I just returned from a chilly, snowy Midwest. Everything easily fit in my carry-on, including my purse. I even had room for Christmas presents on the return trip! Here is what I packed:
Activities: Baking Christmas cookies and preparing meals, visiting on various farms, spending time with family, playing with babies, and a trip to church for Christmas service. This was a very casual trip.
My colors: My theme was brown and red, because red is the color of Christmas. The reds all went together although they don’t look like it in the picture.
My Clothing:
Dress
-
- Red lace dress
Tops
-
- White 3/4 s shirt
- Red/brown/black drape-neck tank
- White lace edged tank
- Brown 3/4 s T-shirt
- Red sweater shell
- Cream s/s lace top
- Black T-zip base layer shirt
Pants
-
- Blue jeans
- Brown Pants
- Black exercise pants
Sweaters
-
- Red sweater/jacket
- Brown shawl sweater
- Cream fleece jacket
Shoes
-
- Brown boots
- Barefoot runners
- Faux snake dress shoes
Accessories
-
- Brown cross body bag
- Gold earrings/bracelet/necklace
- Red/black/brown scarf
- Red scarf set
- Black bicycle gloves
- Brown tights
- Nude stockings
- Winter coat
Necessities
-
- Silk long underwear top
- Silk long underwear bottom
- 2 bras
- 5 panties
- 5 pairs of socks
My Capsule Combinations:
- I wore the red sweater, white blouse, scarf, blue jeans, and boots on the plane.
- The bedrooms in the farm house weren’t heated. I wore the silk long underwear every night, as well as the exercise pants, T-zip base layer top, AND the fleece. The combination was just right.
- I wore the red lace dress, red sweater, and beige stockings for Christmas eve service. On Christmas day I wore the brown pants, red sweater shell, scarf, and red sweater.
Other combinations I wore:
- White shirt under brown 3/4 sleeve T-shirt with jeans
- red/brown/black tank with brown sweater and jeans (and silk top for warmth)
- red/brown/black tank with cream fleece and jeans.
Things I didn’t wear:
- lace top
- white tank
- brown tights
I wanted to wear the lace top layered over a colored tank top. I didn’t wear it as there weren’t many dressy occasions. If we went to church a second time I would wear the dress with the brown sweater, brown tights, and boots. In all, I wore most of the clothes and was happy to have them.
I’m a pretty good one bag packer, but I also manage to have at least one thing in my tiny bag that I don’t wear – it doesn’t matter where I’m going, what I’m doing or the time of year. Good to see other great packers have the same dilemma! Great post – your outfits look fantastic!
Thanks! For some reason I wanted lots of choices this time so I packed too many tops.
I agree! I always have something that I don’t end up wearing as well… even when I only have 3 shirts to choose from, one gets ignored!
Curious about the black bag, far left, second row. Is that your carry on?
It is the LL Bean Quickload Convertible Travel Pack. At 2.2 pounds (1 kg) it is one of the lighter carry on bags on the market. It may be used 3 ways: backpack, with carry strap, or carried via the handle. A rugged bag and a great value.
Hi I am reading from the Lady Light Travel blog, and am keenly interested in your packing. I am leaving Australia in our hot summer at the beginning of December till mid January to Austria, U.K., New York. I have NEVER travelled in the colder months, or been out in snow, and am now getting anxious about what to pack and what to buy. I know I will need a coat and boots/shoes, but am in the dark really. Can someone make any suggestions for me?