Packing - 15 days in Spain

This post was inspired by the 'packing consultation' I had with my Mom, who is going to Spain for 15 days. She is a serial over-packer and for this 15 day trip, she is only allowed to bring 1 20 inch carry-on, and a purse.  Most people hate packing, but I thoroughly enjoy it, as I shared in this post - Tetris with clothes. 

A few things we considered before we started - weather and activities. The weather will reach highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s and they will often be on the go all day with no time to change clothes for evenings. Knowing this, my strategy was to pack lightweight layers that were interchangeable with each other.

We started at the bottom. We knew she would only be bringing 2 pair of shoes, both black. A sporty, walking shoe that would replace a sneaker, and another black patent loafer that could dress things up a bit. 

Next, we chose pants 1 black, 1 navy, 1 dark wash jean, and 1 charcoal jean (later we added a colored jean for some variety). We included a black and white printed skirt for dressier evenings. Then I started picking tops from her closet that were lightweight, layer-able, and preferably wrinkle-resistant - 9 tops in all. All tops could be worn with any of the 4 neutral pants, and half of the tops could be paired with the colored jeans. Finally we picked 3 blazers/jackets, 1 cardigan sweater and 3 scarfs. I lined everything up using a rolling rack, building and eliminating as we went - you could also lay it all out on your bed. Then I put together 13 outfits pictured below.

5 Bottoms: Dark Wash Jean, Charcoal Jean, Black Pants, Navy Pants, Black/White Skirt
9 Tops    Solids: Red Ruffle Tank, Royal 3/4 Sleeve Blouse, Light Pink Blouse
             Textures: Cream Lace Top, Purple with Purple Polka Dots
             Prints: Floral Blouse, Paisley Blouse, Black Stripe T/Flower, Black/White Print
3 Jackets: Denim Jacket, Black Knit Moto Jacket, Cream/Gold/Silver Boucle Jacket 
3 Scarfs: Global Print, Solid Purple, Solid Dark Pink

Below you see I fit it ALL of the items above into the 20 inch suitcase, except for the travel outfit (striped flower t, black cardigan, dark wash jeans and 1 pair shoes). I rolled the 4 pair of pants and lined them in a row across, and then I squeezed in as many rolled tops in a row across just like the pants. Photo 2 shows another layer of tops rolled and laid across the bottom layer, and the opposite side of the suitcase shows jackets and shoes. Plenty of room for toiletries. 

A few side notes.....

- Finding comfortable shoes to walk around in all day proved to be the most difficult part of this. Thank goodness for Zappos and Nordstrom - free shipping, free returns.

- We ended up removing the Black Knit Moto jacket because the forecast was even warmer than expected

- We didn't discuss jewelry, but I suggest pick either gold or silver or if you has a piece that has both - perfect!1 or 2 necklaces at the most and 1 or 2 pair of earings - an everyday and a dressy maybe.

- The 1 purse was a small, gunmetal cross-body purse 

- If this were me packing, I would have thrown in 2 knit dresses.

- My Dad was ridiculously EASY to pack for. 1 Black Jeans, 1 Dark Wash Jeans, 1 khaki pair if pants, 2 long sleeve woven shirts, 6 polo shirts, 1 jacket/activewear piece and 2 pair of shoes. 

- I fully expect my Mom to throw in a few random things at the end just because she has room

Coming soon - I helped a family of 5 pack for 2 weeks in Italy!! 

The $5 Rule

There was an article in the WSJ this morning about the current shift in shopping for few items, but spending more money on key pieces. Quality vs. Quantity. I thought that was just something that was happening to me as I grew up, apparently I'm not the only one.  

Then I got to thinking about how I choose what items to spend more money on, and the arbitrary 'rules' I use for purchasing. For example I don't like to by tops over $40, pants must be under $80 - I'm talking "trousers" here, work pants, but denim is a whole other story. I've been contemplating some 3 digit denim for almost a week now. Don't judge. I'm working on a whole post about denim varieties and the necessity of said varieties - if only for my husband to read and maybe understand. 

So, I was brought back to something a customer shared with me years ago (I have no idea if she was the originator of this rule, this is just where I heard it). She used a rule of $5. An item needed to be worth $5 per wear. So if you bought a $20 top, as long as you wore it 4 times, it was money well spent. I actually find this to be pretty helpful. It helps justify those 3 digit jeans - I will totally wear them 40 times a year - AND since I keep most of my jeans for-ev-er it is fine -right? 

One area where I can't use my rule is the purse. I can't seem to invest in a purse - even though it is something you carry/use everyday, I can't get the $5 rule to work. I always think I want to buy one, but I just can't. No judging here - just sharing a oddity in my arbitrary shopping rules. 

Something else that came to mind here is DON'T buy something just because it is a good deal. I used to fall for this a lot. OR I would buy something just because it was a brand name and I found it at Marshalls for really cheap, and then I would be so made I wasted money on something I didn't really like. 

But my point is, if you are going to invest in a few key pieces, make sure it is something you LOVE, that it fits, and that you will wear it often.

I would love to hear what you all splurge and save one. 

And just so this post isn't totally boring, I have a funny story about fringe. I mentioned here that I thought 'western wear' - or at least fringe -  was a trend for fall. I thought I would grab onto this trend with both feet and ordered these boots. I was going to make them the replacement for my fake-uggs (I could have used my $5 rule for real ones several years ago, but instead bought cheap ones every year or two from Target - I kept thinking they were going out of style the next year.) Anyway - here are the boots I ordered. Minnetonka 3-Layer Fringe boots.

Adorable right? I thought so. Or maybe you hate them. But I was convinced I could totally pull them off. Weeelllll, they make the most annoying swoosh, swoosh, swoosh noise when you walk. You think corduroys or wind pants are bad? (are they actually called wind pants? you know what I mean)  I was laughing out loud walking around my room. Just for fun I super-seriously asked my husband if he liked them - he replied "ridiculous". Which almost made me want to keep them :)

So I have ordered these to squash both my Minnetonka craving and my fringe craving. We'll see if they are a keeper. A little fringe goes a long way. 

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