combination of clothing, no matter what I do. For Greece this summer, I wished I had taken a couple more dresses (I took one) and fewer separates, but a lot of that was down to the fact that I didn't like either of the skirts I brought that much--I don't have a full length mirror at home, so I didn't realize that the shorter length in that style wasn't particularly flattering until we were there and everywhere we stayed had a full length mirror!
I should do a post like this myself soon!
You should totally write a post about your own suitcase contents! I'm looking forward to reading it. I used to be a really light packer too - and I think it worked for me for the most part. But the thing was, that I would always find myself in a single situation on a trip where I felt like I didn't have the right clothing for the occasion. Just one. I was determined that that not happen this time - and it didn't - but I didn't like having to keep track of so much stuff.
DeleteI love that kind of post too! My sister was amazed when I went to visit her and my mom with only a carryon of coordinating, me made clothing. I lasted for 12 days and did multiple activities. Eagerly awaiting this post.
ReplyDeleteBarb
For some reason the remainder of the post showed up after my first comment...We need to see some styling photos of your holiday clothes.
ReplyDeleteBarb
I thought about taking pics of my outfit every day - and then I didn't - but I will see if I can put something together.
DeleteThis was really fun to read!!
ReplyDeleteI am a huge overpacker. HUGE!!! We have a trip coming up and with the insane baggage fees, we're going to try to condense to one bag. I need to try to pack light! :)
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I really like to read these kinds of posts myself. We have a couple more short trips coming up, so I think I'll blog about my suitcase then too.
DeleteI'm a light packer, usually to the point of literally running out of things to wear (I usually assume I will be able to do laundry, and then maybe that isn't as easy as I had hoped, etc., and I never pack enough clothes for my messy kids, ever!). But I HAAAATE heavy luggage! In the diaper bag days, I never carried a diaper bag, I would throw one diaper in my purse or something, and then my kid would inevitably have a giant blow out and have no clothing. But I never learned. I always felt like I was a different make than other moms, who were always prepared with snacks and such, but I also didn't like to feel burdened by a big ugly bag everywhere. I am just weird. I think other people feel more relaxed when they're prepared; for me it was just that carrying a baby or stroller AND a big bag was just like, kill me now. Too much. I didn't feel like I could be a normal person if I was hauling so much stuff. Ergo carrier and a diaper in my purse - I liked to live on the edge, lol.
ReplyDeleteFascinating post and I love that you got me thinking about this! I wonder if it reflects some other part of my personality ...
I totally understand where you are coming from, because this was my MO for years (especially when my kids were younger - I once spent a 10-hour transatlantic flight covered in pee because my baby's diaper exploded and I didn't have a change of clothes for myself in my carryon).
DeleteI had to buy a new shirt in Chicago once. One kid got sick and threw up. Smuggly, I changed his clothes b/c I was prepared! He threw up again....and all over me. Luckily, I had something else for him. Myself...no. I couldn't handle the smell and had to buy an airport tshirt....that's when I started packing outfits for the kids and myself in the carry on.
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