Category Archives: clothing

Time To Whittle

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Ugh. It’s that time. Figuring out what I will take on a trip.

Whittling down what I pack so I don’t have too much in my bag is a challenge. All the “What ifs” start haunting me … as in “what if I hate the colors I brought?” “What if I get bored with the items I chose?” “What if I’m not in the mood for any of this stuff?!” “What if I’ve totally misjudged the weather?”

And more.

So I put out all the things that I am considering, knowing I have to pull things out.

For instance, I plan on bringing three pair of pants. The photo below shows four pair. There are two pair of the same style of Unbound MerinoLightweight Travel Pants— one a kind of golden tan and one green. The bluish pair of Unbound (next to the black dress) are their Merino Transit Sweatpants in what they call dark teal. This are a given, because I’m wearing them on the plane. Finally there is a pair of Woolx Emerson black pants next to the brown hoodie on the left. And … well … they are Emerson pants so it seems only right that I would wear them, don’t you think? But they are the heaviest and perhaps not necessary. I still can’t quite wrap my head around what the weather will be on our upcoming trip. (So far it looks to be in the mid or high 60°s.)

Then there are the tops. I love all the colors here. But I really should cut back. I was thinking a maximum of five, one of which I’ll wear on the plane. Right now I have seven there. Who needs seven tops?! What you are seeing includes both Woolx and Unbound tops. They are all really comfy and it’s hard to figure out what to leave home.

The dark “French Roast hoodie, a Woolx Ryann, is also being worn on the plane. I adore that color, and I’m so glad I got it when I did: they no longer carry that color. I’m also pondering bringing the Woolx sweater in that burgundy-ish color that they call “Cabernet Crush” (another discontinued color) you see on top of the purple dress. I had planned on two layering pieces, so those two could work.

The dresses … well … do I even bother? I’m not sure! It’s quite possible we’ll end up at a nice dinner at least once or twice. But if I do bring a dress, it can only be one of these, and most likely that means black … but isn’t that purple (they call it “Montana Grape”) pretty. And yes, dresses are from Woolx — Cassie is the name. It’s a really comfy dress, and would work as is or with a top underneath or a sweater over which I’m sure is what I’d do: I really don’t like showing my bare arms. But perhaps I should nix the dress. Pondering ….

Articles about packing light say pack for a week, even if you are going for more. That makes sense. And as I’ve said, “NO ONE CARES!” what I wear. I’ve read some blogs where they suggest taking only 3 each of tops, bottoms, and layering items. There is also the 5-4-3-2-1 system (5 tops, 4 bottoms, 3 shoes, 2 dresses or outerwear, 1 accessory). Two pair of shoes in the luggage seems like a space hog issue so one pair will do in the bag, and one pair on my feet. And if you really want to go down the packing rabbit hole, just do a search on packing minimally and you’ll find all sorts of opinions about what you really should do.

But I ramble, and really this particular post is mostly about me trying to sort things out in my mind. But hey, if a reader has any strong opinions feel free to share!

No One Cares

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I have to constantly remind myself of this: no one will care what I wear!

I’m not a fashionista. Heck, I dress for comfort, and I am not terrifically stylish. Plus I’m lazy. I don’t get my nails done. I don’t color my hair and rarely cut it. It is, in fact, “wash and wear” hair. (Yes, I promise you I really am that lazy.)

But when it comes to trips I tend to go a bit nuts figuring out what I should bring. I usually end up buying more clothing just for the trip, which is entirely unnecessary since I have enough to wear.

More than enough. (I just filled the clothing bag for Ridwell to pick up tomorrow, in fact. I do NOT need all this stuff!)

So how much do I bring on a trip anyway?

I’m working on this plan for now:
5 tops
3 pair of pants
2 “toppers” (one hoodie, one lightweight sweater)
1 dress … maybe
2 pair of shoes

Of these, of course, I will wear a top, a pair of pants, a topper, and my larger pair of shoes.

But just now I put things out to see how it all went together. All the tops match all the pants. That gives me a lot of options. I think I’ll bring a black sleeveless dress that can be worn as a jumper as well if I put a top underneath. So even more options.

And then what happens? I second guess myself. I think, “Oh I look drab! This is just so boring!” And I want more “stuff” so I start searching online for things I simply don’t need. I just did go through an Amazon search (meanwhile I’m trying to swear off Amazon) looking of scarves that are colorful. I opened a ton of windows. Then I closed them all.

So I am reminding myself here, in order to stick to the plan.

NO ONE WILL CARE WHAT I WEAR!

Sleepless …

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Another night of restless sleep. This time a stupid dream woke me. So it goes. Thankfully I seem to be okay during the day. But since I’m so awake, I’ll write about what I wear here in the colder climate:

Merino wool leggings, merino wool pants, wool socks (2 pair!), merino wool turtleneck, cashmere turtleneck plus a wool “shacket”, or heavy (non-merino) wool v-neck sweater, down thigh length coat, wool hat or merino wool beanie, cashmere lined gloves, and wool scarf. I can wear my raincoat over the down coat, and it is also thigh length.

Lots of clothes! But I stay pretty comfortable.

Okay … now to try that sleep thing again!

One Other Clothing Issue

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The villa we stayed at in Croatia had a swimming pool, and of course there were also beaches that others went to. I brought no bathing suit. When we took our Italian vacation some years back I did take one and never put it on so I decided it was stupid to bother. This time, though, I sat by the pool and dangled my feet in and there was a part of me that wished I had a suit.

I guess I have time to ponder that one.

What I Took, What I Won’t Take Again

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It’s time to take inventory of all the clothes I took and, yes,, I took too many! This is primarily for me — so I can convince myself to pack less — and I know it’s boring for most other folks. Had I left a few things at home I believe I could have taken a smaller second bag rather than the Cabin Max bag.

Shoes
Aetrex Jillian black leather sandals
Merrell Bravada 2 hiking shoe
Rieker Nikita black synthetic flats

Yes, three pair of shoes. I wore the Merrill’s and packed the others, stuffing the Rieker’s with socks.

From now on it’s one pair for wearing, one for packing. In summer I would do the Merrell’s or something similar (but they were wonderful so why switch?) and the sandals, since sandals can be used if I want to look a bit dressier. The Riekers, as nice as they are, were not at all necessary. For winter I still have to decide what to do. The Merrell shoes won’t work in rain, so I have to investigate what will be better. I think the Rieker’s would work well for a dressier shoe, and I put inserts in that make it easy to wear them without stockings.

Next trip: two pair of shoes will suffice!

UPDATE: Never mind the Riekers! The velcro is no longer holding. I’m sad about that, since they looked rather nice. Ah well.

Pants (and no photos from here on out … it’s just too much work!)
Land’s End cropped pants (black & off-white with a bit of a pattern; cotton jersey)
Eddie Bauer ankle pants (black; polyester/spandex)
REI Co-op Trailmade pants (black)
Alfani pants (black & white pattern; polyester/spandex
Alfani wide leg pants (striped, black, gold, white; polyester/spandex)
GAP wide leg pants (ticking-type look; cotton/linen blend)

TOO many, and wrong, wrong, wrong for the weather, aside from the GAP pants. The Alfani are so comfy here at home, but in the heat and humidity they stick like crazy. The Land’s End fabric was just too darn heavy. The REI were fine for hiking, which is why I brought them, but we didn’t do any serious hiking. The Eddie Bauer said they were moisture wicking but they were sticky as well. Even the GAP, while I wore them the most, weren’t perfect: they were not true linen.

Biggest lesson (which I already knew but didn’t pay attention to) is that polyester is a big no-no in summer heat. Linen (true linen!), while wrinkly, would be much more comfortable. That being said, I am very fussy about fabric and linen can scratch. I need to ponder a solution for that.

Next trip: better fabric, and a maximum of four pair of pants (even four is one pair more than I truly need, I think).

UPDATE: Forget the Gap pants. They shrank horribly. I’ll look for higher quality linen next time.

Skirts
JM skirt (black & white; handkerchief hem; polyester/spandex)
Amazon skirt (some cheap-o, chiffon thing with a mock button front)

As much as the polyester/spandex pants are a pain, the skirt sufficed. I’m not sure it was the BEST thing, and I didn’t wear it very often, but it was okay. The Amazon skirt was a piece of trash and why I brought it at all is a mystery. I wore it once, and eventually I left it behind.

Next trip: one skirt only! Search for a nicer fabric if possible.

Tops
Land’s End trimmed tank top (white; cotton, modal, spandex)
Hilary Radley short sleeveblouse (Costco; yellow print, polyester)
Amazon round collar boxy short sleeve top (yellow; cotton/linen; crinkly cloth)
Amazon round collar boxy short sleeve top (black; cotton/linen; crinkly cloth)
Rox&Ali short sleeve top (black with gold zipper trip; polyester/spandex)
Style & Co 3/4 sleeve top (white; embroidery & lace trim; viscose/polyester)
GAP long sleeve top (white; cotton/linen blend)
GAP long sleeve top (black; cotton/linen blend)
Columbia long sleeve shirt (yellow and white; cotton)
Alfani long sheer-sleeve tunic top (black with flowers; nylon)

Yes, TOO MANY! That seems to be the common denominator here, right? The Hilary Radley, cute as it is, was a bad choice. I also struggle greatly with no sleeve or short sleeve tops because I develop a rash sometimes. Sure enough, that happened on this trip and once I get it I can’t expose my skin to ANY light whatsoever (yes, even if I have sunscreen on!). The rash didn’t fully go away until I got home, in fact. I wound up wearing the white linen shirt OVER another top, and that’s fine. I must whittle things down and be smarter about the choices. Still, for those of you who thought I wore the same thing every day, as you can see I had a lot of choices and nearly every top when with every pair of pants! The Style & Co shirt, though, worked quite well. (I saw them on sale at Macys just now and I’ve been sorely tempted to buy a few, but perhaps I need to sit on that for a while: I have too many clothes! The tunic top was fun to wear for Dan’s birthday dinner, and it weighs next to nothing, but I only wore it that one time so that gets nixed for sure. (Update: or maybe not. Dan and I talked and it IS nice to have one nicer thing “just in case”.)

Next trip: ONE long sleeve linen shirt, and I simply don’t know yet how to resolve the sleeve issue with my sun problem. I think, though, I want to investigate other fabrics. Non-scratchy linen would be kind of nice! (But pants are more important when it comes to breathing and all.)

Jackets
GAP lightweight jacket (black; linen blend)
Ex Officio packable rain jacket (black; lightweight)

I wore the linen jacket on the plane over, and wore it one evening in Paris. From them on it sat in my backpack.

Next trip: find a sweater (fewer wrinkles!) and nix the linen jacket. A raincoat, while barely worn, is still a good thing to have. It did rain at some point so I did use it!

Underwear and Socks
Just bring less! I hand wash things and so “one to wear, one to wash, and one waiting” should work just fine.

Now … just so you all know, I DID wear absolutely everything, aside from some socks and underwear. I was determined: if I brought it, doggone it, I was going to wear it! And so I did.