Monday, May 31, 2010

Vacation Outfit Roundup!

I haven't been on a vacation of longer than 5 days in three years, so I dithered quite a bit on What to Pack. I wanted to take a functional capsule wardrobe, but I also had another plan in mind: come back with less than I took.

The idea was to take clothing, shoes and accessories that I didn't want anymore, and leave them behind in the various hotels. This way, I'd have clothes to wear, but lots of room to pack the new things that I would (obviously) buy.

I saved up my old underwear (ha, maybe TMI! sorry!), socks, tights with snags (I tossed all that stuff, don't worry!), and went through my bags of stuff in my "giveaway/consignment" area at home for planned abandonment. As I used or wore things, I put them in a pile, then at the end of our stay, I put a note on them: "Garbage or Keep For Yourself."

I couldn't keep track of which day was which, but here's what I wore while on vacation in London:
This was what I looked like 90% of the time, due to cold, rainy weather in both London and Paris. So much for my plans of looking chic while I shopped! Abandoned: Boots.
I wore this dress to death! Abandoned: boots, dress, belt.
Thank goodness for the cardigan - it was snuggly warm. This was my travel outfit on the plane - I tossed the shoes as soon as I arrived home.
Abandoned: skirt, vest.
Abandoned: red cami, t-shirt.
Tossed: tights. Abandoned: shoes, cardigan, cami.
Tossed: purple tights.
I wore this on the first day in Paris. Kept both tops and the studded cuff. I know I wore jeans at least one day, but they were so hideous I tossed them really fast (bad muffin top!).

By the time we got to Paris, I had very few clothing pieces left, so they got worn multiple times. I never really got sweaty, and I aired things out and didn't wear things multiple days in a row to keep them fresh. I handwashed underwear.
Pointing at my boo-boo from wiping out at Notre Dame. Tossed: tights.
I only took two pairs of earrings: a pair of hoops and a small purple stone pair. I took a silver chain and a bunch of charms to make a variety of necklace looks.
Tossed: tights.

That's it! I ended up abandoning 1 pair of shoes, 2 pairs of boots, two dresses (I had taken a purple taffeta strapless dress, but it was too tight and I never wore it. I didn't feel like lugging it around, so I abandoned it), a pair of jeans, a skirt, two camis, two t-shirts (I slept in one), a belt and a cardigan. Oh, and a bag that I didn't want anymore.

I bought home 3 dresses, 4 pairs of shoes, 3 t-shirts, a vest, a new bag, a purse, and a bunch of jewelry. I actually had more room in my suitcase than when I left!

Success!

20 comments:

  1. What an awesome idea! I kept wondering how you bought so much and brought it back with you.

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  2. Shelia, I've been reading your blog for over a year but never commented before. I LOVE your writing and fashion style!

    What a different idea for making room for new pirchases while vacationong! But I can't believe you left those mary JAne kitten heels!! I LOVE them and WANT them everytime i see you wear them!

    It really looks like you had a great time in London and Paris and i have enjoyed reading your travelfashionlouge!

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  3. This has to be the most interesting packing strategy I've ever heard.

    I would be interested in what happened to the clothes. Did they find new homes? Did they travel to a third country?

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  4. What a clever way to pack.
    I have only gotten as far as saving old undies to take with me and toss them when on vacation.
    But, you have an entire system going on !
    You should patent it.

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  5. You totally crack me up! That's a great way to get rid of things and hope they find a new home. It had to be fun for the cleaning staff to find the treasures in your room after check out.

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  6. Brilliant! I've heard about packing dud undies and tossing then as you go along, but it never would have occurred to me to abandon clothing. Did you have remorse about anything you parted ways with?
    Anyhow, very glad you had fun, and sorry you got sick...
    I hope you're better now!

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  7. Thanks, Megan. I'd been saving up stuff to take with me.

    MAMom, thank you so much for de-lurking and commenting! I really appreciate your kind words. :)

    Ah, the kitten heels - you know, they were really cheap (like $10) and they were getting badly scuffed and were cracking. It was time for them to go.

    Kasmira, it works great! I know, I kind of wanted to leave more of a note, like "Email me and send me a picture of yourself wearing my clothes!".

    Lorena, it worked really well! Heh,I should do that.

    Alison, I hope they liked at least some of it. Or gave it to charity.

    Rita, thanks! No, I don't really miss any of it - and I have pictures of it all on my blog to remember them by. Thank you for asking - I still have a cough.

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  8. Man, that is a clever and brave way to pack for a trip! I don't think I could have done that. Brava!

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  9. Thanks, Kristen! It actually worked really well. I'll do it again next time I travel for longer than a few days.

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  10. LOL, you are too funny...poor abaondoned shoes :) Anyways, you looked super chic, and I love those patterned tights.

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  11. Ha, thanks, FA! I will find more funky tights for autumn.

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  12. Uh...wow! I've never heard of this before, but it's pretty clever!

    I'd love to know what you came HOME with! =D

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  13. Thanks, Lydia, and thank you so much for commenting. I do appreciate it. If you scroll through the posts tagged "London and Paris" you can see all the new stuff I bought.

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  14. Thanks for sharing how you manage travel clothing. Way better than my method of shipping home laundry and/or purchases!

    I love the idea of the continuing story of abandoned clothing. Doesn't something like that happen with finished books left on benches?

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  15. What a great idea! Sounds like the perfect travel clothing strategy - toss the old, come home with the new. So clever! Do you mind if I share?

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  16. You're very welcome, Jen! This is the second time I've done this, but the first time I've abandoned nearly everything I took with me. Maybe next time, I'll put a card with my blog address on it and invite people to send me pictures of themselves wearing the abandoned clothes!

    Thanks, Barbara! And thank you so much for commenting on my blog - I appreciate it. Please feel free to share!

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  17. Absolutely fascinating and ingenius. My question is - would you ever pick up clothing if you saw something similar? (assuming the clothing was in decent shape and appealed to your sense of style)

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  18. Tina, I totally would. As long as it wasn't dirty and was in good repair, I would keep it.

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  19. i love your hoses. i cant believe that you were in the streets of paris with those wonderful legs. how i missed it.

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