What I’m Packing for Paris, France | October 2021 edition

I can’t get over what an immense privilege it is to be able to type the words, What I’m Packing for Paris. It’s been a long, winding road and at times, I didn’t believe that I’d ever have the chance to write those words again. But here we are, two and a half years after our last visit to our adopted home, ready to go again. Departure is less than a week away now, but if I’ve earned anything in the past two years, it’s that things can change in an instance. There is a distinct possibility that this longed for, and long overdue, trip won’t actually happen.

Still, I live in hope. So I’ve been packing for Paris, slowly but surely, for a little over a week now. Packing for any city is an art, not a science; there is no single, foolproof way to get it right. Paris is a city I know well – I know what to expect from the weather, and the ventilation, which makes the exercise easier. Even so, the act of getting everything I want to take into a single suitcase is like solving a sartorial puzzle. In some ways, for me, it’s part of the fun.

It strikes me, as I write this, just how little has changed in two years. What I’m packing for Paris this October is surprisingly similar to what I packed for Paris in February 2019. We are so different now than we were back then. But our clothes, it seems, are not. In fact, at times, I’ve wondered if I’ve simply put the evolution of my style on pause while I wait for life to resume. This packing list would seem to suggest that’s the case.

So, what I’m packing for Paris, in some ways, is a lot like what I packed in 2019…

Tops
Zara blank tank
Oak + Fort white corset tank
Uniqlo white oxford shirt
& Other Stories grey crew neck sweater
Sandro blue oxford shirt
Sezane cream cardigan
Wilfred black cashmere turtleneck
Wilfred beige cashmere turtleneck
Zara striped top

Bottoms
Zara blue mom jeans
Brown vintage skirt
Mango white jeans

Dresses
Wilfred black slip dress
Zara black turtleneck dress
Wilfred black backless dress

Outerwear
Wilfred black blazer
Mango trench coat
Zara camel blazer
The Curated camel coat

Shoes
Mango white sneakers
Rouje black ankle boots
Mango black knee high boots
Dune London black heeled mules
Oak + Fort brown flat mules
Mango black slingback kitten heels

Accessories
Anthropologie black beret
Chanel jumbo black handbag
Vintage Birks handbag
Burberry silk scarf
Louis Vuitton speedy 25 bag
Hermine Hold beige silk scarf
Chanel cardholder
RayBan Wayfarer sunglasses
Celine Audrey sunglasses

When I first wrote out that packing for Paris list in my trusty Moleskine notebook, I was so proud of myself for how little I seemed to be bringing along. But looking back at my last packing list, I realise this one is actually longer, so I haven’t really become a more accomplished minimalist during the pandemic. Pretty unsurprising, really.

The fact is, this packing list is different, and longer, than my last, because this trip is different. Two and a half years ago, Paris was just one city on a long list of places I was travelling. I was constantly in and out of suitcases, trying to keep things as simple as possible so that nothing got lost in the shuffle of perpetual repacking. I hate to say that I took travel for granted, but I know I did. It had always been so accessible to me, and had become such a big part of my career, that I couldn’t imagine a life without it.

I will never take the ability to explore the world for granted again, because I recognise now just how easily it can be taken away.

These days, Paris is the one city away from home that we’ll be lucky to visit in a year. And it might be the one city we’re lucky to visit for the next year, or more. Nothing is guaranteed now, least of all the ability to go on a holiday. When we’re fortunate enough to get one, we want to make the most of every moment of it as a result. That means packing all the dresses, and piling on accessories. Life is short, and on a rare occasion when I truly get to live it, I want to look fabulous. The memory of moments when I did, and how wonderful it was, will need to tide me over for a long time.

Packing for Paris, like most things, isn’t what it used to be. But I’m so grateful to be doing it at all that it really doesn’t matter.