What I’m Packing for Florence, Italy

I feel like I’ve been working on my list of outfits for Florence for months – probably because I have been. We booked this trip ages ago, and while it’s wonderful to have something to look forward to, it feels like it’s been a long time coming. We depart today and I am, in a word, thrilled.

On my recent trip to Halifax, I traveled without Ian, which meant packing clothes to mix and match as I went. We’re headed to Florence together, so I’ve been arranging and rearranging my rolling rack in my office in early August as I plan and change the outfits on my travel list. (With Ian along, there are always outfit photos, whether he likes it or not.) Sometimes, my holiday outfits come together seamlessly, but for this trip, I’ve done a lot of revising. It’s fall here, but will still be summer when we arrive in Florence. My attempts to marry practicality – in other words, clothes I won’t be too hot in – with the fall styles I want to wear right now finally feels more or less successful. I am packing a lot of the same things I took to Halifax, but I’ll be wearing them a lot differently.

Tops
L’Academie white blouse
Uniqlo white oxford shirt
Everlane black silk blouse
H&M camel ribbed sweater
Mango black cashmere turtleneck
Zara black ribbed tank
H&M ribbed buttondown top

Bottoms
Paige black jeans
Zara beige shorts
Aritzia brocade culottes
Mavi white jeans
Mavi black wide leg jeans

Dresses
Sezane white silk dress
Sezane polka-dot wrap dress
ShopUniques off-shoulder dress

Outerwear
Mango plaid blazer
H&M trench

Shoes
Jonak mules
Mango slingbacks
Diego’s espadrilles
Sezane gladiator sandals
H&M block heels
Adidas Stan Smith sneakers

Accessories
Aritzia straw boater
Anthropologie black beret
Gucci Marmont handbag
Rayban Wayfarer sunglasses
Louis Vuitton Speedy 25 handbag
Asos camel beret
Ellen James rattan bag
Zara cat eye sunglasses
Anine Bing

This is an honest packing list. I do not pack lightly, and I don’t see any virtue in traveling with nothing but a carry-on suitcase. After all, I like shoe options. I like wearing different sunglasses every day. And because it’s an honest packing list, I will confess that this list doesn’t include what I’ll wear on the plane, because I haven’t chosen that outfit yet. It doesn’t include the extra pair of shoes I will invariably throw in before I close my suitcase, panicked about potential blisters. I haven’t mentioned the fact that I will pack every piece of jewelry I’ve worn in the past month – just in case. If you’re looking for tips on how to pack effectively, you’ll probably have to look elsewhere.

The reality is, travel packing is pretty personal and I can’t tell you what will work for you. I can tell you that I do not deprive myself of clothes when I travel for the sake of saving myself the hassle of carrying three bags. I will carry three bags happily, especially if it means having all the outfits I want to wear and a few spares. Especially for Italy. Italy is a country where you want to be well-dressed, and I have no plans to do anything different. I give myself a pass for overpacking because I will genuinely wear everything that I take with me. Some pieces may only get out for half a day, but to me, that’s enough to justify taking them along.

I am so excited to be heading back to Europe, and to discover a part of Italy I’ve never experienced before. I can’t wait to savour pasta with parmesan cheese, sip red wine and capture all the beauty around me in photos. But mostly, I can’t wait to get dressed every morning in the outfits I’ve been planning for so long, because while anticipation does have a lot going for it, there’s nothing better than living moments you’ve only dreamt of.