I used to be the gal who packed 9 pairs of shoes to go with 15 different colours to go with various pants styles, lengths cuts and on it goes.
So I started easy with NYC when the boy moved there. I chose black, grey and cream. If I am feeling sassy (always) I will throw in an accent colour, usually red.
For our holiday to Newfoundland I wanted to take it one step farther. I decided to embrace a theme. So I am going nautical, babies! That’s right, Seaman First Class McGrath is going to rock it for all the sailor girls. What better place to go nautical than during a visit to The Rock?! My colours are blue (jeans included), white, and red.
I decided to take a page from INSTYLE magazine and pose my pre-suitcase clothes on the dining room table in various combos showing how I can mix and match.
Do I have too much time on my hands? No, actually, I don’t. Just got excited with this idea and decided to have some fun!!!
So the following are pictures of my clothes, and with the boy as official trip photographer I will post shots of me wearing these co-ordinated beauties on the trip.
I should tell you two things:
One: this was born of my attempts to stop buy buy buying every single thing I see, and love love love the clothes I already have. This has been pretty successful.
Two: Everything I took on the trip was 3 to 5 years old, except for five items, which for me is pretty darn good. I span the range from Alexander McQueen to Winners to my fab find in Vancouver—a little blue dress with navy stars that I snapped up for $19.
I have always been good about keeping pieces that to me are classic or that I simply adore.
So please enjoy this silly little exercise and please forgive the pictures. As I am only five feet tall, I could not get high enough to take great shots. Thought of using a ladder as I was drifting off to sleep. Ahh well.
Barbara: Deb, this is frickin’ genius!! I am a terrible packer. First I hate it, and second, my habit is to throw everything in the bag like some capsized-ship victim who believes she can save her wardrobe as well as herself. It’s panic-packing, even when I have lots of time to prepare.
I love this concept of coordinating the clothes to mix and match. Of creating “outfits” that look good and feel comfortable. I am so going to try it next time I pack (which doesn’t include the latest trip to move my daughter to college—no, that was panic-packing at its most frenetic).
I want to see lots of pics, Missy, of your fashionable exploits rockin’ The Rock!
That is such a cute post!!! Great outfits, would love to see some pictures of the Rock!! Just love The Rock and Trinity!!!Let's see some of those outfits in action Deb! Have fun!
ReplyDeleteTOMS!!!!! OHMYGOODNESS!!! I looooooooooove TOMS! On your 6th outfit, I freaked because I have those EXACT same pair!!!! Barb, I am a terrible packer as well...lol. My packing as changed from my first year to this year of college.
ReplyDeleteFirst year: all my shirts go here, bottoms go on the bottom in this corner...yay!
This year: *sitting on the suitcase and zipping it slowly* YES! EVERYTHING FITS! Ok, can someone help me get this to the car???
Want to see pics from your trip! Looked like fun! :D
Thanks Mary-Jo, sitting right now in our room on Water Street waiting for boy to wake up in his room. Doing a watercolour card for Boy's 21st birthday tomorrow of the Jellybean houses in St. John's that we love. And Kelly I love the Tom's. Bought a tweed pair here yesterday which are killing me with their cute! Boy is my official photographer on this trip and has photographed me in each outfit combo for the next post. Really having fun with it!
ReplyDeleteDeb! First the fashion show and now print modeling! lol :)
ReplyDelete(P.S. Happy Birthday, Luke!)
Rigel I am glad you like it. Just a bit of silly summ'a fun! I will pass on your birthday wishes to the boy. We are on our way to the airport to pick her up. She is spending the last weekend with us!!!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOoooohh...I am super envious of your nautical Toms!!! I love my Toms, though! You have great style, Deb! :)
ReplyDeleteShameless plug: Kelly and I have recently launched a joint blog. Feel free to join/comment/whatever/peruse at your leisure! :)
linkage: http://thehandkchronicles.blogspot.com
ReplyDeletesorry for the spam! :)
Okay how long are you going for? This still seems like a lot of clothes. I am the queen of packing and for trips of 21 days and under I take less than what you show here. 6 pairs of shoes, I would take two for an example. But I do love the theme idea. I don't have enough clothes to have a them idea.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was "my Deb must have tiny feet" really it was. I always notice the shoes. Very nice outfits. I tend to buy practicly everything in neutral colors so mix and match is very easy for me, although lately I've been trying to add a bit more color.
ReplyDeleteErin B (can't seem to post logged in today)
Cute clothes Deb. How very cute. Wow you have a great packing system. Me I just make sure I have a couple of things that match and I have clothes in one suit case,and shoes and handbages in the other when I go on Vaction. Trust me, I don't pack light.
ReplyDeleteLong, long ago in a galaxy far, far away, I did a 17 day trip with blue jeans and everything else (tops and bottoms) being black. I had 1 BIG suitcase and did laundry at a laundry mat once during the trip. It worked well, esp. when I had to layer and peel. To keep the boredom at bay, I just tossed things up with various pairs of earrings and different headbands and hair barrettes. And, thinking of how happy you are with your newly acquired shoes, Deb, I also remember that I got a pair of suspenders, a gorgeous dark green silk scarf, and a supercute hair scarf with scotty dogs on it during the trip that I delighted in wearing. What I really remember is that dark green silk scarf because for more than a decade, it was the most beautiful thing in my dresser drawers and because it had such adventurous memories attached to it. I kinda wish I still had it.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't much pack for a long trip right now. I have 1 pair of jeans, 1 very worn out long denim skirt (But, it's my favorite piece of clothing! I can't retire it!), and 2 dressy skirts (one lightweight gray and one heavyweight purple) for bottoms, now. (Well, except for ratty old shorts I only use as pj's.) I only wear the dressy skirts on special occasions (Barbara - That was the gray skirt in the reception pictures.) so I just go back and forth between my jeans and my supercomfy denim skirt. (There's a 3rd dressy skirt hanging in my closet (dark blue and pink, lightweight wrap around skirt for summer) but I can't bring myself to wear it because it hits just above the knee, and that makes me uncomfortable. I think maybe I'll try to get a few dollars for it from the consignment shop.) I normally wear sports bras (2 white, 1 pale pink), but I have one real bra for when I have to wear a nice top. I have lots of t-shirts I have accumulated over several years. (My t-shirt drawer is like an archeological dig showing what I've done and been for the past several years.lol) A few years ago, I hit paydirt at a church rummage sale so combining that with some handmedowns I got winters ago, I have lots of long sleeve sweaters and sweatshirts for wintertime. Yay for snuggly layering! Before it turns cool this fall, I'm gonna have to get a 2nd pair of jeans.
I'm hoping in January if the heating bill hasn't gotten too high that I'll be able to get a couple of more pairs of pants. Oooo, corduroy slacks for the dead of winter would be so nice. I had some as recently as 2008, and they were snugglyriffic. I know this is gonna sound spoiled and shallow, but it gets kinda boring wearing the same bottoms over and over again. Sorry for the superficiality. Come spring, I'll sew up 2 or 3 new lightweight skirts out of some lovely clearance sale fabric I got at Hancock.
When my son is past the point of eating like a horse and growing like a weed, I'll be less having to constantly acquire growing boy clothes for him. Then, I'll probably be really decadent and fluff up my wardrobe a little. That's something I kinda look forward to in a few years. Contrary to popular belief, I do have a girlie streak.LOL
I've lost 13lbs. in 6 weeks. If I can keep this up, I'll be excited to see if I can starting wearing things in smaller sizes next year! That would be SO FUN! Plus, the thrift shops have lots of clothes in nonplus size sizes so it would be cheaper and easier for me to acquire a new skirt or another pair of jeans every 2 or 3 months maybe. OK, now I'm just being goofy and daydreaming about luxury. But, it would be cool to wear clothes whose tags bear a reasonable number for the size. I shivery giggle just imagining it! :D
Looking at your trip packing wardrobe is total eye candy, Deb! Such fun! My favorite pieces in your pics: the moccasins, the belted red overcoat, and the long sleeved blue dress with white flowers.
One question, though. How on Earth do you wear white pants and manage to keep them white?
And building on the nautical theme, we have our clever Barb's observation..."like some capsized-ship victim who believes she can save her wardrobe as well as herself". Although the imagery
ReplyDeleteevoked is a tad more poignant than Deb's pretty red, white and blue numbers! Loved this one girls!
Such fun. I hope your holiday is a great one. I'm a pretty simple gal when it comes to clothes. I have four pairs of pants. They are all exactly the same as each other except two are blue and two are black. I wear them everyday of the year. Then, I have a rainbow of pretty much the same kinds of shirts. My favorite colors being blue and pink. Today I'm wearing orange and that's pretty far out for me. I look forward to seeing your outfits being worn in their various holiday vacation photos.
ReplyDeleteLove this, Deb! Hope you'll do it again.
ReplyDeleteAnd I needed a good packing tip just like this. Thank you, and do you know what? Now all of us will Think. Of. You. whenever we are packing, for the rest of our lives. How sweet is that!
Such cute clothes! I'm going to enjoy seeing how cute you are in them. :)
ReplyDeleteI'll be thinking of you when I'm over-packing. "Yes, I should match colors! Okay, 4 black t-shirts, 2 black jeans. 5 Multi-color t-shirts, so 2 prs of blue jeans." (I'm a simple pack-rat. LOL)
Thanks Holly, I just bought tweed Tom's yesterday which are a delight. Dawn glad I could be your packing Yoda!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love that you guys will think of me when you pack! That is sooooooo great! Rock that orange t-shirt Molly.
Annette, I am convinced that had I been on the Titanic Molly Brown would not have fared so well. Me, wardrobe, toiletries, chocolate, wine and dogs=one liftraft. Rigel it sounds like you know how to work it on a budget, good for you! And you know how you keep white pants white? You don't. But you were em' like you don't care and sometimes it works out. So happy for you and your weight loss. Wow, fantastic Rigel.
Madge we are only here for ten days and the only thing I have not worn is the red trench. We are doing everything from elegant restaurants to hiking so I just wanted to be covered.
ReplyDeleteErin B, I have size 51/2 feet so yeah. Lyndsie believe me I used to pack the world and Madge thinks I still do!!! Believe me Madge, this is restraint compared to the old days.
Holly love the shameless plug. On my way there right now.
ReplyDeleteI also hate packing . A system that works for me is I put everything possible that I want to take with me out on the bed, then I omit. When I see it all laid out I realize I can live without 5 pairs of shorts or whatever. The shoes are the hardest so now I designate one smaller bag for shoes only.
ReplyDeleteDiane, I totally do that. I spread everything out and then I eliminate. You're a sister packer.
ReplyDeleteI think you're definitely onto something, Deb! For our trip last week down to South Carolina, I packed a very random mix of tops and bottoms, and I didn't even wear some of the stuff! Next time I go on a trip, I will give this a shot! (By the way, the white dress with the stars, and the sparkly Toms are ADORABLE!) :)
ReplyDeleteyou know Beth this was born of many many many bad packing experiences. Partly I think that we are unaware of what is expected of us on any given trip. My crime is packing too much Fancy. Not needed I find. We live in casual world and one or two lovely things work. Yes, cheap star dress is a winner and my husband loves it which makes it a keeper! Toms-crazy good. All of them.
ReplyDeleteHello, my beauties!! Just back from the long schlep and move in of our beautiful girl. It was hard and easy at the same time. Easy to see her so happy and settled, hard to leave her (and friggin' hard to move her in -- we are EXHAUSTED!!). But am finally able to weigh in again. Just in time to grin and tease that I have been privy to a few gorgeous shots of Deb in her finery with the Rock as her spectacular backdrop. Can't wait till we share with you all next week :)
ReplyDeleteHey Barb,
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that darling Michele is all settled. Sleep the sleep of angels now, you and Phil. I hope you are feeling good about everything. She will kill it that girl. She has killed it since I have known her. Wow. Milestones. The boy is 21 tomorrow. Just spent two days doing a watercolour gift for him of the jellybean houses in St. John's. Going to run out in the am and get it framed. Sooooooo tired. Great day. Wow. Rambly now. Watercolours running through my brain. Welcome home the Mom. Welcome to your new home. And so it begins. I adore you.
What size are you Deb? Ima borrow your wardrobe!
ReplyDeleteI am a size four baby. I am five feet tall. Feet are 51/2. Come on over. Big closet no waiting.
ReplyDeleteToday's Luke's Birthday???? I didn't know! Happy birthday, Luke! Welcome to the wonderful world of 21 :D
ReplyDeleteDeb and Barbara -
ReplyDeleteI forgot to tell y'all something funny. Two nights ago, I had the craziest good dream. (Yay! Not a nightmare!) It was the good kind of weird. I dreamt that I had written a YA novel that also appealed to adults. The publisher felt it was worth a book tour so I was getting to drive all over the place (apparently, my strong distaste for flying even shows up in dreams LOL) with a corporate credit card staying in nice hotels. I dreamt that I was doing a reading and book signing in a big bookstore in Toronto and that I looked up into the crowd and the 2 of y'all and your husbands were there in the seats. I even dreamt that I was wearing my hair wavy and down and that I was wearing a well tailored pair of black wool slacks with satin lining, some adorable black leather Mary Janes with a low heel, and the most killer gorgeous deep green sweater.
I dreamt that a loud, crabby, stuck up Fundamentalist picked an argument with me at the reading because she disagreed with the non-conservative, nontraditional theology manifest in the fictional work (a la the bruhaha against Harry Potter) and that I was able to efficiently and politely verbally eviscerate her, shut her down, and send her scurrying away deflated.
I want the book. I want Toronto. And, I want the y'all at the bookstore thing (without the Fundmentalist). None of this is remotely likely. But, maybe someday I'll stumble across that really great green sweater! LOL
Sorry for posting on my own heels, but something else rattled loose in my brain on the sartorial subject. Work was really busy tonight, but that's good because it makes the shift go fast and I like helping folks figure stuff out. But, now I'm very tired and just got my hungry tummy filled and am drifting from thought to thought. Unfortunately for y'all, some of that is spilling out here.
ReplyDeleteDeb, you said "you know how to work it on a budget." Can you guess what I've got that I would pack for a winter trip if there were gonna be something I needed to dress fancy for? In my long sleeved shirts, sweaters, and sweatshirts for winter (like I said, I'm currently lacking for bottom halves, but I'm hooked up for top halves), I have 2, yes 2!, cashmere sweaters! One is a light caramel, and one is dark gray. One is a ladies' sweater, and one is, technically, a men's. But, I don't care. No one would know when I'm wearing it. I mean, there's room in it for my boobs, so what difference does it make? One is a Ralph Lauren, and one has a label from somewhere in Europe. I'd go and check it to say, but my winter wear is already all bundled up. One, I got for $1.50 at a thrift shop. It had a $3.00 price tag, but I got it at an end-of-winter sale when everything long sleeved was half off. The other, I got for 50cents at a church rummage sale.
Wearing wool, cashmere, and the like directly on my skin makes me awfully itchy and blotchy. But, I like wearing them over a long sleeved t-shirt or the top half of long johns. I feel all soft and fancy when I'm wearing one.
Deb, I believe you. I also pull out everything I think I would like to take and then cut it down to 2 pants, one jean, 5 tops and two pairs of shoes (usually one really comfortable that is casual and then one "better pair" Or it is one pair of tennis shoes and one casual comfortable. I don't have a lot of clothes so it is easy to find the limited collection I need for travel. Also, I use a lot of traveler clothes from Chico that drip and dry so can be worn every day or every other day and also is nice at night with a fancier top.
ReplyDeleteMadge I have heard of the Chico clothes. Are they nice? Wow, could have used them in Italy. Have you ever been? They don't allow irons or ironing boards anywhere. You have to send clothes out to be cleaned or laundered. We packed, thinking we would wash stuff out in the room and iron and SURPRISE! We ended up blowing so much money on laundry. Rigel hold on to that dream! you never know baby, you never ever know. And it kills me that you got cashmere for mere bucks. Thanks Kelly, yep 21 today our boy. My lucky number has always been 3 and our boy was born 3/9/90! Look at all those threes!!!
ReplyDeletehooray for 1990!!! :D
ReplyDeleteYeah Holly!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos - beautiful Newfoundland and the lovely inhabitants. Very creative wardrobe staging. I got a few tips for my next trip.
ReplyDeleteGlad I could help Lorraine! x
ReplyDelete