March 17, 2025
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I was to have been in Dublin this week, but family emergencies have kept us in Chicago. I figured that I could still share with you what I’d planned to pack, since I took so much time pondering it! So here’s the post, as it was originally going to be published:
I’m taking as small a wardrobe as I think I can tolerate; there are a couple of very good laundries near our hotel – one north of us, one south! No matter where we’re heading out for the day, we can drop off shirts and anything else that’s beyond the pale of wearing again. I’m happy to pay someone to do my laundry a couple of times a year.
Here’s what I’m flying in – not showing a short black quilted jacket…
Please note that these aren’t the EXACT clothes in all cases – some of my things are years old and don’t exist in the world of the internet anymore.
Earrings – Donatello Gian; scarf – Elizabetta; cotton turtleneck – Lands’ End; wool sweater – Skall Studio; gingko leaf brooch – Ezra Baghaki; loafers – G.H.Bass; velvet tote – Isabel Marant; knit cords – Lands’ End
I’m only going to have ten pieces of clothing with me, so I thought that maybe the Perfect Ten Packing template would be appropriate:
One thing I’m packing, that I’m not showing – is a mid-thigh black quilted coat with a hood. It smushes down to a wee wafer of fabric, and will crush into the outside pocket of my suitcase. That way, if we land and the weather is rude, I can change coats before we get on the bus into the city…
Otherwise, the velvet pants and the sequined sweater are for our dinners out (our anniversary is the first day of spring!), and going to the theater – we’re seeing King Lear at the Gate Theater!
Why yes, I may just wear my pearl earrings for the entire week. That would cut back some packing – not big volume items, but things that still have to be considered and remembered!
Evening bag – Moda Luxe; white shirt – Lands’ End; striped shirt – Lands’ End; chambray shirt – L.L.Bean; black vest – Alex Mill; jeans – Alex Mill; blue paisley scarf – Elizabetta; black paisley scarf – Elizabetta; sequined sweater – Fabiana Filippi; black velvet pants – Eileen Fisher; moccasins – Minnetonka; ballet flats – Abeo
When this all is stacked together on my bed, it looks like a TON of clothing, although I know that by about the third or fourth day there, I will be feeling like I’ve seen all of these clothes waaaay too much:
But this does all make quite a bit of sense in the Perfect Ten Packing philosophy…
This is an assortment from which it would be hard to dress badly – I think wearing the black turtleneck under the black vest might looks odd, but otherwise I think I’m in pretty good shape for versatility. Here are eight quick outfits I was able to cobble together:
Maybe – if there’s space in my suitcase – I will chuck in a black & white striped tee shirt, or a second black turtleneck. But I’m eager to challenge myself to wear what I have, and not think all that much about my clothes.
Worst case – we’re staying about 2 blocks from Marks & Spencer! And 4 blocks from Uniqlo, COS, etc. etc…
love,
Janice
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I do like your style! Hope you eventually get to go. I think you should take the extra T shirt. Have fun!
So sorry to hear that you can’t make it. If it’s any small consolation, your packing is perfect for the weather we’re having at the moment. It’s chillier than usual at the moment, (single digits) but we’ve had a couple of sunny days. I’m flying in the opposite direction tomorrow, but still using your template.
What a fantastic capsule travel wardrobe! In addition to Dublin, I could see this working just as well in any climate that doesn’t feature sandy beaches or Margaritas! I’d be just as comfortable taking this to Wiesbaden, Vienna, New York or Geneva about now too. You inspire me, as I tend to be a notorious overpacker…..yet I completely applaud your minimalist, stylish approach.
That being said, I’m so sorry for your family emergency. My prayers are with you. I hope that you can reschedule Dublin when things calm down and I hope everything works out with a minimum of complication.
Top o’ the mornin’ to you, and a very happy St. Patrick’s Day. I hope you get to make your Ireland trip sometime soon. Your packing choices make perfect sense in a style I love!
So sorry you had to miss your trip. These are great selections for a quick trip to Ireland. I try to pack minimally too! But now I use your ideas to have more cohesive outfit choices. I agree about the laundry too! Picking up clean clothing at the end of the day is a treat.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Janice! I’m so sorry you’ve had to postpone your trip. I do love what you planned to pack for Ireland.
Sorry that your trip to Dublin has been postponed. Hope that it can be rearranged soon. This looks effortless packing but I’m sure it comes from years of experience. Happy Anniversary too.
Sorry about your emergency and postponed trip, Janice!
I’m packing today too–how many days is this set of clothing for?
Thank you, and Happy Anniversary!
Camille
We expected to be away for eight nights in the hotel – nine nights altogether, since we fly overnight from North American to Europe.
hugs,
Janice
Thank you for the info! And hugs back!!
Camille
Happy St Patrick’s Day! This post reminded me that I once went to Italy for two weeks with just four dresses. They were all cotton knits, and two were sleeveless with matching jackets. The weather was warm, and I had no problem wearing them. I’ve always skewed towards dresses (according to my mother, even when I was a two-year-old), and I felt perfectly comfortable.
This is such a fantastic colour palette for a small travel capsule.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I’m so sorry about your trip being cancelled. I hope the emergencies resolve quickly.
I was travelling last week and I brought two bottoms, three shirts and two 2nd-layer items and I was definitely sick of it all by the time we got back. This looks like a good assortment!
Just curious – can I assume that you are packing this into a carry on? I have many of the same pieces (or similar) and am just curious if it fits into a carry on and if you have to use compression bags. Thanks//////1
This all fits in a carry-on sized suitcase, but we would probably check our bags, just for ease of not having to wrestle with them on the plane! Plus, I would have had to open my suitcase to dig out my wee toiletries bag if we carried them on – I don’t put my toiletries in my handbag for some reason…
hugs,
Janice
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I packed for one trip like Rebecca, and was also SO TIRED of everything by end of week. The next time I packed a little more, but succeeded in getting a couple pair of pants STAINED the first time I wore them! yikes. I do travel pretty minimally, having over packed for a trip to Europe many years ago and then lugging that enormous suitcase around for a week. Anyway, love all of this for a trip and I hope you get to reschedule soon. My Bing screen saver this morning was the Samuel Becket Bridge in Dublin – at night – it’s all lit up. How beautiful!
I always wish that Chicago committed to a few more bridges over our river – especially a pedestrian bridge! A bit more like Dublin or Paris, please!
hugs,
Janice
Yes. And we need more trains!!!!
My first capsule wardrobe of mostly navy and tan/brown was for 6-week trip to Europe in spring 1981 with stops in Chicago at either end. My bottoms were khaki pants, denim skirt, denim overalls (!), and brown cords. On the day I was to leave for Chicago, I put on the cords and the zipper broke. There was time to shop in Chicago but a replacement was not to be found. Somehow I managed with just the other three pieces. Today, I would be bored with that wardrobe but back then I was too focused on all the new experiences in ten different countries. Plus, I doubt these days I could manage carrying it all in a backpack. And I learned that wooden-soled shoes are not a good choice for walking on cobblestone streets.
Also a fan of Bing screensavers and have built a collection to change out seasonally and for holidays.
Your clothes don’t matter all that much when you’re having a wonderful trip, and your brain is chock full of experiences!
hugs,
Janice
sorry for no trip. I admit I have never considered having laundry done on a all hotel trip but I do plan it on family visits. I don’t think my hotels are generally fancy enough to offer laundry service.
We were just going to use a laundry out on the street – we used to live in Dublin, so we know where to find them! But I do this all the time in Paris, too – I’ve never had a bad experience. Yet!
hugs,
Janice
Janice,
My OCD brain wants to restructure the template into a 3 x 4 x 3 arrangement, with 3 toppers, 4 tops, and 3 bottoms , making it easier for me to reconstruct that way . I would probably add a 5 th top, but that’s me, being a “ just in case” packer .
Happy St. Patrick’s Day and I hope the family issue is quickly resolved !
Happy St Patricks Day. Hope you get a chance to reschedule your trip. We are heading out this week to visit the kids and grandbabies at the coast. Heading into lots of rain. This is a lovely reminder that you dont need to pack that much. Thank you Janice.
I agree about packing light, but how does anyone dare face Ireland in spring without a waterproof?
Beautiful!
I’m very sorry you had to cancel your trip. This post is timely for me. I’m traveling for an out of town funeral and was vacillating about what to pack. I think I will pull my unworn sweater vest out of the Goodwill bag, now. I’m afraid my wardrobe is a bit of a mess. I can’t resist buying pretty things and now I’m having trouble packing a coordinated capsule.
Maybe you could take photos of two or three of your favourite garments (to always have with you when you’re shopping) and buy a few pieces that would work with them and fill in the gaps with other things you own to make workable travel
capsules. Just a thought. I’m sure others could think of other helpful tips to assist your travel wardrobe needs.
Sorry about your canceled trip! Not fun. I wanted to tell you the Perfect 10 is just that…perfect. I’ve built my last two entire seasons on a Perfect 10 (5 tops + 3 bottoms + 2 layers) x 4.
So 40 items + an additional 10 dress-up pieces (LBDs & suits). Not counting the dress-up, the basic 40 items make almost 2000 outfits!
You are such an inspiration! And such a gentle guide as I’ve been finding my way to a simple, “just me” closet. (The only thing I would add to your suitcase is a couple more scarves in brighter colors in case I’m needing variety, maybe one in pinks and one in aquas or seafoam.) Again, thank you for all your help.
Can you give details as to the packable jacket? I would love to have something like that.
It’s just a Lands’ End mid-thigh length down coat with a hood. Nothing special, and nothing specifically described as “packable.” All things are packable; unless they were manufactured right there at your home, someone somewhere packed it and got it to a store, or to you directly. Down is awesomely easy to smush and pack…
hugs,
Janice
I really love this wardrobe! Sorry you can’t go right now and I hope all is well with your family.
Happy St. Patrick’s day! Sorry you have to postpone your trip. Thinking positive for your family and for your travel plans. What a great starting point for travel or for a classic wardrobe. The brooch is beautiful, as are the other brooch suggestions on the linked website. I have a 2 week trip to Europe coming up in the fall and my carry on will have a version of this in case our 1 checked bag goes astray. I think I could manage out of a carry on now that I’m TVF trained, but hubby tends to overpack. 😊
I hope you can travel with this fantastic capsule soon.
It’s always good to know how and when you want to wear your clothes.
For example, I spent years on beach vacations in the Mediterranean. During the day, I wore just a bikini with something over it, and in the evenings we went out to dinner in town.
This retrospective is made for me (colorful and my colors).
Belated St. Pattys day…..maybe you are on your way to Ireland. Hope your emergency worked out ok!❤️
In this blog this is so me….but I have to admit I am not buying anymore black…only things that are not black….to make the black brighter…in this blog you have given me lots of ideas on mixing it with black and striped blouse, which I have….this wardrobe works for me up in freezing 🇨🇦 right now. Still in the minus. Temps. Burr
Thanks Janice for affirming what I feel most comfortable wearing right now.!