Page 2 in the conversation "." by carter

Nice tight colour palette. I thought the same as Joy... I don't see walking shoes...?

As a packing minimalist, I'm fascinated by larger travel wardrobes because I think everyone has different needs and priorities.

As a North American who regularly spends time in the spring and fall in the UK and Northern Europe, I can certainly relate to Parsley's feeling of standing out if I wear certain outfits in Paris and London that wouldn't get a second glance back home. To my eye, I think you'd totally feel comfortable in your cool weather outfits in the streets of both London and Paris. Crops, sandals, and t-shirts, on the other hand, look quite casual for city wear and would be more likely to be worn by visitors or very young women, at least in my experience.

Luggage isn't really much of an issue if you will only need to handle it in the airport and are staying put in a full-service, five-star hotel with elevators, reasonably large rooms, and a staff to help you with your luggage, and you can afford to hire a driver and car to shuttle you to and from airports and train stations. I've found that travelers at this level definitely have an upper-class look unless they are rock stars.

Just a couple more observations that you might find useful. Porters are very rare, taxis smaller, larger wheeled luggage looks unwieldy and hard to maneuver on uneven streets and in crowds, not all train stations and subways have elevators or escalators (and those staircases can seem endless!), European hotel rooms are often quite a bit smaller than those in North America and the elevators can be tiny, and you might have to spend time guarding your luggage in crowded stations on days were you are traveling from place to place. In fact, the last situation is really my biggest reason for not traveling with a larger suitcase because I prefer to spend my time in a cafe, or walking around, on those travel days instead of being stuck in a crowded area with my bags.

But I think different modes of travel work for different people and we all make our own trade offs. One thing, though, I'd personally love to know is how this wardrobe works out for you because you've obviously put a lot of thought into it. Will you miss not having a wool sweater--or any of the other things suggested in this thread? Did you find your luggage a hassle or was it a good trade off to have a choice of what to wear every day? What items got the most use? Or the least? Who knows, maybe you'll convince me that have a bit more variety might make hauling a bigger suitcase worthwhile because I know how happy I am to get back to my regular wardrobe after a month in black pants and a trench!

Wow, looks like a great travel wardrobe! I love how you went through all the outfit possibilities.

Sorry...I've been out all day. Will respond to all in a minute.

Joy, I think everyone's convinced me to throw in my grey jeans and a couple light sweaters:-). I've thought a great deal about the shoes. I may throw in an old pair of loafers for walking through puddles and debris, but honestly, closed toe shoes are so risky for me. One wrong step on cobblestones and that joint will swell so badly that I won't be able to walk in loafers. I also have to focus on how I walk in loafers because they let my toe bend past the point of pain. The sandals don't do that, and they also accommodate a swollen foot. All things considered, I think I'm better dealing with season confusion than more pain than I can stand.

Thanks, Lyn67!

J'Aileen, so sorry you had to deal with the PF too! My husband got inserts a couple weeks ago, and they are helping. He also just bought a couple of pair of podiatrist-approved shoes for the trip. On Monday, he is having a cortisone shot in each heel. SO happy to hear that that worked for you! And yes, unless I keep adding sweaters, I have plenty of room for purchases!

Thanks, Rachylou! Sandals are my walking shoes! I have sneakers if I need them.

Gaylene, my suitcase is a medium size that I can easily handle on my own. We will happily pay for porters, taxis, drivers when we need them though. I have added a couple pullover sweaters that I would wear here in 40-50 degrees without a coat. I must be really off kilter in the temperature department, because my "heavy" coat is a lightweight quilted jacket, and even that's too much unless it's super cold. You'd better believe I'm going to take plenty of notes on this trip so I don't have to go through this whole process next time! I promise to report back on everything---even if I find I was wrong;-)

Thanks, Raisin!