How not to pack for holidays: learn from my mistakes

Expecting a “Here’s how I packed” story? No, reader, this is not it. Instead, you can learn from my mistakes because if I would rate myself on how I packed, I’d give myself a four out of 10. Maybe a 5 if I was feeling generous, but I wouldn’t deserve it.

Before COVID I used to travel regularly for work and for fun. Australians will know what I mean by this flex: I have lifetime Gold Frequent Flyer membership at Qantas. Amazing, yes, but I’m spoilt enough to still feel chagrined that I miss my Platinum memberships. And, I was travelling a lot with my then-boyfriend, now husband. In 2019, we did Tokyo and Osaka, Bora Bora, Lisbon for my best friend’s wedding and then London.

Then the pandemic, kids, and solo travelling became something of the past. Except for this year, when I went to London for five days. I was there for a Cotswolds wedding (two days) and also had a 12-hour Tokyo layover, which in hindsight was the perfect way to break-up a long haul flight.

I used to be an excellent packer with practice. But this time, I was sorely lacking. I checked the weather, and tried to think about how each piece made sense in the greater scheme of things. I planned out what I was to wear for the wedding events so that was easy, but I still came home with a suitcase half-filled with never-worn clothes.

At the last minute, I threw in two pairs of above-the-knee elasticised shorts that from the outset seemed similar enough that if I was being more ruthless, I would have only packed one pair. The first: butter yellow cotton from Faithfull, and the other bright white silk taffeta from Beare Park (old season, here it is in black). So different, right?

They worked well with flat sandals, ballet flats or low-heels. I could dress them up or down. Plain tops for the day, or something nicer at night; heatwave appropriate but polished. And looking around, this was a popular look in London, too.

I’d noticed a gap in my shoe wardrobe: I have plenty of black flats (likely too many) but often read as too corporate or wintery, and while I’m a big fan of white flats, sometimes they read too stark. Enter: tan suede ballet flats, which I found at Sézane (now on sale, they’re true to size).

For tops, I always want something that is relaxed-cut. I’ve always liked that silhouette of a loose top with fitted/short bottoms, or even wide-leg pants. It just reads as more elegant and dare-I-say-it, effortless to me…

I have a few casual ones, and have long been in search of one that’s more dressy in a satin, and finally found the perfect one at Toteme on Mount street (available here and here). It fits true to size, and it says dryclean only but I just washed it in the washing machine on gentle and it came out fine.

A long-line top/short tunic does similar work. An A-line Blanca piece I bought at the tail end of last summer remained barely worn, but was a firm favourite on holidays. I’d wear it loose over said shorts above, or with a vintage pearl rope tied around the waist, or, with the matching balloon pants, as below. I sized up for length, given my height — in hindsight my regular size would've been better. It's a touch too loose, but reads easy-breezy.

And then the sandals — the ones I actually expected to die on this trip. Tan Chloé, bought from the outlet in Paris fifteen-odd years ago, packed on the theory that if they finally gave out, I’d have permission to replace them. They didn’t. Most comfortable thing I brought, which is an annoying thing to admit about shoes that old. I packed FOUR DIFFERENT FLAT SANDALS and ended up wearing these the most.

I bought this shell necklace from Anna + Nina on Chiltern street on sale for about 25 pounds. I wore it for dinner one night at Clement Cafe and in just a few hours, was asked about it over five times which is insane compliments-per-wear ratio.

I’ve been buying design consignment there for over a decade. I have written an in-depth post about how to navigate Tokyo designer consignment bag shopping. I used to shop at Amore Vintage when it was a tiny room in a hidden office block, years before Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid posted about it.

Below the paywall: the advice to ignore, and a frank assessment of shopping in London, Bicester Village and Tokyo. I’ve been to Bicester Village twice before and never bought anything — but this time I did well.