Some of you have told me that you are keen to see how I dress in winter. However, since I have not shopped for winter clothes for 7 (!) years, winter dressing is never going to be all that exciting for me. Add to that, that I get cold easily and the options for fashionable winter dressing are very slim indeed.
Still, I thought you may like to see how I packed for my recent winter holiday. Above you can see my process of choosing outfits that all mix and match. Not everything I packed is included above, but a lot of it is and you will get a general idea.
I had to pack a small, yet versatile capsule wardrobe to give me some options, while at the same time having some fun with my clothes as well. The focus of this holiday was mainly going to be on a casual activities in (for the most part) very cold environments. My capsule wardrobe needed to be warm, practical and comfortable.
For convenience and due to the fact that my old winter wardrobe featured a lot of black, I stuck to a limited color palette of black, white, and blue with a bit of red thrown in. All my old winter jackets as well as my boots are black, so for my 2 weeks a year of winter travelling, this is really the only practical option.
I can tell you though that I so missed a colorful winter coat. As in previous years I was shocked by the amount of black on the streets and would definitely have owned a (few) winter coat(s) by now, had I lived in a colder climate.
For the time being though I was left with black so I mainly played with black and white. The red skirt was thrown in the suit case in the faint hope for good weather in Holland, but throughout the holiday it was just bitterly cold. The black and white jacket (made of cotton and linen) that I added for a bit of trendy fun did not get much wear either as it was simply too cold. I opted for my cream woolen turtle neck a lot and paired it with either my black and white jumper, super warm long black cardigan. My red jumper got a lot of wear too, mainly combined with a black and white striped turtle neck which is not pictured above. The green trousers were left at home.
Although limited, the capsule wardrobe served me well. It kept me warm and gave me a bit of fashion fun, although of course I missed choice and variety. That just can’t be helped on a holiday. But if you plan smartly. at least you can create a lot of variation with the limited choice of clothes that you do have.
I packed:
- 3 sets of shoes: long boots, ankle boots and snow boots
- 2 coats: short thick snow coat and thinner long woolen coot
- 2 scarves: 1 black and white and 1 colorful
- 4 trousers: jeans, black, blue and white snow trousers
- 1 black cardigan
- 2 jumpers: cream and red
- 1 turtle neck long sleeved t-shirt: black and white stripes
- 2 shirts: black and white
- 1 multi colored t-shirt
- 2 blazers: stripes and blue
- 1 red skirt
- 2 belts: polkadot red and thin black belt
Dressing in winter is not easy. Certainly when you are used to hot weather like I am and can’t bare to leave any part of your body uncovered in the cold. I know that a lot of you in Europe and USA are longing for some warmer weather and I can well imagine it. I will gladly send some of the heat of Singapore your way!
I’m sure the sun will arrive in your area pretty soon and I look forward to sharing more ideas on summer dressing with you again next week. In the meantime I will also add some travel reports of my trip for those that are interested.
How do you pack for a winter holiday?
P.S.: also check my latest capsule wardrobe for winter where I focus a lot more on clothes that are both stylish AND warm!
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I spent this past winter (December through end of February) in Sweden and Iceland, which I’ve done before, plus I also lived for 5 years in one of the colder areas of the US. The only way to get through 3 months of that much winter is with color and cashmere. I think that it’s crucial to pack silk underdrawers (I had a top and bottom set) but also at least two cashmere sweaters, a cashmere scarf which I wore pretty much every day, and warm, faux fur-lined boots that kept me warm with leggings tucked in. The rest were basics, the typical stuff you take, warm long sleeve t-shirts, warm leggings that dry fast (for the times one falls in the snow). I wouldn’t take jeans for true winter travel, but you were there in April, so you had every reason to hope Spring would warm you up. My winter coat worked perfectly in Sweden and let me down horribly in Iceland, where it rained each day I was there. The coat is ubiquitous black from Lands End and looked like every other person’s coat on the streets of Sweden, but it *did* keep me toasty warm (with the help of layers and cashmere!).
Thanks for your great feedback Alison!
This is a wonderful and very helpful post. I agree that packing for a winter vacation can be quite difficult due to the larger items. You have given me some great ideas, thanks again.
That is a great capsule wardrobe, vibrant and classic. I know what you mean about winter-dressing. I always ruin outfits with a humongous sweater.
Love the iPad pics!
I realise I have never seen you in winter clothes! Your outfits look great and I appreciate the logic in your packing. Are you saying these pieces are 7 years old? If so you clearly have an eye for classic and modern pieces.
No a lot of the pieces in the pictures above are newer. I bought the blue trousers and jacket with stripes just to add a bit of modernness and fun to the winter wardrobe. They are really meant for summer. The colored tank is a summer purchase that I repurposed for winter. But all my REAL winter things like the woollen jumpers, (black) coats, boots and pants (what I ended up wearing mostly because of coldness) are indeed 7 years old).
You look really thin. Are you ok???
I’m perfectly fine. No thinner than I have always been….
Like Dan I have a packing list. It’s on the computer and is updated as I age and technology changes. Certain items get scored out and things like reading glasses and memory cards go on. It reads like the story of my life!
Yes I should do that!
as I am a little careless, I often happen to forget things while I package. My trick is to keep a notebook where I write what must never lack in my suitcase.
By the way, you are very stylish!
Traveling for any season, I always start with the shoes. Which shoes will I want/need to wear? For winter, next I figure out what coat I’ll need and if I can carry/wear it on the plane or do I need to pack it? If I pack it, that’s less room for clothes, so I’ll need to really be frugal about what to bring. Then I mix and match several outfits around my shoes.
You used the word frugal…. which reminded me of a hilarious performance of 3 Irish women on the subject of cheap flights. I don’t know if I have given you this link before, but it is so funny you can watch it over and over again. Thought it was fitting for the subject Travelling. Note: twice you might think it is the end when it is not:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPyl2tOaKxM
Very funny!
I thoroughly enjoyed that, Greetje! In fact it would have been funny if it wasn’t so f*****g true (apart from the last bit about jumping). Welcome to the UK’s budget airlines!
Hahahaha! Yes, I loved the long pauses between some of the verses. Those gals are funny! Thanks for the link!!
I kill myself laughing every time when the woman in the middle says:
“Sad verse”, because of the way she looks up when somebody in the audience starts laughing….
She was cracking me up, too, not wearing any shoes. 🙂
To tell you the truth… I love Easyjet.
This is aimed at Ryan Air to be honest but given the choice I would travel BA over Easy Jet and sometimes the price is no different. My hubby, who you love, is standing over my shoulder (as usual) and he works in aviation so he is dictating what I write!
In that case you have to watch this ever so funny comedy piece as well: Rhod Gilbert about lost luggage (and Ryan Air):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OISGykO6Z7U
PS Fascinating Aida are touring from October 2 for two months – I think you should come over……
In view of your passion and work, it must be so frustrating to wear clothes of long ago. But of course it would be ridiculous to buy all new stuff only for these few weeks. So I think you have done very well in choosing timeless things. And black&white is the trend, so well done.
As for coats… it is hard to get a really good coat in The Netherlands which is fashionable, WARM and in a different colour than black. With all the rain and snow and slush it has to be practicle too. And f.i. my yellow coat is nice, but you see every stain on it and it is not warm enough.
We have had such a long cold winter here in the UK and dressing for warmth while looking stylish has been a real challenge (I probably failed miserably most of the time as I feel the cold!). Like Annette, I have holidays in the sun so that I can wear all the lovely summer things I collect that are, for the most part, just looked at! It was really interesting to see how you dealt with the opposite problem. Hope you had a great time!
Happily take an additional 20C which would be nice today 😉
You packed well and I imagine it is not easy for you since you won’t have a closet full of winter clothes. Due to our German climate I do have and that’s the reason why I only go on holidays in summer!! Finally I can wear all my summer clothes and sandals on a daily basis.
In winter layering is always a good idea. And I never travel without my big beige Pashmina shawl which keeps me warm on the airplane and goes with many outfits.
Glad you had a safe trip back home!
Annette
Lady of Style
I am a pretty organised packer these days as I am away on an overnighter at least once a fortnight and occasionally for 2 or three nights. Holidays are less common and include kids to tend to revolve around merino and jeans but…
My goal is always to have at least one smart outfit, a couple of casual options and the rest in between. For winter this means my fab boots and one other pair of more walkable shoes. One skirt, one pair of smart pants, a pair of dark blue (it’s smarter) denims, 2 merinos in winter, 2 light tops in summer. one great jacket. a couple of scarves or pieces of statement jewellery. Thats about it.
I can now pack a capsule into an overnight, overhead luggage friendly bag, and be done in about 20 minutes.