Packing. It’s an art rather than a science. I’ve spent years refining my own methodology – which I shared last fall – but when it comes to doing it, that only gets me so far. As I type this, my carry-on and suitcase are both open on my living room floor. The carry-on looks full, but is far from it, while the suitcase is closer to empty. And yet, all but two items on the packing list that I meticulously prepared are in there. And somehow, I still feel like I’m overdoing it.
Like I said – packing is an art, not a science. At best, when you fill a suitcase, you’re guessing what the weather might be like at your destination and what you might want to wear when you arrive. Luckily, in 2023, nothing is in accessible. If you forget something before you leave, it’s almost guaranteed to be for sale at your destination… probably in a shop in the airport arrivals terminal. (I can confirm this, having picked up half a dozen forgotten toiletries when I landed in London at a Boots location in Heathrow. It’s that easy.)
We’re two days away from Paris. In some ways, what I’m packing seems immaterial. I have a Sezane order to pick up when we arrive, and a long list of shops I want to visit. Taking an empty suitcase might actually be a better choice, albeit not a very practical one. Which is not to say that I’m convinced that my packing list is practical. We don’t typically visit Paris in the late spring or early summer. The city can be stifling at this time of year, and the only air conditioning available is in the freezer aisle at the grocery store. But less than ideal weather has never stopped me before. This was when we could go, so we’re going, and if I’ve packed all wrong, well… I’ll figure it out when we get there.
This year, my half-empty suitcases contain…
Tops
Wilfred black cashmere sweater
Sezane cream cardigan
Almada label ecru tube top
Zara striped top
Mango grey oversize sweater
Uniqlo white shirt
H&M black tank top
Bottoms
Zara black mom jeans
Zara grey mom jeans
Mango blue denim skirt
Mango white jeans
Dresses
Wilfred black slip dress
Zara cream slip dress
Sezane ecru knit dress
Outerwear
Wilfred black blazer
Zara beige linen blazer
Shoes
Chanel ballet flats
Dior slingback pumps
Jonak babies
Zara strap sandals
Rouje boots
New Balance 574 sneakers
Accessories
Chanel double flap handbag
Celine Audrey sunglasses
Celine Triomphe sunglasses
Chanel cardholder
Mango black belt
Vintage brown belt
RayBan Wayfarer sunglasses
Sezane Victor handbag
The more I write and talk about packing, the more I realise that while it’s an art not a science and while it’s mostly an exercise in frustration, it’s also an excellent teacher. In preparing these packing lists every time we travel, I learn which pieces in my wardrobe are true essentials because it quickly becomes clear which ones I choose, over and over, to take when me when I leave home. My cream Gaspard cardigan from Sezane, for example, has accompanied me on my list half dozen holidays, and my white shirt from Uniqlo, bought in a rush in New York in 2015, has, too.
…so if you’re ever wondering what clothes you really wear, there’s a simple way to figure it out. Pack a suitcase.
It remains to be seen, of course, which of these clothes I’ll really wear in Paris (and Strasbourg, where we’re spending a night mid-way through our trip.) But it’s that, and not the act of packing, that’s the really fun part. Waking up and getting dressed every morning in Paris… I still remember the first time I got to do it. I was fifteen, sleeping on a pull-out cot in a room shared with three classmates in a rundown two-star hotel near Gare Saint-Lazare. The walls were the same shade of blue as the trim on the deeply unfashionable sneakers I hated having to wear, and the bathroom was, improbably, almost as big as our crowded sleeping space. And yet, even then, if there was anything better, I couldn’t think what it was. Still can’t, honestly.
