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The 13 Piece Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Day 2

The 13 Piece Travel Capsule Wardrobe: Day 2
Carly Jacobs
I

realised quite accidentally that I pack a 13 piece capsule wardrobe pretty much every time I travel. I do this for a few reasons. (Here’s the original post about my capsule wardrobe if you want to see the whole the she-bang).

1. I freaking hate myself when I over-pack and I have to drag a giant suitcase through airports.

I like to be light and efficient on my feet. Like a particularly productive and elegant deer. I even carry a backpack when I go through airports because I hate messing around with heavy handbags. Yep. I’m backpack girl.

2. I crochet so I generally like to save at least half my suitcase for yarn.

It’s a whole thing. It’s quite weird actually because yarn takes up much less room when it’s made into an item. I packed 10 balls of yarn for this trip that took up half my suitcase and those yarn balls are now a very sensible sized scarf. It’s hilarious and kind of like magic. Does that make me a wizard? Say yes.

3. I value my time a lot.

And the less stuff I take when I travel, the less time I spend screwing around every day trying to figure out what to wear. It’s ace. I also save time packing and unpacking because there’s less stuff everywhere.

Here are all the items I currently have packed in my suitcase.

capsule wardrobe

1. White cotton dress from Cos

2. Black organic cotton dress from Gorman

3. Striped cotton dress from Muji 

4. Patterned dress from Marimekko 

5. Oversized cotton cardigan from Vinnies

6. Nude ballet flats from Merrell

7. Sandals from Toms

8. Leather boots from Ecco

9. Cotton scarf from Sportsgirl 

10. Warm wrap (hand crocheted by me – learn to make your own!)

11. Black opaque tights

12. Grey knit tights

13. Down jacket from Muji 

capsule wardrobe

Wearing

1 (white cotton dress) + 12 (grey knit tights) + 8 (kick ass waterproof boots) + 5 (oversized cardigan)

This was worn for a day trip to Sydney to sort out a few bits and pieces for an upcoming trip. This is why I love cotton so much, it’s totally breathable so it’s good for muggy Sydney weather but keeps me just a bit toasty when it cools off at night. I wouldn’t necessarily have worn this combo at home in Melbourne but I’m kind of digging it. I like how voluminous it all is. Also I love grey tights for lighter outfits because my black opaques would have just been too heavy don’t you think?

So far so good on the 13 piece minimalist capsule wardrobe challenge. The weather has been quite temperate so it’s been super easy. I suspect I’m going to have to break out Robert Downey Junior tomorrow. He’s my down jacket – he’s been dying to come to play and I think it might just be chilly enough when I get back to Melbourne to whip him out.

capsule wardrobe

Oh and I totally forgot to tell you guys my horrible story that happened the other day. Mr Smaggle and I arrived at the farm (where we stay several times a year), cooked ourselves dinner and left an oven tray in the sink to soak over night. I woke up the following morning to make breakfast. I pottered around in the kitchen, let the water out of the sink, washed up a few plates. I then went to put something in the sink and nearly fainted.

There was drowned, dead bat in the sink. A teeny, tiny one. I don’t know if you know this but I’m really not very good with dead things so I was very impressed with myself as I calmly went to the bedroom to inform Mr Smaggle that there was a dead bat situation he needed to deal with in the sink.

It was sad but also gross and totally weird because I have literally never seen a bat anywhere the farm. He must have somehow ended up trapped inside, swopped down to get a drink in the sink after we went to bed and couldn’t get back out again.

We said a few words for Bruce Wayne as we threw him in the hopper out the back of Nowra Aldi. God speed my little (weirdly cute) dead demon friend.

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Have you considered trying a minimalist or capsule wardrobe? Do you think you’d be able to do it?

 

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4 Comments

  1. Samantha Sangston 7 years ago

    Hi Smaggle (Carly), I’m going to Melbourne next week for 3 days and I totes wanna try a capsule wardrobe! What do you suggest for the weather ATM? Cheers, Sam

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 7 years ago

      Always layers! It’s cold then hot, then cold then freezing! And pack an umbrella too! I like to wear to wear tights and a dress so I can strip them off when the weather heats up.

  2. Lisa Fourman 7 years ago

    That poor baby bat! I’ll be remembering that story for a while, that’s for sure! I’m definitely going to be redoing my wardrobe once I get the money to do so. A LOT of my clothing will be going to Goodwill while I get much fewer clothes to wear for the week. I need more room in my closet for other things, anyway. Good reasoning, right? haha

  3. Missy D 7 years ago

    I did my first capsule wardrobe when I went to Italy last year (but still slightly overpacked), it worked okay, but my issue is always that I can mix and match fine, but often I’ll have say one pair of black pants that goes with a few tops, but I can only wear them one day in a row because then I have to wash them. Then the next day I only have half an outfit (easier if you wear more dresses I guess).

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