I flew to Europe on Saturday to spend time with my darling Dad in the Netherlands and my sweet brother in London. I’m on my own while Greg and Sam hold the fort back at the Cox Castle in Seattle. Including travel it’s a ten day trip. This is what I’ve packed.
A few things upfront before I delve into the details:
- I’ll be seeing family, friends, and doing lots of walking, which calls for comfortable and cosy casual wear. No dressy events this time round, although my casual outfits skew a little dressy anyway.
- The weather is much like Seattle, which means wrapping up, especially in the mornings and evenings. It’s quite cold and a little wet, but temperatures are above freezing.
- I’ll be popping a larger suitcase in the hold as I like to have more dressing options than a carry-on can accommodate. I’ll also be bringing presents for family, which requires extra space.
- I will NOT be doing laundry on the trip.
- The capsule INCLUDES the outfit that I will wear on both ten hour flights. It’s the same outfit, and I’ve included it at the end of this post.
I’ve kept my dressing formula the same for each day: cropped flared jeans + pullover + booties + accessories + outerwear.
The colour palette and style sensibility of my capsule is in keeping with my style preferences. Equal parts colours and neutrals. Equal parts trends and classics. An emphasis on LIGHTER neutrals and only a smattering of black. Pretty pearl necklaces to wear most days, scarves for insulation, and the occasional belt to jazz up my look. I’m aiming for practical, varied and polished.
Here’s more detail on each part of the capsule. Note that basics like undies, camisoles, sleepwear, loungewear and socks are not represented here. For the rest, these are the exact wardrobe items that I packed and am wearing en route.
* I can combine any of the tops with any pair of jeans and boots, and throw on either one of the toppers. It’s a very versatile mix-and-match capsule.
Footwear
I usually build a travel capsule around my shoes because it’s extremely important to have happy feet when you’re walking around a city and using public transport. Once I knew which shoes I was taking, I planned the rest of the outfits to work with them.
I chose two old pairs of very comfortable booties (I’m not a sneaker gal): my equestrian cognac boots and cheetah wedges. I also threw in a pair of cream booties for a dressier look, just in case. The cream booties have been worn on day long shopping trips with clients, so they go the distance too.
I always bring more shoes than I need on a trip because I must feel prepared that I have backup for when my feet hurt, or when shoes get wet. All three pairs of boots will work with any of the outfits I put together from this capsule.
Bottoms
I’ll be wearing on-trend dark wash flared cropped and straight jeans each day. I had my white flared crops in the capsule for a while, but decided to leave them at home. I chose dark blue wash jeans because that’s the only blue denim wash I’m enjoying at the moment. I’ll wear nude knee-highs and ankle socks for comfort and insulation.
Tops
I’ve packed six pullovers, although I’ll only be wearing the ink turtleneck for the flights, so it’s essentially five tops. I’ll wear each of the tops twice and for the whole day.
I chose knitwear because I’ll be too cold in shirts and blouses. I chose an assortment of colours because that makes me happy, and I crave variety within the same outfit formula. I chose crew and slash necklines because those work best with my pearl necklaces. I will not wear my pearls with the turtlenecks. And for the context, I was born in 1970 so that’s why I like the year on the turtleneck!
Outerwear
I do not want to wear the same coat or jacket for ten days, so I’ve packed two. The old tomato red coat is my Dad’s favourite, so I had to bring that one. It’s warm, dressy, classic, tailored and cheerful. As a more casual and trendy option, I’ve also packed my new short toffee puffer. I can swap out the outerwear depending on my mood. Either coat will work with any of the outfits I put together from the capsule.
I packed a lighter weight black mixed media jacket into my suitcase at the last minute for an unexpected mild day, just in case my other toppers are too warm. It’s not represented in the photograph but you can see it in the collections. I can also wear that jacket with any of the outfits in this capsule.
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Accessories
On this more maximal leg of my style journey, I’ve brought more accessories than usual. Two pearl necklaces, which I’ll choose depending on whether I want to make a small or large pearl statement. Two scarves to wear for insulation when I’m out and about (I take them off when I’m indoors). The red scarf makes a very bold statement with the red coat, which makes me smile. The Burberry is my favourite scarf of all time, and usually comes with me on a trip.
I have the option to semi-tuck my pullovers and add a cream or cognac belt if I feel like it. I’ll wear the same gold watch and my green specs each day. And although it’s hard for this bag lady to work the same bag for ten days, I’ve only brought one of them. The bag has to be large because that’s convenient for travel. I chose a new oatmeal Furla satchel to brighten these cold weather outfits and match my hair colour. The dressiness of the bag makes me feel more polished in my outfits.
I will also be travelling with an umbrella and a cashmere wrap. I’ve left the wrap out of the capsule because it will not be styled into these outfits. It’s loungewear and a cosy blanket for plane travel only. I’ll keep the umbrella in my bag just like I do in Seattle.
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Travel Outfit
This is the exact outfit that I wore on the flight out here, and what I’ll be wearing when I fly back to Seattle next week. I wore a turtleneck because I find plane travel awfully cold. The puffer is in case I get really cold on the plane, and for when I travel to my Dad from the airport with arranged transport.
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You can visit this collection page to see my travel capsule in its entirety. The picture below shows the items just before I started packing. My little in-house fashion stylist was of great assistance.
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