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.