Holiday Packing!

My favourite thing....

I love going on holiday so much, and as you read this I will be heading off for a week away. I CANNOT WAIT! Sometimes I think the anticipation is better than the actual holiday.

I really enjoy planning what to do, where to eat, how to travel and especially what to pack!

I have written about packing before, for mini-breaks at Christmas and Easter:

and this one here:

This time we are off to France for a week, so I am not sure that the packing lists above will be that helpful.

Interestingly I was reading this Substack, just as I was preparing my own packing list:

HOW TO LIKE YOUR OUTFITS

It’s a much more detailed approach than I take, but I do follow some of the elements.

• I start off with a colour palette

• I lay clothes out on a bed or a rail, so I can see what I have

• I choose items that work in more than one scenario

• I cull items that I will only wear once or only work with one other item

• I plan outfits for different occasions (this time it’ll be beach, sightseeing/shopping, meals out, walking and running) to make sure everything is covered

I usually go for a black or navy palette for my holiday wardrobe, but as I have recently bought a couple of brown items I’ve decided to try a brown, blue and white palette. I know I have quite a few items that would work, and I thought it would make a nice change, especially as I am not expecting it to be super hot while we are away.

Some of my outfits that would fit the colour palette

I also pulled up some images from instagram and Pinterest that I had saved:

Images from Pinterest, instagram- @lolana_look @beckybonnie

Now I have waaaaay to many ideas and combinations going on…. so I need to cut everything down.

For fun I asked Claude (Claude ai) to create a packing list for me. You can even upload photos and it will suggest real outfits based on the clothes you have! Who knew?

Claude definitely doesn’t think I need to pack all the clothes I have laid out on the bed either. Apparently I need: 3 bottoms, 5 tops, 2 layers (knits), 1 dress, 3 pairs of shoes, 2 bags, accessories, swimsuit and a light scarf. Well let’s see!

My packing pile after the first cull….

So my initial packing has:

2 pairs of trousers, 1 skirt and 2 pairs of shorts

2 sweaters and a light denim shirt

10 tops (oops!- this is the section I could probably cut down a bit more, but in my defence I haven’t got a dress in the pile!)

Running kit

Swimsuit

Brown trainers, birkenstocks and 1 pair of sandals (deciding between saltwater sandals and tevas)

I also have a pile of jewellery to sort through.

Right I am off to find a light scarf and two bags! Wish me luck with fitting it in the suitcase.