We leave for Madrid this afternoon and, admittedly, I’m not feeling all that confident about the contents of my suitcase. Have I chosen the right pieces? Have I packed too many? Not enough? I’m really not sure – and I won’t actually know until we arrive.
I know I’ve said it before, but packing is an art, not a science. I can’t tell you how to do it well, I can only tell you how I do it, which works better for some destinations – in particular, familiar ones – than others. The last time I packed a suitcase for Spain was on an impromptu weekend trip to Barcelona in 2017. We were living in Paris at the time, taking photos every day… basically, it was a dream life, if not a very financially secure one, and no questions hung in the air around what I’d packed because it was only three days, not ten. This year, I’m travelling across the ocean for almost two weeks and… let’s face it, I’m probably overthinking it.
Later today, I’ll be on a plane to Toronto, and then another one to Madrid. My suitcase will be in the cargo hold, and this is what will be in it…
Tops
Pretty Lavish tube top
H&M white tank
Zara striped off-shoulder top
Uniqlo white shirt
Sezane Gaia cardigan
Zara cream crop top
Sezane bodysuit
Bottoms
Pretty Lavish skirt
Zara black midi skirt
Zara black denim shorts
H&M black straight jeans
Zara beige shorts
Dresses
H&M black cotton dress
Mango white knit dress
Outerwear
Ba&sh tweed jacket
Zara vest
Shoes
J. Crew brown rattan sandals
Dior J’Adior pumps
Zara strap sandals
Sezane Noemi slingbacks
Birkenstock Arizona sandals
Accessories
Celine Triomphe sunglasses
A. Cloud book bag
Sezane June bag
Longchamp tote bag
Celine Audrey sunglasses
Chanel cardholder
Celine Triomphe bag
That’s the list. All my outfits are planned, so in theory everything should come together when we’re actually in Spain, but only time will tell if it does. The early fall forecast changes often, which means aside from heat, we are sure what to expect from the weather. We don’t know Madrid well, so I’m also not sure what to expect in terms of how much time we’ll spend walking or taking public transit. Basically, like on any holiday, there are some unknowns, which means there are things outside of my control and… my level of comfort with that is better than it used to be, but still not great all the time.
The good thing is, of course, that you don’t have to be comfortable with something just to make it work. When we’re in Madrid, I’ll probably find myself thinking once or twice that I wish I’d packed a top or dress, but mostly I’ll be enjoying myself, relishing the opportunity to wear so many different outfits and honestly, that’s most of what I want from a vacation. So how can I complain? I mean, I could, because I’m creative; I could find half a dozen ways to complain, joyfully and with enthusiasm. But I’ll restrain myself. Because as I type this post, I’m already on vacation, which means it’s time to start having fun. I can figure everything else, including how to dress myself while we’re away, out later.
I’ll be back in two weeks, my friends – and in the meantime, you can follow all my adventures on Instagram stories. (Because yes, I’m a millennial, and yes, that means video content is not my thing and therefore I am still not on Tiktok. I tried, but I just couldn’t stand it.) Chat soon!
