FOP - Fear Of Packing

FOP.  Fear of packing.  Yup, it’s very real in my world, and many of yours too, it would seem from recent comments.

And I may be coming across as someone filled with anxiety, but that’s because I probably am. 

I hate packing.  I panic at the thought of it.  I procrastinate and usually leave it till the last possible moment and pack a mix and match of bland and safe.

For the trip I’m on now I pushed myself to do things differently, right from the packing point - I started packing in good time before my trip to the UK, sooo not me!

Coming to a cinema near YOU ...

Carry On Packing!

(It's possible only British readers will get the joke!)

It started with the shoes.

It started with me thinking shoes.  In my head, I was thinking a comfy pair of sandals for walking and something glitzy for the fun stuff was all I needed.   A lite shoe wardrobe.  But nah, in my case is something very different.  I soon ended up with four pairs, and when that case is a small carry on, there isn’t much room left for anything else.

Holiday update:  I've worn just two pairs so far, the flatties and the glitzy pewter sandals.

And then packing went off-grid!

My travel pack is usually filled with neutrals, black, grey, taupe.

This time I’ve gone off-grid.  I packed colour!

Yellow and green are bursting out from a backdrop of navy and white this trip. 

Holiday update: so far I've worn my travel jeans, white jeans, navy,  and yellow tops, navy long sleeve T, and the cowboy and denim shirts.  That's not bad eh?!

Outfits For A British Summer Holiday

The days have been sunny, overcast ... or deluge.

(yes, that's TP's finger!)

Another thing I’ve done is steered away from my travel-safes when it comes to jewellery. 

This time I’ve teamed jewellery to the outfits because of the strong colours.

Holiday update: this strategy has paid off as so far I've worn three different blue hued necklaces

The Illusion Created By Clear Beads

So talking of necklace hues, I had a duh! moment last summer - if you wear a clear bead, the colour of your underlying top comes through.  So it means that you can pack one necklace , like my mix of blue and clear beads in the top pic and it creates the illusion of uber matchy matchy - 

- and with each change of top it looks like you have a necklace in, say, yellow as here. Not a bad for a £1.50 charity shop buy.

So Today's Top Travel Tip is: 

pack a clear bead necklace to minimise jewellery packing.

So For this holiday I’ve thrown safe packing out the window and gone with navy and white, yellow and green - let’s see how this travel capsule continues to pan out ...

A la perchoine,

Mary x.

What She Packed, What She Wore

Last week I showed you HERE some of what I'd packed in my carry-on (whilst pilfering space in The Photographer's check-in 😉).

But what would it be like to pack without luggage weight restrictions?

  Well La Duchesse knows  -  she drove down from Holland where she now lives, and was able to bring over exactly what she wanted for her stay with us in Guernsey.  She said it was like having her wardrobe on holiday with her, and who hasn't sometimes dreamed of that?!



So let's meet La Duchesse, seen here outside our town church.

And here's who she co-habited with in Guernsey.

Bertie!  Yes, La Duchesse looked after him whilst TP and I were meeting up with his American family in Sussex and Devon recently.

 She generously finds space in her travelling wardrobe boot for carefully chosen gifts.  Lots of them!

It's like Christmas and birthday rolled into one!

So that's the backstory to today's post.

Let's go see what she packed in her boot (trunk)!

Dresses.  Beautiful summer dresses.  She had a whole string of social events whilst she was here - you wonder how she had time to take all those beautiful seascapes she shared with us eh?!

She packed 6 dresses, 4 were worn. 

The dress style in Holland is super casual so she doesn't normally wear dresses at home; her trip to Guernsey was an ideal opportunity to get the frocks out !

She packed 5 blouses/tunics, 4 were worn.

2 skirts, 0 worn

12 T shirts, 6 worn (too hot)

11 prs trousers, 6 worn (too hot)

5 pairs of leggings, 1 worn (too hot)

She packed for all eventualities but el skorchio prevailed throughout her visit, so leggings and long trousers were mostly surplus.

16 pairs of shoes, 14 worn!

5 bags

A whole range of necklaces and bracelets.

Now let's take a look at some of the outfits she put together from that little lot.

Her elegant new Joseph Ribkoff was worn for a wedding.

She dressed low-key elegant for a white and gold themed lunch/Herm party to celebrate a friend's 50th, perfect for the day.

Her beachwear worked its little socks off, thanks to el skorchio.

Doesn't she look a beach babe?

So, in summary, she was pleased with her holiday packing.

She wore a huge amount of what she'd brought over and loved having a choice each day.

Will she be back soon?

Well she left TWO hairdryers in her room - I think that's a "yes"!

Successful travel packing is all about pitching it right for the weather, where you are,  who you're with and what you do.   

The Four Ws!

 And getting that right can be a challenge no matter what your suitcase size.  

La Duchesse was pitch-perfect on the where, who, what -  and even the weatherman didn't foresee 3 weeks of el skorchio.  So 3 out of 4 ain't bad eh?!

Now let's hear what you do when you are unrestrained with your holiday packing.

Do you fill your boot (trunk)?

Or do you pack much the same as you would in your normal carry-on?

A la perchoine.

What I Packed, What I Wore

Or it's snappy acronym, WIPWIW
Or its more fitting hash tag,  #WHENwillIeverlearn?

Hello my lovelies.  Have you been on holiday recently?  How did you fare with your packing?

Me?  Yes to the first and, errr OK, to the second.  Just OK, for I wore so little of what I packed (as usual, WHEN will I learn?!) I did a lot of repeat wear, which I usually do (when WILL I learn?!!).  And I quickly went into uber-casual mode, which I always do (when will I LEARN,?!!!).


So grab yourself a cuppa as this post is quite a tome!  Sorry but I can't help myself, I like chatting to you!
Now let's take a look at what I actually wore in the Devon countryside!



Tops

I packed white, yellow and navy striped Ts, grey/white T, 2 navy/white Bretons (why TWO?!), navy/white blouse, multi-coloured chiffon tunic, navy cami. white vest.

My default outfit was white shorts or cut offs and white t shirt (Peacocks).  Seen here zjujshed up with my faithful silk scarf, a hint of Breton sweater around the neck and the colour of the butterfly accentuated with a larger than life Mae West vest.  TP wore a saxe blue polo and terracotta shorts (M&S)

Here the white T is perked up with a blue/aqua tassel necklace (Peacocks).

This is my holiday T (M&S, really old).  It always travels with me in warm weather.  It's got splodges of grey and crystal beads and it's all about the drape with this T.

Blue stripes were abundant in my WIW shots, M&S and Primani respectively.

And here on Dartmoor, yellow stripes from M&S.

That was IT, as far as tops were concerned.  #embarressed. 

Dresses

I packed a few.  Yellow print, navy bardot, maxi.  And this one.

I wore this simple and cool coffee linen dress on repeat.  On the 4th.  In Hastings Old Town.  On the clapper bridge in Postbridge, Dartmoor.

New Purchases

Time to mention here that I forgot my sun hat and our heatwave necessitated me grabbing a lovely straw hat (above) from M&S  It has a glam twist of  soft brown leoprint fabric and because all we fashionistas know that "leoprint is a neutral", I was able to wear it with EVERYTHING, of course.

I bought bronze sandals from M&S as I find that my white Clarks sandals can get to look a bit clumpy and pedestrian with certain things, like this linen dress.  And then I wore these new sandals for pretty much the rest of the hols; they became instant go-tos, so comfortable and with a hint of sassy-walk about them too!

Cardigans

I packed yellow, white and navy.  

I wore none of these.  Instead, on the few early-start days when it was a little fresher, I frequented this Ultraviolet knit from M&S which I bought on arrival in Sussex and instantly loved.

Bottoms

I'd taken blue jeans, white jeans, posher white trousers, white cut offs, white shorts, white linen skirt.

I'd been living in shorts for weeks, so why oh why did I pack just the ONE pair?  I wore my white shorts on repeat and freshened them up twice during the holiday.  I wore white crops a few times and wore blue jeans once on the flight over and on this fresher day above, when meeting up with double-cuz and her partner on their boat moored at Noss Mayo, Devon (so cute).

In the farm's vineyard.

I wore this beach kaftan after swimming.  It's from East and was passed on to be by a kindly cousin - so it's 2ND LOVED, Terri!

Black

Black and white popped in a few times.  I have to admit that I started out with a fairly tight colour range of white, yellow and navy.  Coffee strayed in.  And black.    It just doesn't feel natural to travel with zero of this staple neutral, so I bunged in a black t shirt at the last minute.  As you do.

Here, I threw my shorts over my black bathers, so this black "top" cheekily sneaked into my capsule too.

And here a simple black T, my last-minuter, accessorised with the Egyptian hand necklace.

Jewellery 

I never travel with truly expensive stuff, like real gold or silver jewellery, heirlooms and irreplaceable items.

My jewellery was my holiday pack of inexpensive disposable bracelets, necklaces and earrings, which the exception of a silver Egyptian hand wall hanging (seen above) which has become a staple.  It was gifted to me, to which I added a necklace extender to turn it into a beautiful necklace.  And there is an additional plus to this, for I discovered that if I flip the front side over (which has black beads) it becomes a simple silver adornment which goes with just about EVERYTHING.

Jewellery Makeover Tips

1.  Take a look at pretty objects, things you like, and consider whether they can be re-purposed as jewellery.   A necklace extender (try Amazon) works magic!

2. Look at jewellery and flip it around a bit to see if it can become multi-purpose, i.e. not dictated by a particular colour.

"Activity" Wear (yeah, like that's gonna happen!)

I took a navy/green/white tankini and plain black bathers.  I wore the bathers only.

I took the leoprint beach cover-up, as shown above.

Footwear

I packed wedged espadrilles, metallic toe flatties, white sandals, silver flip flops, white pumps, Birkies.

I wore the flatties and the white sandals a few times, the white pumps once for the boating, the Birkies every day and my newly-purchased M&S bronze sandals a lot!

Handbags

Grey Primani crossbody travel (houses accessible my travelling needs plus Kindles).

Taupe crochet crossbody every other day.

Simples!

Outerwear

I packed my white East denim jacket and my H&M denim shirt, which I wear as a shacket.

I wore neither. 

It was El Skorchio, don't ya know?!

Packing

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my carry-on weighed in at 7.1kg but my shoes and toiletries were in TP's larger check-in! 

And as you can see from the above, I could easily have packed one quarter of what I took and have been comfortably dressed for the whole trip, for that is what I actually wore.

Make-up

I packed little make-up and most days were make-up-free.  I got that one right!

I wore variations of the following: CC cream, Touche Eclat, Clinique mascara, trio of taupe eye shadow, Rimmel lip pencil, Clinique chubby lipstick, Body Shop gloss balm.  

On no make-up days, I wore just lip balm.

What The Photographer Wore

He wore polo shirts and shorts ad infinitum.  And he felt sooo good in his M&S purchases of same.

He bought shorts in navy and stone to add to his existing packing of terracotta and a burgundy/blue small print.  And beautiful colourings of polos.



And on this day I discovered he'd "twinned" with his Boston brother!  Don't they look cute together?

Did he wear jewellery?  Yes he did! His son gave him this obsidian healing bracelet for Father's Day and he has worn it solidly since.  Every.  Single.  Day.  I think he likes it!

So, my dear reader, that's my packing. I totally overpacked.  I just don't learn.  My observation after many summer holidays is that I go super-casual after just a day or two and go into repeat-mode like there is no fashion post to write when I get back home!

I hope that you find this post useful as a reminder of what you really need on holiday, which should guide you to what you should sensibly pack.  Maybe.

And what about you?  Have you learned to pack what's right for you from your previous holidays?

A la perchoine.

COMING UP

Holiday shots

My shopping spree try-outs

Mamma Mia!

Packing for Sombre Occasions

Let's face it, life isn't always a bundle of laughs.  We face sombre times all too often throughout our lives.  

I've just packed for a trip (yes another trip!) which includes a sombre occasion.

Sadly, we sometimes have to pack for sombre and I tend go tradionalist.

I choose black.  Smart black.

Anyway, as I needed to pack for black, I kept my packing in the black/grey spectrum.   And that's fine with me, I'm happy there.

Here's what I packed:

Black suit jacket

Black jersey dress

Black jeans

Grey jeans (worn for travel*)

Black long line jumper

Black/ivory print skirt

Grey long line jumper (worn for travel)

Grey 3/4 cardi

Camel 3/4 cardi (camel, my crazy wild card!)

Black 3/4 sleeved jersey top

Grey/black animal print blouse

Black modal vest (tank, worn for travel)

Grey long line cami

Brown plaited belt (worn for travel)

Brown anklies (worn for travel)

Black anklies

Leoprint scarf (worn for travel)

Black puffa coat (not shown, worn for travel)

* Janice of The Vivienne Files reported seeing these everywhere on the streets of Paris recently; so, bang on trend, Pout!

Apart from the grey jeans, jumper and black vest (tank) worn for travel, all this lot fitted inside a carry on checking in at around 7 kgs.  Yes, I'm flummoxed too.  Again.  It's magic!

(Laurie, you'd better start a queue 'cos I'll soon be doing packing masterclasses!)

And there's more!

Grey crossover bag (worn for travelu)

Black handbag

Belt, black/ivory/gold plaited

Belt, black studded

2 silk scarves

Black embroidered scarf

6 necklaces

3 bracelets

1 pr earrings

All of this fitted in this little aerolite lightweight case

It meets our airline's 48x36x20 cms maximum.

Handbag and carry on must meet the maximum weight of 10kgs combined.  My number was comfortably under!

I'm feeling the gloat-glow again!

You can't believe it?  I can't believe it!

And an aside here.  We bought our ultra-lightweight bright blue luggage suite last year.  I didn't want the colour but TP insisted and I acquiesced - uncharacteristically, some might say.  At first I was a bit embarrassed travelling with this garish colour.  But you know, it's so easy to see your estranged fellow traveller across a crowded airport lounge, or to spot checked-in luggage on a cluttered carousel.  Because no one else buys this colour! So my top travel tip of the day is to choose luggage in a colour that no one else would choose.

Anyway, I digress, characteristically!  Here are some  of the looks I plan to create with my black/grey capsule.

But where's she going to get the biker jacket from, I hear you ask, or the jeans?  They weren't in the bright blue carry on.

Ok, this one's a challenge.  I haven't packed a ruffle shirt.  Or grown a plait!

And where has that camel coat come from?

And here all I can bring to the party will be the black jeans.

No matter how much I follow my cruise packing tips, those being repeat wear and mix and matching, I can't magic up pieces that I don't have.

Like for this look I've got the ditsy skirt but there's that biker jacket shortfall again ..

Now I could work on this elegant Lady of Style look, but I should have sneaked a featherlight slinky camisole into my carry on.  I didn't.

However, I have practically all the makings of this smart outfit worn by Susan After Sixty.

Ok, with no beige in my bag, this one doesn't get off the launch pad.

But I do have the where-withall for this classy look.

The credits for this suite of wardrobe-inspirational photos goes to Pinterest, Zara, Ellos and the named bloggers.

My overall inspiration for my black/grey capsule came from

this capsule put together by the very clever Janice of The Vivienne Files.

So there you have it, more packing magic.  I now need to conjure up the missing pieces that allow me to have some style steal fun.

A la perchoine.