It will come as no surprise to you that I’ll ask you to slow down this process, just a little, investing a little thought and preparation will help you feel less reactive, rushed, haphazard when packing.
For many women packing feels like you’re diluting yourself, limiting your ability to have free expression for that time away. The pressure of having to pre empt the if’s but’s and maybes, to feel you need to try to predict your mood for those days is stressful. I fully appreciate that. Let’s slow it down.
Before you pack there’s a few things I would encourage you to do.
You don’t need to be up to date with your wash basket. But just go through it make sure there’s not something hiding in there you love that’s escaped your attention, especially any finer knits that you haven’t needed for a while but that take special care to wash. Get those prepared.
Scroll back through your last holiday pics, remind yourself of what you actually wore, what made you feel good and that will naturally stir any thoughts of what you wish you could have taken, or worn differently.
Arrange anything that needs fixing to be fixed, buttons, heels, holes, de pilling, anything to be dry cleaned. Scrub up your trainers.
Organise the bag you know you’re taking.
Consider some time, uninterrupted. Only to pack for you, no one else, just your needs. An evening perhaps, just an hour or so. and then.
We pack.
Consider the activities you have planned, where those plans are, how you're getting there, for instance, walking cobbles streets, negotiating hills. The possible weather shifts, the practicalities. The last thing you want to do is be ordering on Prime things you left at home because you packed while rushed.
Your packing will look differently to mine. What you love in how your clothes feel, what you need from your clothes will vary to my needs. But. I'm sharing this in the hope that it will allow you insight, to feel inspired to think about approaching packing for your trips away in a way that feels more considered, I'm not talking about investing loads of time you don't have, just slowing down your thinking, preparation to save you time and annoyance later. That you don't need to take so much 'stuff' if doing so feels noisy, that you take alot but use 1/4 of it. Or worse still you take stuff that then doesn't work cohesively and leaves you confused with what to do with it once you're away. You don't need that level of frustration at any time, let alone on holiday.
It's completely worth mentioning here, please consider your cycle for while you're away, particularly if It can affect how your body temperature fluctuates, bloating, and what you feel you need from your clothes, underwear at that time, to feel secure. Comfortable.
This is a breakdown of what I'll be taking away with me for 10 days.
For context. I have 2 Children, 9 & 11. A dog. We're going to the Cotswolds for 2 nights, out to dinner for both. We're then driving down to Cornwall for the remainder of our time away, staying self catering just off the beach. We have dinner plans for a few evenings.
TO WEAR TO TRAVEL IN :
Driving, likely to stop for lunch or go straight out to dinner. Trainers, Levis 501's, Silk Camisole, A Sweatshirt for comfort in the car to drape over shoulders when cold.
B R E A K D O W N :
CLOTHES -
Vintage 501Jeans
Vintage 501 - Home Made Cut Off Shorts [ See IGTV for the How To ]
P Denim Jeans
Grey Oversized Tapered Joggers
Vintage Hand Knit
Oversized Sweatshirt
Recycled Merino Mens Fine Knit
Longline Boiled Repurposed Merino Cardigan
Oversized Vintage Mens Levis Denim Shirt
Mens Grey T Shirt
Panic The Mother T Shirt
Silk Camisole in Navy
Raey Vest [ Teamed with a specific Bra in deep red because I like the detail at the side ]
Baserange Body
SHOES / ACCESSORIES -
Doc Martens Sandals
Nike Blazers
Snakeskin Mules
Jewellery
Silk Scarf
Ankle Warmers
Lorna Murray Sun Hat
Sunglasses
Swimsuit
Rain Mac
Across Body Slouch Bag
Poresh Tote
C O N S I D E R E D C O M B I N A T I O N S :
FOR EVERY DAY - BEACH DAYS - WALKING - LUNCHES OUT :
Jeans With T / Vests - Fine Knit or Denim Shirt Rolled In Bag To Layer
Cut Offs With Swimsuit - Knits To Layer
Trainers / Sandals
FOR DINNERS :
P Denim or 501's With Body / Cami / Vests with Mules, Jewellery, Longline Cardigan.
FOR COMFORT / EVENINGS ON THE BEACH / EVENINGS AT THE HOUSE / WALKING THE DOG :
Joggers
T Shirts
Hand Knit
Ankle Warmers
Silk Scarf
All textures, tones of each piece work with each other. Keeping things simple, comfort and practicality at the forefront. Using
accessories, jewellery to tilt otherwise simple combinations to feel more elevated.
I considered taking my blazer for the purposes of the dinners, lunches, but the longline cardigan will give me the structure in
the silhouette I'm looking for, but lends itself better to being rolled into a bag where necessary without risk of damage ,mis shaping or with adding unnecessary bulk, more so than a tailored blazer would.
To take 2 pairs of jeans is intentional, both very different in cut and feel. I want the option to rotate to minimise needing to over wash the denim whilst away, to rely on just 1 pair. The joggers will behave more like PJ's for evenings at the house.A wide leg trouser given the likelihood of where we'll be walking to get to where we're eating out it simply isn't practical.
If I was travelling abroad, this would be much the same, but changing the denim for 2 dresses and an extra swimsuit. With an oversized button linen shirt as a cover up instead of the hand knit.
Of course, naturally I look at the pieces I love in my wardrobe and as much as I want to enjoy them on holiday, some pieces just wouldn't work, or would likely get damaged, mis-shapen. You need to think about where you're heading to, and what that means for what you need from the behaviour of your clothes you're taking. We can get swept up in the hype of summer, the dresses, kaftans, which are all a romantic notion, but on the British coast. The summer, the evenings we have, the likelihood is a knit to layer and denim cut offs are more likely a comfortable, practical option.
To see how I'll make this work, I'll be sharing on socials in the coming week or so. If you'd like to see when I shared something along these lines unplanned last summer, you can find a highlights reel here to look back on.
And of course, make room for a good read.
