August 16, 2024
She remembered the post – right here on The Vivienne Files – and was thinking of something a little bit different with the same painting!
I think every reader of The Vivienne Files thinks up their own versions of these wardrobes; that’s kind of the point! Put your own preferences in place of mine, or those of our heroine…
Her wardrobe is black and white. She’s just now starting to add a bit of taupe/brown to things. But she could see the merit of a blue shirt, or a green sweater, along with a scarf or two…
So for a trip – a fairly long trip – she decides to pack VERY light, but to give herself the feeling of a “bigger than it really is” travel capsule wardrobe. Three accent colors might do that!
Please note that this heroine is willing to have laundry done – or do it herself. If you make this adjustment to your travel planning, the amount of luggage you have to pack drops a LOT!
In order to keep her bag light, but to still give herself a feeling of choices, she’s decided to pack plenty of scarves. For those of us who love scarves, this might be smart – you can pack a half-dozen scarves in the space of one sweater…
She wants to start with her best “24 hour” outfit – denim on denim, with a lovely cardigan, a pretty scarf, and comfortable boots:
cashmere cardigan – L.L.Bean; earrings – Aelita; scarf – Delinor; chambray shirt – J.Crew; black jeans – L.L.Bean; bag – Betsy & Floss; boots – Blondo
She’s going to a big city. She wants to look… nice. Not super-dressy, certainly not super-trendy, but nicely enough dressed that she can walk into most restaurants and snag a single table. Nice enough to feel special!
But how do you look great with just six garments in your bag?
This will fit into a bag that can go under the seat in front of her – assuming she’s flying!
Hoop earrings – Mignonne Gavigan; cross earrings – Viea; pearl & onyx earrings – Lele Sadoughi; green cardigan – Boden; dress – J.Crew; brown ribbon scarf – Kueen; toast sweater – Lands’ End; woven bag – Deux Mains; floral ribbon scarf – Echo; pants – Masai Copenhagen; striped turtleneck – L.L.Bean; black & white scarf – Echo; white shirt – Lands’ End; loafers – Bandolino; flats – Munro
My suggestions for her:
- almost all solid garments. The only print is her striped turtleneck, which is an easy print to wear with a black and white scarf;
- A scarf to help each accent garment dance happily with her neutrals;
- One color of shoes, in three different styles, to go with the three “bottoms” she takes with her (yes, her dress is counted as a bottom because it covers her lower half, and because it can be worn with a variety of tops);
- A second small handbag is a bonus – if you can fill it with undergarments, or pack it flat, it won’t take up too much space; and
- earrings that go with her neutrals, and with her accent colors. There’s literally nothing smaller to pack than earrings!
This is the kind of wardrobe in which it would be hard to put together a bad outfit. Not impossible, but tough.
But the scarves could go awry if you don’t open your eyes before breakfast!
This is far from all of her options, of course, but it’s a sample of what she might do:
I’m going to Europe in November for two weeks; could I manage with a travel capsule wardrobe this small? Or maybe I will pack nine garments, and have thirteen total…
Yes, I think my travel outfit might be four pieces: jeans, shirt, sweater vest, and blazer…
hmm….
love,
Janice
p.s. Five years ago, we flashback to a heroine who won an historic financial settlement, and went shopping! I think that occasional fantasy shopping can help one see what truly appeals…
Like this wardrobe? Save it to Pinterest!
This past April we spent 9 days in Ireland with my son and daughter-in-law. Once there we traveled by car so I was told I could only bring a small carryon. They were amazed when I showed up with that and my shoulder bag. I packed 3 bottoms including a pair of jeans, multiple tops, two jackets and shoes. I had a total of 14 items and “practice” packed to make sure it would all fit. It would have been even easier except that I need to bring 2 pairs of shoes because of issues with my feet. I wore every item. I had a packing list of items and a list of all the different combos I could make. So, if I can do it, anyone can. I did wear multicolored top for travel in case of spills on the plane and used a thin cardigan under a black knit blazer which I wore over and over during the trip. I also wore a long black knit skirt which I find to be the most comfortable for overseas travel and eliminates issues when using the bathroom on the plane.
We had a wonderful time and I always felt good about the way I looked.
Bravo!!!!! That’s absolutely marvellous!
I also prefer a skirt for airline travel. So many people recommend pants, but I’ve seen those mystery wet spots on the floor and don’t want the hems of my pant legs touching them, no matter how many times I tell myself “it’s probably water from people washing their hands”. It’s easy for me to tuck a skirt up under my arms and chin where they don’t touch the floor or the platform around the seat.
So I went to the first post using this painting – personally I kinda like that wardrobe better – and then I went to the “look back” link on THAT post which gave me some food for thought.
https://www.theviviennefiles.com/2014/03/my-favorite-style-is-inappropriate-for.html/
Margo your packing sounds perfect. Last time we traveled was by train and I just had a carry on. I think I had 3 bottoms, 3 – 4 tops which went with all the bottoms, a sweater and a ruana. Fortunately it was summer, AND I knew everything would be super casual. I seem to remember I spilled something on one pair of the pants right away. Jheesh. Can’t take me anywhere. Have a lovely weekend ladies.
I also like the wardrobe of the first post of this painting. It’s more in my color palette.
I adore this style of packing!!! Makes me feel like I have a HUGE wardrobe, even though I don’t!!! I once took a VERY cheap flight to visit some friends – you know the type, where the ticket is too low of a price to pass up on, but they charge you 50$ for a carry-on. Luckily, the “personal item” (which included backpacks) was free/included. I packed for a week, including my laptop and a full-sized keyboard, in my llbean backpack from college. It was a VERY full bag, but it worked!
If I remember correctly, I wore: grey sneakers, jeans, a pink long-sleeve top, maroon cardigan, raincoat, and scarf in maroon/black/green/yellow/olive/pink (it’s a dark fall floral type, one of my favorites, and opens you up to a TON of coordinating color stories). I then packed a pair of white sandals as my alternate shoes; black velvet leggings and navy ankle pants; olive suede thin jacket, beige cardigan; bonus scarf in black/beige/copper; 4 or 5 sleeveless tops in a rainbow of patterns and solids including a shiny copper top, as long as the print could pair with either maroon, beige or olive; underpinnings and PJs. Oh, and a ton of earrings :) and my “day purse”.
Reasons it worked (logistically): i packed into a packing cube that fit into my backpack; my bag has a bottom zippered “shoe pocket” that i use to put my toiletries bag – things i need to access for the TSA line, without disrupting everything else; I think i shoved my sandals into the water bottle holders on the outside; i wore my thickest pieces, and was travelling to a warm climate, prefer sleeveless shells in thin material for summer which pack up into practically nothing; and i have no issues rotating through the bottoms multiple times without washing.
This wardrobe saw me through : a football game (in retrospect, i would have swapped the navy ankle pants for some linen pants, it was really hot that day. i borrowed a hat), working from home/ hanging out, a party at someone’s house, city wandering, sea-side wandering, evening walks in suburban neighborhoods, casual dining out.
I would love to see a colorful version of the 13-items you would pack for your trip – a sweater vest sounds FAB and versatile; and I think if you are really packing light, 4-pieces on the travel day is an EXCELLENT idea!
Happy Friday everyone!!!
This capsule packs so much variety into so few pieces, I’m amazed by it. Of course I am on board the “All the Scarves that Fit” train :D, but I’m surprised by how much I like this combination of neutrals. I think the limited color palettes of typical small capsules give me a feeling of monotony, but choosing neutrals that easily mix and match, jazzed up with a few colorful pieces, gives a greater sense of variety. And though I wouldn’t wear black pants/dress and black shoes all the time for everyday wear, it’s very effective for a small travel capsule because you just end up focusing on the variety in the upper half of the outfit and skip over the black. I still think there’s no neutral as forgettable/unnoticeable-in-a-good-way as black except maybe blue denim.
Wow. I love these choices. This is so elegant and timeless. This would travel well but it could also work with the series you created for no stress dressing. Thank you for the vision!
Great choices. Will you share your travel wardrobe with us? I’m planning a future Europe trip and shoes are my concern. I don’t want to wear trainers but need comfort that can walk miles each day.
Do you think I/you could?
This question is in my head since you asked the same question last week, but that was about 32 peaces of clothing in a year.
Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would…. Simon and Garfunkel, El Condor Pásar
That song is also in my head all week long. Thank you ;)
With variations, like: Yes I could, if I only should, I surely could. Or: If I only would, etc.
Of coarse I could! If I had to. No money, war-time, if there were no clothes after a war, like my mother expierienced. Or like Japan, in the time they invented the beautiful endless repair ebroidery techniques because there was no fabric available. I could do with very little clothes if I had to.
And I want to.
Why all these clothes? They would only bother me. This is a beautiful capsule.
I would pack some woolen undershirts. No need to wash, they clean themselves. Just hang them in damp air outside or in the shower.
And the weekly wardrobe- 33 pieces? Of coarse you can! If you have everything you need from ice-cold winter till hot summer, then you’ll have enough the other way round.
If you only would….
Everyone should adjust the looks to suit their personal style. Agree👍🏽