15kg of luggage - capsule wardrobe help!!

[spekky]

I’m travelling to the south of France and Italy in the summer. I’ve only got a 15kg luggage allowance on the way out, so need some help with how I can build a capsule wardrobe for the trip.

I like nice summery dresses, or shorts and t-shirts. For the evenings I have two sets of shoes & bags - one pair of gold slider style sandals and a gold bag, one pair of red heels and a red bag (pics attached).

I plan on doing a lot of exploring so day to day I imagine I’ll be wearing trainers a lot - I have a burgundy and cream pair of Adidas Spezials and will probably purchase a new pair of new balance 720s in preparation for the trip. Likely in white or brown.

I will have the ability to do laundry halfway through the trip.

Where do I even start?!

Personally I would reduce shoes - I only take a serious walking type shoe and a dressy shoe, then I pick all my outfits around those.

I find that compresses the colour palette and then, without much more effort on my part, everything goes well with everything else.

My underseat bag doubles as my daytime bag (in my case it’s a tan leather hobo style shopper that converts to a backpack) and if I were bringing an evening bag, it would be a clutch doubling as a sort of wallet in my day bag.

I just worry that by the end of the 9 days my shoes will be absolutely stinking! I think I could fit 2 pairs of sandals in my hand luggage - I have an under seat and overhead bag

Get out the 2, 3 or 4 items you are most looking forward to wearing on holiday and put them on your bed with tops above the skirts / shorts etc. Then get out the accessories and other items that turn those favourite items into outfits. Shoes at the bottom of the shorts, bags next to tops etc

Then get out more clothing items but you can only add them to the packing list if they can be worn with items that are already on the bed. So you can add another top that goes with the trousers, shoes and bag you already have on the bed. But you can’t add the top (yet) if you also need to add a new pair of shorts because it doesn’t go with anything already on the bed.

For a 9 day trip where you can do washing mid trip you probably only need:
3-4 daytime outfits
2-3 dresses / evening outfits

plus swimwear, accessories, jewellery, toiletries (decant into travel size bottles to save space)

When you have enough outfits look at each item hard. Does it justify its’ place? For example if your red shoes only go with one dress but your gold shoes go with all three, should you take out the red shoes and add a fourth dress that also goes with the gold shoes. Swap items in and out until you get a wardrobe you are happy with. Then take a photo of the whole thing so you remember what you need to pack when the time comes!

I’m making a skirt in this fabric, I’ve also made shorts in this fabric. So I’m desperate to take these away!

Careful in that glass house. Both of your posts so far haven’t been especially helpful or friendly.

I've posted more than twice. I didn't realise you'd been appointed thread monitor.

We all have our own way of packing. Some overpack, some underpack competitively, and some pack intelligently.

I'm a flipping mix of all three!

However, standard items are -

Good comfortable broken in walking trainers
Lightweight flats for out at night, neutral colour
Spa slippers for hotel floors and bathrooms
A couple of lightweight drawstring or elastic waist trousers
One good pair of trousers, lightweight but a bit more ahem Tailored.
Two light midi dresses that are uncrushable, no linen or anything that would drive you mad with creases. You know the kind of fabric, like cheesecloth or crinkly or similar.
Three or four tops, a couple of nice nightime tops.

All neutral colours, khaki, navy, black, green, cream. Dresses are a mix of plain and patterned, doesn't matter, they don't need a top or bottom to match!

Yes, I responded before I realised you’d kept going in the same vein. I’d not realised threads had official mean girls who appear to hate clothes and anyone talking about them, but apparently you’ve volunteered.

I’m a chronic over packer but couldn’t justify £50 on a 23kg case, when I was only ever going to buy 20kg on the way back! My own fault for travelling with different airlines 😂

Oh and don't forget your massive wide brimmed floppy sun hat for the Cote d'Azur! I got a cheap one in Primark, it was the only one that fit my massive head ha ha. Then I added some lovely false flowers on one side of the rim and I now look like I could get an invite to dinner in the Negresco. 😊

That's despite me being an ordinary lass. It's amazing what a few nice accessories can do.

I don’t have the head for hats but I definitely need one! My mum is going through a skin cancer scare at the moment so I’m conscious of covering up!

It’s 9 days … I’d take:

5 little jersey t shirt dresses that roll up to nothing. (And can surely be rinsed out overnight even if on a campsite.) Black for preference. And sleeveless.

Flat ‘nice’ sandals.

For the journey I’d wear a t shirt, chinos, light jacket, and wrap either a flannel shirt or a jumper around my waist. And my walking shoes / boots.

That’s it. Apart from underwear / nightwear, obviously. The separate parts of the travel outfit can be mixed with dresses in all sorts of combinations.

Long experience has taught me that in warm weather it’s much less hassle to have a few tiny dresses that don’t need ironing (nothing voluminous) than lots of separates that never look quite right after unpacking.

Hi...could I have a link to the jersey dresses please

I dont find clothes the issue for weight, it's when you start adding in hairdryers and/or straighteners suncream, beauty products etc so I'd suggest being really discriminate in that area.

OP, I’m not sure you need to work hard to pack the bare minimum. You have 15kg allowance, so as others have said you should have plenty of space. The important things are:

-what you’re planning to do (city sightseeing, long rural/hilly walks, relaxing on sun loungers, dining out?)
-where you’ll be (cities, beaches, hotel, campsites, etc)
-weather & climate when you’ll be there - is it usually super hot when you’re planning to go, is there occasional rain, etc, sea breezes, etc?

Then plan what sort of outfits you’d need for the itinerary you’ve in mind. A camping holiday with lots of sightseeing and walking around mountains will need quite different outfits than will a beach resort holiday near a big city with lots of dining out.

Omce you’ve mapped out your requirements you can check what that looks like in terms of packing space, and then look to choose coordinating items/double up on functionality if needed. You might then notice you have a gap and need to get something new.

I used to bring too few shoes and accessories and too many items of clothing because I’d fallen into a false economy of thinking making one or two pairs work for everything would be practical and I’d have more outfits. In reality I’d just end up not quite having what I needed for some of what we did. So now I plan outfits for what we’re going to do and where we’ll be, and then start planning capsules and rationalising from there.

I go to Ireland every year with Ryan air. I really dont take evening shoes, even here I don't dress up much for dinner. So one pair of ballet pumps and wear trainers on the plane.
I take a few pairs of leggings, two skater type dresses, wear jeans thshits and hoody plus denim jacket on plane. Two maxi dresses. Black thin cardi. That's about it. Everything can be swopped and worn with each other. If I'm really tight for space I take stuff to wear to bed I can wash and use during the day too, like long t shirts. My maxi dresses are very versatile. I have worn the same one on school run and to Royal Ascot. Both my boys are masters of packing light while changing tops daily. I don't know how they manage but I suspect I take way to much Toilets and accessories

i think I’m quite lucky as both Bristol and Milan allow you to take liquids in your hand luggage with no restrictions! So thankfully I can sort of switch around

If you've also got an under seat bag and a cabin bag, then that's around 35kg of baggage. I don't think you need to worry too much about a capsule wardrobe.

I don’t want to massively over pack though, but I know from Previous experience I’ll need things like three pairs of pyjamas

I was thinking this aswell;
scrap 2 pairs of trainers and 2 pairs of evening shoes and 2 different bags - 1 pair of trainers for days and the golf stuff for nights - as goes with everything
then enough stuff for 4 days and wear twice!
And a travelling outfit
job done
nothing difficult
if you’re that bothered pay for another bag and stop being rude!

Instead of the three pairs, I'd take a couple of very thin PJ shorts and two cami tops.

The issue is I start to stink, so I end up needing to buy while I’m away

9 days with washing in the middle? So basically 5 days worth of stuff?

Id travel in neutral coloured trainers, lightweight trousers, teeshirt and lightweight jumper or cardigan.

Pack: sandals that go with everything.
2 pairs shorts, 4 teeshirts, one daytime dress, 3 evening outfits (that all go with the sandals).
Swimming stuff, hairdryer, shampoo, toothpaste etc, books. 2 pairs PJs. Probably a microfiber towel and a mini first aid kit.

Phone, charger, adapter, medication in hand luggage.

Well yeah, I can wash, but if I can avoid I’d like to!

That's not what your OP said!!

Ok, 3 shorts, 6 teeshirts, 3 dresses, 5 evening outfits, 3 PJs. Wear trainers, pack sandals.