Packing for Europe Math: 3+10+2(2)

I packed, I flew, I conquered. I did speeches, styling, bookclub, photo shoots, 2 hours maybe of touring, eating and then some very late stressful nights on the phone back home with NY.

Boasting isn’t my thing. Truly. But I am the world’s best packer. With humility I can say I have this down to a science. Literally, I’ve got the math precise, and this doesn’t mean I grandstand on an ability to travel around the world in a backpack. Rather, I pack pragmatically, with creativity. Unsprisingly.

So I breakdown the latest trip: Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland. Ok?

3 countries; 10 days; 1 checked bag + 1 carry on; 2 temperature changes (45degree morning; 63 degrees by late afternoon); planes, trains and automobiles, soggy grass, cold tiles, standing on a sales floor for 20 hours, and cobblestones. 2 fancy dinners, one regrettable one, and lots of sandwich’s in my hotel room on my bed. All my considerations.

THE PACKING RULES:

1. Everything must be able to be worn with at least 3 other pieces

2. When things are worn with other pieces, they must change either the temperature or the vibe - they do not just create another “look” option-there is a difference.

3. Pack with the colorwheel in mind - stick to a key ring(s) and then touch on the others- here I’m 80% Ring 15% Ring 3, 5% Ring 4.

4. Each shoe must serve a different function completely- fancy flat, rugged flat, strange flat, sexier flat, “able to run if you need to” flat.

The moo Clift denim I wore a ton, the straighter leg kept it quite refined and was the good counterbalance to all the inherent chill when a black is intentionally fated and not overly saturated. The dress doubles as a skirt making it the easy go to every night out - for a trip like this, a “one and done” dress is more of a rude waste of space. In fact, I tend to find “one and done” items a bit rude in general they take up space, they’re uncompromising in versatility and you tend to feel on repeat if you can’t change it up depending. I can give examples of this in another story. Here we stay focused.

Everything I packed was not just layerable but importantly, it’s DELAYERABLE. What that means is that when you take items off, they’re malleable enough to wrap around the waist. If you can delayer, but it requires a coat check or a manservant to hold your shit, then that defeats the point, right? Creative and pragmatic.

I had some quite proper things to do, like the bookclub and styling events at our dear specialty stores BYLOTTE (Eindhoven, NL) and VESTIBULE (Zurich). I needed to look polished, but I didn’t want anything to waste too much space. The suede tee and the white skirt were my pieces I wore only twice. But the space commitment was minimal and I was allowed to not look like I’d just rolled on the floor of a shoot while trying to speak to people about the importance of showing up and feeling right in the moment. Walk the walk.

Three full days of shooting - more examples of the connectivity of the clothing - cold to hot to cold. Honestly just going in and out of the castle meant a 40 degree change in weather. Those old castles are fucking freezing. No central heat and I get it- not requesting, just observing.

Now, in the end, I actually could have come with just a carry on as these were my MVPs: (side note, if you get the furry flip flops, a little dog brush after wearing fluffs out the toe imprints).

But the reality is that I would not have wanted to limit myself, and I like the option of finding something local and having room to bring home (this time I think it’s just chocolates). This is the bulk of what I brought, laid out super clearly, I hope.

OK, Now I have to bolt to catch my flight from ZURICH to NYC. It would be ironic if I missed my flight due to working on a substack about perfecting your travel routine.