Some great ideas here!
Did I neglect to mention that this has to all fit in a carry-on luggage, INCLUDING everything else I'm taking for the smart casual/flying/weekend portion of the trip? I'm not sure this is actually possible, but since I shudder at the risk of losing luggage between cities, I'm going to aim for this goal....
Here's what I've got so far (see pic), with commentary, and the jury is out whether this will all fit in a carry-on! I may need to pair this down....
1) Two dresses, the trusty RL black jersey, and a ponte knit grey/plum dress that can stand alone without a jacket (actually, I can't layer over it very easily). Both these dresses work with the tall boots, and the leopard booties. I don't like the way they look with the black booties for some reason.
2) Matching AT black suit jacket + black dress pants.
3) Second suit jacket, charcoal grey, Theory. My most tried & true suit jacket, goes with everything & anything, for business or for casual.
4) 5 blouses. Not sure the navy one works under a suit jacket. Will have to test that out.
5) 3 sweaters of varying thickness (two of these were perfect in the spring on my trip to San Fran; the third is heavier, the Autumn Cashmere high/low sweater from NAS).
6) Leather Veda jacket, which I'd probably wear on the plane, so it doesn't need to fit in the bag. Can work as outerwear or as a topper indoors.
7) New zip topper from NAS - for smart casual/casual portion of the trip.
8) VC ruched midi skirt. I'll have to try this with the suit jackets to see if I can make it work for business formal, otherwise, I'm thinking about it for smart casual/casual/flying (worn with the tall boots on the plane so they don't need to be packed).
9) Grey BR sloans (on order) - which I can already imagine will work for both business and casual.
10) AG skinny jeans - problem with these is that they bag out a lot, so I am dubious about taking them along for an extended trip....
11) BR trouser jeans - tried & true with three of the blouses for smart casual/i.e., they can be swapped with the black dress pants to "dress down" after the formal part of the day is over.
12) Two bags: black cross body & a fold over cognac clutch (birthday gift from my hubby). Will travel with cross-body tucked into laptop bag, and clutch in the suitcase, probably filled with underwear.
13) Two pairs of flats: black Naot's and snakeskin booties.
14) Tall boots - black suede. Or, I could take my wine/burgundy dress boots instead?
15) Two pairs of booties, leopard print & black
16) Grey & white BR scarf
17) Not shown: a second scarf that has geometric print with plums & pinks & a touch of blue, and will tie a lot of this together. One or two layering tees. Additional belts (I do have a leopard belt and a cognac belt). Trusty black cardigan with gold buttons, which I always bring and is permanently packed in my laptop.
Questions:
Do the snakeskin booties work with the cognac clutch? Or am I nuts?
Regarding tall boots -- Should I take the black suede tall boots, or wine/burgundy dress boots (which may be more practical if it rains)? I do not, unfortunately, have any cognac tall boots, and expecting to find some before this trip is not realistic (have been looking for cognac boots for over 5 years now!). There's always my chocolate brown pleather wedge boots, which have an outdated square toe, but which I can walk infinitely in, and work great for rainy weather. They'd actually be my preference from a comfort/versatility/practicality perspective -- but I am just not sure they are dressy enough for the formal business portion.
Would you wear the leopard print booties with the charcoal/plum dress?
Outerwear: I'm contemplating whether the Veda leather jacket, with thick sweater underneath, will be enough for the Montreal portion of the trip, so I don't need to bring a long coat. I'd like to avoid taking a puffer, because I don't think I'll need it except in Canada. I'd think I'd take the Burberry trench instead, if I really need a long coat?
Let's assume for now all of this miraculously fits in a carry on. What tweaks could I make to pull it all together? I.e., what could i substitute (not add) to get even more mix-and-match mileage?
If it doesn't fit in a carry on, what would you REMOVE?
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