I am a chronic under packer. I kid you not. Every every summer when I go back to the United States I go with just my carry-on backpack, even though I’m there for three or four weeks. This summer I took just my backpack for a three-week trip to New York City, Madison, and Boulder. One backpack for city, country, hiking, swimming, museums, hanging out, the ballet, and a wedding. It’s not always easy, but it saves a lot of hassle when I don’t need to check a bag.
With such a small bag, of course I wear the same clothing over and over again. But it works because I mix and match those items differently, and so separates are really important for packing this way. You can get so much more mileage out of separates than with dresses, for example.
Right now I’m in Buenos Aires for 10 days. I’ll be taking tango classes, going to a milonga every night, plus walking around the city, enjoying museums, cafés, and exploring the different neighborhoods. I’m so excited to discover this beautiful place! Everyone on this tour brought a checked suitcase, so this time I have the luxury of bringing more than usual, including a variety of tango clothes and shoes in addition to my small selection of regular clothes and shoes. It’s spring in Buenos Aires and the weather is still cold and rainy, so I need sweaters and clothing for cooler weather.
In any case, while I was packing I started getting excited about fall sewing and and what I want to wear this autumn. And I thought it might be useful to you to show you how I packed and what inspired me.
I almost always do some sort of mood board to inspire me, and I often create another to help me when I pack. Lately those mood boards mostly happen on my phone. They go into a folder that I call My Style. When I travel I create a separate folder with a selection of those photos to inspire my packing.
Being a minimalist packer means I never bring more than three or four bottoms and six or seven tops, plus a jacket and sweaters if it’s cold, plus a scarf and usually two pairs of shoes. I wear one pair of shoes and pack the other. I also limit my color palette to two colors plus a few accents. This time everything I packed is black and white, plus a little khaki. Here’s what I packed this time, and it’s also what I feel could easily by my core fall wardrobe:
Outerwear and layers
- Prado Trench Coat
- Black wool blazer
Bottoms:
- black tropical wool Cannes trousers
- black satin Garibaldi skirt
- wide-legged light wash jeans
- khaki Cannes trousers
Tops:
- long- and two short-sleeved tees (black and white)
- white Classic Shirt
- black silk satin Camp Shirt
layers (when I was packing the weather looked colder than it is, so I may not need these very much):
- black fuzzy cardigan
- cream fuzzy cardigan
shoes:
- black loafers
- black booties
- white sneakers
accessories:
- black belt
- jewelry I kept to a minimum because I’ve been told it’s not very safe to wear anything flashy or valuable on the street
- one pair of pajamas (details on this to come soon with the new fall patterns!)
I also brought a lot of tango clothing: three cocktail dresses, three skirts (one black Kensington skirt in jersey, one sequined miniskirt and one burgundy satin skirt), a pair of dressy black shorts, a variety of cream and black tops (including a silk satin Sintra Halter, plus two pairs of dancing shoes (T-strap heels are great for dancing tango).
Will it be enough? I think so. If you want to follow along, I’ll post what I wear each day on my personal Instagram so you can see how it works out!
And if you’re thinking about fall wardrobe and sewing, you could easily plan along these lines as well. (I’ve written about this before, as well, when I talked about my Essential Suitcase.) Your personal choices may be different than mine, but thinking about a streamlined wardrobe of separates can help you to plan and sew items that you’ll wear a lot in the seasons to come. You may still want to add a few more unique items to give you more options, but this is a great way to get started, and it’s an easy way to pack!