Tags
capsule wardrobe, no-luggage travel, packing, packing light, packing list, travel, ultralight travel, wedding, women, women travel
I’ll be heading off to a wedding this summer, and I decided that I will carry everything in a purse. Yes, I’ve done it before, so I know it is possible. The freedom that comes with going bag-less is amazing! If you take a look, this capsule wardrobe will work for a longer trip too. You’ll see that I have shown 11 different outfits. The key to success is being very careful about clothing choices. In order to lighten my load I am making the following decisions about my capsule wardrobe:
- I’m using a dark neutral for dress and a light neutral for casual, with color pops along the way.
- I don’t have to bring dressy pants, as I will have a dress and a skirt with me. If you aren’t a skirt person, then bring dressy pants in a dark neutral.
- I will use my nylons and silk long-underwear top under my clothing if it gets really cold.
- I will store my jewelry, accessories, and mini first aid kit in my clutch.
- I can use my sleeping T as an extra dress if needed
- I’m being sneaky with my prints – small delicate navy prints with big navy stripes. I can wear prints with prints, as they both have a navy background.
I have chosen the following items as my core pieces:
- Light Neutral casual pants that convert to capris – these can go from cold airplane cabins to hot sweat soaked runs. Neutrals are less likely to be remembered by others – I can wear them more than once and no one will notice.
- Dark Neutral Sweater that can be dressed up or down
- A reversible skirt that has both my dark and light neutrals – this gives me extra variety. It is made of georgette, so it packs down small and light.
- Cute barefoot running shoes double as walking shoes
- Strappy sandals with low heels – They have thinner straps to make them dressy. The low heels allow them to be worn casually and as a walking shoe.
- A conservative sleeping T can double as a dress if needed
So here is the complete list of clothing:
Colors
- Dark Neutral – Navy
- Light Neutral – Tan
- Color Pop – French Blue, bright green
Tops
- White Tank
- Navy Tank
- Navy/Tan s/s T-shirt
- Navy shawl sweater
Bottoms
- Tan pants that convert to capris
- Reversible Skirt in navy, beige, green, french blue
Dress
- French blue, navy, green print jersey dress – if this were a longer trip I would choose a dress in a solid color, such as french blue. Then I could dress it up or down.
Accessories / Necessities
- Navy purse
- Navy clutch
- Navy earrings
- Navy bracelet
- Navy belt
- 3 pairs of underwear (not pictured)
- 2 pairs of tan socks (not pictured)
- Nylons (not pictured)
- Slip (not pictured)
- Silk long-underwear top (not pictured)
- Navy sleeping T (can be used as an extra dress if needed)
- Strappy sandals
- Barefoot running shoes
- Rain jacket
- Scarf – white, navy, french blue, green, tan
So how am I handling the clothes? Bundle wrapping. I tightly bundle wrap my clothes around my underwear and socks. Then I slip the bundle into a 2.5 gallon zip-loc (with room to spare). The curling iron goes into the bottom of my purse. Wrap the sandals in another zip-loc and place it on top of the curling iron. The small toilet kit fits at one end of my purse, and the clothing bundle fits at the other end of the purse. The clutch with jewelry and first aid kit slides along the side of the purse. There is plenty of room for my 3-1-1 bag, smart phone and charger, wallet, and travel makeup kit. Well, that’s a little scary, isn’t it? We really don’t need all that luggage!
Oh, and the weight of the purse? 10.5 pounds (4.8 kg).
Lady Light Travel 
This is brilliant. I think I need to buy a bigger purse! Thanks for sharing and for visiting my blog.
No need to worry about the overhead bin. I like cross body hobo style bags because they can hold enough for the day – water bottle, sweater, camera, and even a light jacket.
Thanks for stopping by!
I really appreciate how you pictured the outfits together. I have been monochromatic and stripes and prints are strange to me, I will keep reading, taking notes and studying. On the plane you wore white tank, the navy white pullover then cardigan and then coat?? I have tied a cardigan around my neck but never wore 4 tops. You can walk all day with heeled sandals or ballet flats? Thank you.
The coat can easily be stuffed into a side pocket of the carry on bag if needed. And don’t forget that all of the materials are light weight – including the coat. It’s not as thick and heavy as some might think!
The secret to mixing prints is 3-fold: 1) make sure both prints have the same background 2) make sure the prints have a big difference in size (small Vs large) and 3) make sure the prints have different natures – geometric Vs floral or tiny flowers in a pattern Vs big bouquets at random. It should be a study in contrasts with no competition between the two for dominance.
The shoe selection is for a wedding, which means a lot of visiting. I’ve rarely (never, actually) spent all day walking for a weekend like that. For all day walking tours I’ll bring a pair of shoes with great support. The low heels are for shorter trips and going out at night.
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Amazing and inspiring !!!