I pride myself on traveling with only a carry-on, even for long trips. I recently returned from a 13 day trip to England. Even though I kept to my carry-on only philosophy, this trip reinforced certain things and made me re-assess how I create my travel capsule wardrobes going forward. In this blog post, I wanted to share my top lessons learned to hopefully make it easier for you when creating your own travel capsule wardrobe. While these takeaways can be applied in many situations, I’d like to mention that this trip was to London and Bath, with day trips to Glastonbury and Stonehenge. While there was a small amount of hiking, it was primarily a city vacation with a lot of walking, shopping, eating, and sightseeing.


My travel capsule wardrobe consisted of the following items, including accessories. Links are included below to the items that are currently available, but you can also Shop the Collection Here.  

Two tanks (white and ivory)
Three merino wool T-shirts (ivory, olive, and black)
Cashmere tee (green)​
​Two long sleeve merino wool tees (magenta and black)
Cotton gauze button down shirt (Warm pink)

Two cashmere cardigans (Green and red)
Merino wool hoodie (wine)​

Trench coat (black)

Espadrilles (gold)
Loafers (cream)
Sneakers (off-white)

One cotton maxi dress (navy floral)

Jeans
Two pairs of chinos (dark olive and navy)
Ponte pants (black)

Lightweight beret (pink)
Silk scarf (black and champagne)​

Necklace
Hoop earrings
Ring
Two bracelets
Watch
Five pairs of socks (two pairs of merino wool ankle socks/two pairs of merino wool no-show socks/one pair of fashion socks)

I always make it a point to layer (tee, hoodie, trench, and pashmina) and wear all jewelry and my bulkiest shoes on the plane. I also always pack an outfit in my personal item with the remaining items in my carry-on. In case you’re wondering about how many unmentionables to pack, I’m the kind of person who doesn’t want to have to do laundry on a trip so I bring enough bras to wear each one twice and enough undies to have a fresh pair every day.

Even though everything fit easily in my Monos carry-on with room to spare for the shopping I planned to do, if I could have done it differently, I would have removed the following items:

One pair of pants
One cardigan
One pair of shoes
Cashmere tee
Fashion socks
Silk scarf

Just because you have the space to bring additional items doesn’t mean that you should. The sneakers and espadrilles were sufficient to carry me through all the possible activities I had planned. The loafers really weren’t necessary. With my workhorse merino wool socks in tow, the fashion socks weren’t necessary either, even if they didn’t take up much space. There’s no need to have two of the same kind of layering piece, even if they are lightweight. Three pairs of pants is sufficient, especially since I also brought a maxi dress. Similarly, I really only needed three tees for a nearly two week trip (more on that in Lesson #3). I don’t wear silk scarves in my everyday life so I’m not sure why I thought that would be any different on vacation.

In addition, less is definitely more if you plan to go clothes shopping when you’re on vacation. I had already scouted some stores I wanted to visit while in London (can you say Sezane?!) and knew what I potentially wanted to buy so I had to have space for those items. I’m notorious for buying shoes while on vacation, especially European vacations. I bought a pair of white sandals in Portugal two years ago. Last year I bought two more pairs of sandals in Vienna. This year I had my eye on the Josepha sandals from Sezane, which I purchased on day 1 of our trip! Shoes are actually great to buy while you’re in Europe because they have local brands that you don’t often see here in the States, brands that understand what is required of a “good walking shoe” in Europe, where many cities still have cobblestone streets that can be uneven and hard on the feet. If a shoe passes the test as a good European walking shoe, you’ll most certainly be walking in the clouds once you’re back in the States!

Another reason why less is more is because depending on the weather and what you’re doing, the reality is that very few people will really see what you’re wearing.

If you look closely at the photo above, you can see a bit of my wine colored hoodie peeking out from underneath my coat, which I never took off until I got back to my hotel room that evening (we even had lunch outside). For the last few days of the trip, I was consistently wearing the trench, taking it off only to have lunch or dinner in restaurants with a casual dress code. In cases like this, it matters even less that you’re often wearing the same outfit.

But as I quickly learned on this trip, less is also more when you’re traveling in transitional weather and you might have to go shopping because you didn’t pack accordingly. This leads me to lesson #2…​

I always check the weather forecast when creating my travel capsule wardrobe. Yet I still found myself a bit ill-prepared for the weather in England in late May. I knew that it was going to be unusually warm for England. In fact, while I was there, England experienced record-breaking high temperatures! For the first week, the forecast was 80s. In my mind, I was like, “Okay, 80s. I’ll be fine in chinos and a T-shirt or tank if I’m not wearing my maxi dress”, especially since I generally run cold. Let’s just say that I was not okay in chinos. I had forgotten how air-conditioning is generally not as prevalent in Europe as it is in the United States. After walking for hours in very warm weather, which some days turned out to be in the 90s instead of 80s, it’s not always possible to get relief in an air-conditioned cafe, restaurant, museum, or store. 

Next time, when I see 80s in Europe, I’m definitely going to sub in a pair of shorts, linen pants, or skirt for a pair of pants in my travel capsule wardrobe and a sleeveless top for one of my others.

I’ve always been a fan of merino wool for travel. The travel capsule wardrobes from my last three European trips have looked suspiciously similar because I tend to bring the same merino wool items (my favorites are from Unbound Merino). Here I am in front of the historic Sally Lunn in Bath with my merino wool T-shirt and hoodie:

I can’t sing the praises of merino wool enough. It’s temperature regulating, which means that it keeps me warm when it’s cold and keeps me cool when it’s hot. It’s odor-resistant, which means that I can wear a tee several times over the course of my trip without needing to wash it. Note that if I choose to wash it in the sink or shower, merino wool dries quickly, And it’s wrinkle-resistant.

I also love to wear cashmere when I travel. Similar to merino wool, cashmere is temperature regulating, odor-resistant, and generally wrinkle-resistant. Here I am in my red cashmere cardigan having afternoon tea at Sketch:

What I love about cashmere is how soft it is and how warm it keeps me in air-conditioned spaces or in milder temperatures even when the sweater is lightweight.

I became a linen convert on this trip. I always knew that linen is a great natural fiber in hot weather because of how breathable it is, but I’ve generally stayed away from linen because of how easily it wrinkles. However, when you’re on vacation and experiencing record-breaking temperatures, I realized that a few wrinkles are a small price to pay for staying cool. Plus, I’ve come to accept that the wrinkles are part of linen’s charm. A few of the other benefits of linen include its ability to wick moisture away from the body and dry quickly, the fact that it doesn’t cling to the body, and how it feels cool to the touch when you first put it on.

One of the keys to a successful travel capsule wardrobe is choosing a color palette. I generally limit the colors that I wear or stick to neutrals to make it easier to mix and match all the items in the capsule. This time I chose the following neutrals for my tops and/or bottoms: black, white/ivory, olive green, and navy. I stick to dark bottoms for practical reasons. I love the look of white, but after my white shorts looked sooty after a day of city sightseeing ten years ago, I don’t wear white bottoms on European vacations anymore. It looks beautiful but is too high maintenance for me personally. With the exceptions of the magenta long sleeve tee and green cashmere tee, I brought in color through my layering pieces:

When the base outfit is neutral, you can decide on any color you want for the layering piece. Speaking of layering, this brings me to lesson #5…

After traveling to Europe last summer during the height of an August heat wave, I now have a preference for traveling to Europe during the shoulder season when the weather is more temperate. The challenge of traveling during the shoulder season is that the weather can vary from day to day. During my trip to England, the weather during the first 65% of the trip was downright hot, but for the remainder of the trip, the weather had considerably cooled to the point where I often needed a layering piece or my trench.

When weather is unpredictable as it typically is when traveling during the shoulder season, layering becomes key. Ideally, the layers should be lightweight so that they can easily be added without bulk. Reducing bulk is helpful when getting dressed but also for packing. On the flight home from London, I wore a ridiculous amount of layers on the plane, partly because I had bought so many clothing items on my trip that I needed the extra space wherever I could get it. I wore the long sleeve tee with the cashmere tee layered over it, followed by the hoodie, trench, and pashmina. I probably could have layered one of the tanks as my initial base layer. I felt perfectly comfortable on the flight home. Bringing layers is important to feel comfortable whatever the weather, and to have a truly enjoyable vacation experience, comfort is key.

Creating a successful travel capsule wardrobe isn't just about packing the least amount possible or getting everything in your carry-on. This trip to England reminded me that even after years of traveling carry-on only, there's always something new to learn. Whether it's embracing linen on those hot weather days, accounting for the lack of air conditioning in Europe, or realizing that I need fewer pieces than I think, each trip helps me refine my approach. Each lesson learned means that on my next trip, I’ll spend less time thinking about what to wear and more time enjoying the experience.
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​If you'd like help building a travel capsule wardrobe for your next trip, I offer wardrobe consultation services. Together we'll find the right mix of pieces to help you look and feel your best while enjoying your time away! 

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