As an entrepreneur, the one thing that suffers the most is vacation time. It's not like I have an allotted amount of time that I need to use or lose. While pretty much every coach and advisor will tell you the importance of downtime, I'm terrible at it. This will be my first true vacation in nearly 6 years. All of my other "vacations" have been days tacked onto a work trip where I ended up working anyway. While I've become an expert at packing for work trips and short vacations, packing for a two week trip is a new challenge. I'll be on a boat in a cabin with limited space, so efficiency is key. Because it's a cruise, I have to pack separate outfits for dinner that fit the elegant casual bill so that automatically increases the number of items I have to bring. I can't just pop into a restaurant after a day of touring in my jeans and tee.
In the summer months, I tend to wear flats more than heels which is a huge space saver and one reason the new Carole pants are hemmed for flats for most women (I'm 5"5 for reference in the photo). I love my new Birdies slippers, which I'll be wearing on the overnight flight for comfort and to dinners. They are the perfect pop of color to go with the Senza Tempo dresses and skirts (and now pants!) I'm packing. I'll be packing two scarves in colors that coordinate with the shoes. Carefully curating a wardrobe of accessories where you pick a signature color (mine colors are red and pink) makes packing for a trip like this easier than it otherwise would be. Things just automatically go and I don't have to spend a ton of time finding items that coordinate since my closet is orchestrated to largely coordinate these days.
Here is my packing list for two weeks (there are 13 dinners to dress for) so I'll be packing 4 dresses and two bottoms. One dress can work for touring or dinner. They will all be worn twice changing the look with my shoes and accessories.
Evenings
Dresses and skirts
- Lawson Day
- Lawson Cocktail
- Diana Cocktail
- Brigitte
- Carole pants in black
- 1 vintage dress for dinner or touring
Accessories for evening:
- 2 pairs of flats (Birdies slippers + dressy sandals)
- 1 pair of summer heels
- 3 silk scarves
- 1 Clare V. leopard purse (it works as a document bag so I'll be storing my computer in it in my oversized carryon)
- 3 necklaces
Daytime
For the day the idea is to re-wear bottoms a few times and then launder the shirts on the trip as needed.
Bottoms - 4
- 3 pairs of jeans (+ one pair that I'll be wearing on the plane)
- 1 casual skirt (I don't wear shorts and much of the touring will be in museums, etc.. regardless
Tops - 7
Most of the tops are for the day, but one top the new Marilyn 2 will be paired with the Carole pants and Diana cocktail for evening.
- Marilyn top (which can be laundered in the room per instructions)
Accessories for day
- 1 pair Allbirds sneakers
- 1 pair Birkenstocks
- 1 pair Belgian loafers, which are a little dressier but still comfortable
Misc other
- Travel outfit: I'm planning a dedicated travel outfit of skinny pants from American Giant and oversized men's shirt as we have long flights. I'll wear the Birkenstocks to the airport, and change into the Birdies on the flight. Both are lightweight and will easily fit into my tote. There is some rain in the forecast, so I'll be wearing my Barbour waxed cotton coat on the plane so I don't have to use up space in my suitcase. They are my favorite coats for travel because of the large patch pockets, easy access to phones and passports.