March 4, 2019
It’s all well and good to have your clothes sorted for a trip, but you really MUST pack accessories. Not necessarily all that much stuff, but some shoes are critical, as well as a few more odds and ends…
As a reminder, this is the photograph that was inspiring us, and the color scheme that we were using:
You’ve got to have shoes – there aren’t terribly many places you can go and NOT need shoes… Even though the dress shoes aren’t as important as hiking shoes, let’s start here anyway!
cardigan – Barefoot Dreams; plaid shirt – L.L.Bean; fleece top – L.L.Bean; sweater fleece – L.L.Bean; striped dress – Uniqlo; chambray dress – J.Crew; drawstring dress – Uniqlo; silver flats – Fitflop; grey flats – Lands’ End
If you’re not going to do hard-core hiking, you might adjust your choice of hiking shoes to be something a little bit less rugged, but it always makes sense to have something very comfortable for lots of walking…
grey shorts – Khul; hiking pants – REI; chambray shorts – Lands’ End; jeans – Lands’ End; hiking hoots – Keen; loafers – Geox
Being outdoors a lot, and being somewhere that has changeable weather, suggests both scarves and a pair of sunglasses. (if you haven’t already included your water-proof jacket, you will definitely want it!) For no good reason, I think that a watch is essential. Some people are happy with looking on their phone for the time, but I still wear a watch. So old-school, eh?
print scarf – Nordstrom; striped scarf – Y’s by Yohji Yamamoto; sunglasses – Smith; watch – Tissot
Next up, you might want a handbag, or two. If you have a coat with pockets that close tightly, this might not be necessary, but if you get some nice warm days you may not be wearing you coat! (one can always hope!)
tote – Calvin Klein; crossbody bag – Baggallini
Many of us would carry more jewelry than this, but these few pieces will go a long way:
rhinestone earrings – Nina; swallow earrings – The Met Store; chalcedony necklace – The Met Store; ring – Kendra Scott; bracelet – Durrah Jewelry
Now that there are some accessories to add to this mix, this is what her new travel wardrobe looks like:
Don’t forget that there’s some excellent shopping in Ireland!
cardigan – Novica; cross pendant – Novica; teal alpaca scarf – Coast; shamrock pendant – James Avery
Now, when we look at our heroine’s planned outfits, they look a lot more complete and attractive…
I know that there was some concern that these dresses aren’t dressy, but for many of us, these would be plenty formal for most restaurants in Ireland. If you have plans for some very spiffy restaurants, or other quite nice events, you might want to scale up a notch or two…
love,
Janice
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Ideal choices !
I love all your ideas, Janice !
And I am very interested by some accessories : the crossbody bag Baggallini seems incredible concerning the security, and looks like very light to wear.
Thank you very much for your comments, and for these very interesting proposals.
I love clicking on the websites to see the items. Is that the way to order so you are recognized as the promoter? If I just go to the website, I’m assuming you are cut out of the loop, and that’s no good!
If you click on a link here, I do indeed get recognized as the promoter, and often I get a small commission! (that’s where much of my income originates…)
I’m grateful that you think of me when you do this – you’re very kind!
hugs,
Janice
I like the accessories you selected. They do finish the outfits off well but aren’t adding a lot of bulk in packing. I also agree about buying items there. I’m always a supporter of helping out the local economy when traveling! My favorite sweater is from Ireland it is warm and each time I wear it I get a lot of compliments because of the uniqueness of it. I also have a Waterford sea horse “broach” on it that we got after going through the tour of the Waterford factory.
I usually pack as few bags as possible but on that trip I knew we would be bringing home souvenirs for us and other family. so we carried a smaller suitcase and a larger one that we could adjust for dirty clothes and new things coming home.
Both of these bags look great!
Not accessory-related but you’ve featured plaid flannel shirts a lot recently and I found that I couldn’t stop thinking about them…. so I purchased 2 in my colors, gently used from an online consignment shop. They arrived last week and I’ve already worn one and am planning the next outfit. Thank you!
I find them so useful in cold weather… Glad you found some, and I’m delighted that you looked at a consignment shop – the planet thanks you!
hugs,
Janice
Thanks for showing the James Avery jewelry; I grew up wearing it . . . and still have pieces that I wear – one ring EVERY day. Love this post and can’t wait for our trip.
Has anyone found a good way to travel with jewelry without having chains get tangled. I usually put like-items in pouches and wrap the chains in aluminum foil. This works pretty well but is a pain to wrap necklaces and bracelets every night. If there is some amazing organizer out there, I’d love to know about it.
I saw a travel idea for chains: you tread one side of the chain into a plastic straw and reclasp it . Seems like it would work but I haven’t tried it yet!
I saw this too – I’m curious if anyone has tried it. It seems intuitively like it would work well, doesn’t it?
hugs,
Janice
I use small clear zip plastic bags (like food ones but much smaller), and put each piece of jewellery in a bag. Easy oversight and no tangles, and keep them all in a bag or case. You can even keep them in the bags at home, prevents tarnishing and rubbing.
The photo is a great starting point for this lovely, really versatile wardrobe. And I was immediately reminded of a 1968 painting by Michael Smither, a New Zealand artist: https://www.aucklandartgallery.com/explore-art-and-ideas/artwork/3585/rocks-with-mountain
If you’re into vintage, you can go souvienir shopping at several excellent second hand and consignment shops in Dublin. I found beautiful linen pieces and a perfect Avoca wool tweed blazer for a fraction of the original price.
These accessories nicely complement the versatile wardrobe, without adding lots of weight. (I’d be wearing the hiking boots on travel days.) The post has me thinking about how we categorise accessories though. Shoes … do we ever leave the house without footwear? Aren’t they really essentials? Is it because we tend to buy them to go with garments that shops put them in accessories departments, perhaps. Considering the trouble lots of us have in finding good, comfortable shoes for our various purposes, I wonder if we shouldn’t “Start with a shoe”!
We are in the beginning stages of planning a September Ireland trip. Would these clothes be appropriate for fall weather there? Do you think I would need shorts? I so enjoy your posts!
Love this… Beautiful colours and like the outdoorsy options. Just a small thing, Janice – the teal scarf (potential Irish purchase above) seems to be from a lovely Irish company called Stable, not from Coast (a UK chain).
This is all lovely together. That soft blue is my signature color. Would it be possible to show a travel capsule wardrobe along these lines for an island getaway?